First time posting on the new forum, this is very nice. Got my 55 bird on the road about a month ago and have been enjoying my 292. Even with the original tea pot carb and stock vacuum only distributor it runs like a champ, smooth as silk and great response. At idle though she lets a little blue haze out of the driver's side pipe, I've encountered this before on my FE's and found it to be a valve seal issue. The engine currently has umbrella seals and fantastic oil flow to the top of the engine. I want to replace the umbrellas with some positive seals...does anyone here have a brand or part # for seals that will work? Since the motor is a running unit, it's tough to measure the guides and the valves but what I come up with is 11/16 valve stems (.342) and .600 OD on the guides.

                                              Pete Wolff

Pete,



By "fantastic flow", do you mean your drivers side head is flooding? Is your overflow tube aimed at the pushrod hole? If you have the cross-drilled cam, restricting the DS oil feed hole under the rocker stand might be a simple fix?


6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

Yes it is a cross drilled cam and I do suspect that it is "over oiling" the top of the motor. The drain tubes do point into the pushrod holes on each side. When I restrict the oil to the top of my FE's I drill a .090 hole in the restrictor. What do these motors require?

It's funny that all I ever read about these motors is that they don't provide enough oil to the top, seems that when they are fresh and clean they do just fine.

Ford service letter #6005 12/23/63 says if you have cross-drilled cam & #3 slotted cam bearing to tap a tapered plug (part # B2A-6026-B) drilled 5/64" into left side head (rocker support base) oil hole.

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

Dan,

     So all I need to do is put the restrictor into the driver side (left) head and nothing in the pass side ( right) head ?

                                                      Pete

Pete,



Right. Seems like I read a thorough explanation of the mechanical/oiling action of the various bearing/journal changes over the years but all I remember is, they went back to the cross-drilled cam for a short time because of reduced pressure with the grooved design (due to insert wear), and got a lot of complaints about over-oiling on the left bank.




6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

Thanks Dan, I'll restrict that side this week.

                                                      Pete Wolff