Hi. Im new to this site and to y-blocks in general. I have a 1959 Fairlane Galaxie 500 four door. The guy I bought the car from said that the engine was seized up. Also the valve covers were left off so all the springs and things are rusted up pretty good. So in the deal he also gave me another 292 that came out of a truck. Now I know some things need to changed from the truck configuration to the car setup. So with all that said, I have been told that it would be a good idea to get different heads due to the compression difference the truck motors had versus the heads for cars. I was told that the ECG heads are the way to go.

First, are these the heads that I should be persuing?

Second, if I do get my hands on the particular heads, where should I go to get the springs and such? Should I get springs from a 312?

Any guidance in this situation would be greatly appreciated. If you have any other suggestions on hopping this up a bit that would be great too. The only down side is money is a factor here.

Thanks again in advance.

Mummert will have valve springs.

John F

Ballwin, MO

I would suggest you also buy spring retainers and valve locks as well. It is cheap insurance.

John F

Ballwin, MO

Take a look at numbers on the heads,they might be 113 posted heads.big valves but lower compression   Carl

,

I think the heads you were talking about were the ECZ-G heads found on 1957 and 58 vehicles. If that were my car, I'd be trying to salvage that engine. It would be more work but I'm into the performance of the vehicle.



The truck heads actually have good looking combustion chambers but you'd have to zero-deck the pistons to get the performance out of the engine. If you can find rebuilt heads on eBay for a decent price you could do with most heads that show up; ECZ-C, ECZ-G, -113 and others. I see them from time to time and they're often reasonably priced.



Let us know how it goes.

Best regards,



Paul Menten

Meridian, Idaho

The '59 heads, if original, should have casting marks 5751 on one end and 113 on the other.  They are desireable heads.  The numbers are under the water ports on the intake side of the heads.  Top end rust should not be a big deterrent to rebuilding them.  New valves, springs, retainers, and keepers are readily available.  There is no difference between 292 and 312 springs except for the dual quad and supercharged 312s.  If you use the stock cam, then stock springs will suffice.  If you go to a performance cam, then better springs and pushrods are a must.  Let your cam supplier specify which springs to use.

John in Selma, IN

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

Thanks for the info everybody. I think I will be putting a bit of a performance cam in the engine. Nothing crazy though. Im not looking to get the front tires off the ground or anything. I just want to have a decent engine to move my four door down the road and fly by an import with the big mufflers. The car will by no means be a hot rod, so a little go power would be nice.

So you guys think I should either check ebay for rebuilt heads or see if I cant clean up the heads on the old car engine? Do you guys think its worth the time, money and effort to try and put the 312 crank into my engine? Or is that not the direction I should go for what Im trying to accomplish here?

Another question I had was if the blocks were the same between the truck and car engines? Im told they are, but not sure.

Thanks again in advance. I just have so many questions on the subject. Hope I dont ask too much.

Looking at the big picture here, I read that you have two yblocks but nothing to prove that one is a 312 as I read it.

BUT NO MATTER you can learn how to check for a 312 on here And on Mummerts site. If you find out you have the more common 292's that's still ok. AND in some cases better, I now think.

But regardless You STILL have two engines to work with, both having potential.



If it were me I would forget about heads for now - BTW, everyone here has given good advice on that subject.



I would concentrate on a short block. No matter how you chose to build it and learn from it, if done right the first time it will be of good value to use or sell to fund the other. Heads come later, new, used high and low compression and soon aluminum. Anyone of them could be bolted on a perfectly balanced and machined yblock. And to also add that could then go in ANY car. A Freshened Yblock is going to be the strong foundation. In Fact if you just took one engine and completely rebuilt it stock, cam and ALL, AND BALANCED the rotating assembly-You would have a great result of ADDED horsepower for the money without aftermarket add-ons. (See articles on Balancing) good luck and welcome to yblocks.

An Engine like this prepped properly could support about anything we've thrown at it so far from what i've seen.

       A  L  A  N   F  R  A  K  E  S   ~  Tulsa, OK    

I think there is some confusion here. I know I dont have a 312. I know that both of my engines are 292s. As for concentrating on a short block. That is done already. It is on a stand in the garage. My question about concerning a 312, was if anybody had put a 312 crankshaft into their 292. I was told that doing so would be a good way to get a little more performance out of a 292. The reason Im asking about heads is because I am trying to get all the parts together to finish building my motor.

There is no question about what car it could go in or anything. It is going into my 1959 Fairlane. Im just looking for advice on which heads people would recommend or what to use to rebuild my old ones.

Ok, well I apologise I guess I didn't read that in any of your post as far as having a 312 to get a Crankshaft as a donor.

Anyway, yes I've done a 312 crank in a 292 and many other on here have too. This is where I learned all about it. You'll need a machinist who understands your final goal with a ford yblock and of course a 312 crank. You can also find that info on here as to how to identify a 312 crank.

As far as heads go-what everyone said before still applies. Get the g heads if possible or wait and get the Aluminum heads soon to be released.

Any valve springs needed are relative to the Cam you choose to run with your combination.

If you do a search for "Dyno Results" in "Street" you can find what I did with the help of others.



I could not get the link to work for it direct?

       A  L  A  N   F  R  A  K  E  S   ~  Tulsa, OK