Boy this brings back some memories...I grew up on an almond ranch (some peaches, too...before my time) and we had 3 or 4 wind machines. All but one had Y-blocks, and if I recall the newer one had an FE.

They were about 30 feet tall, but as a kid they seemed 100 feet tall easy. I had the experience of climbing one with my grandfather to fiire it up in the winter time once...pretty wild with 17 foot propellers spinning on either side, while the tower rotated slowly.

I only remember the machines firing up once or twice in my life on the ranch, and they were taken out when I was a teenager, but what a sound.

Todd in Central California...about half way between Fresno and Sacramento

1956 Thunderbird - 1960 F-100 - 1961 Starliner - 1961 Imperial

I am just curious, but how do fuel, cool, and service this arrangement?

Jan  Urbanczyk  Major USMC Ret.

                                                                 Bowie Maryland

Took some pic's this afternoon of wind machines, definitely 2 back to back Ford industrial y-block type.  They are not 272,292 or 312 type.  The towers are set up so that the pad at the top where the engines mount, including the ladder, rotates 360 deg.  These were obviously ran on propane.  If interested I will try to send some photos. Block # appears to be 5750281, exhaust COTE 9480A, intake ECT 9425-A.   Charlie

If you can picture the old Lincoln welders that were powered by Continental engines the "pods" look something like that, all self contained. 

Todd, our ranch only had one wind-machine on it and it was all electric but I have fond memories of lighting the smudg-pots.  Getting up at 1:00am on a cold morning has a way of sticking in your memory.  Now fuel is so expensive it's cheeper to let the crop freeze than it is to try and save it, there is also the environmental issues I think fuel oil (a less refined diesel) was about 10-12 cents a gallon when I was a kid.

   God Bless.   Tim                           http://yblockguy.com/

350ci Y-Block FED "Elwood", 301ci Y-Block Unibody LSR "Jake", 312ci Y-Block '58 F-100, 338ci Y-Block powered Model A Tudor

tim@yblockguy.com  Visalia, California    Just west of the Sequoias

I see that the yblocks are in central Florida.

I will be coming down just near Tampa,and will help you look at these.

I can be there after Christmas....it would be something to see.

What town is it?

Bill

Always buying and selling 1956 ford trucks and parts...Ohio

I'm going to try and send pic's.  These engines are located just outside of Winter Haven area off Hwy #27.  They appear to be exactly as the one's in Tim's post #35663 on 12/5/09 in This 'n That.  The 3rd pic down.

Great thread but those are Lincoln motors unfortunately.  Tim's description sounds so much like the pictures one would suspect that those kind of towers might have been a commercial product.

Doug T

The Highlands, Louisville, Ky.

Thanks for the great pics, what an interesting application! cant help being fascinated by them. i guess if one broke loose it would land 6 states away.?  bill.

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

I'm going out to pick some fruit this weekend and I am going to get some pics of the ones in our area.  We are on the other side of the country but the wind machines look about the same.

   God Bless.   Tim                           http://yblockguy.com/

350ci Y-Block FED "Elwood", 301ci Y-Block Unibody LSR "Jake", 312ci Y-Block '58 F-100, 338ci Y-Block powered Model A Tudor

tim@yblockguy.com  Visalia, California    Just west of the Sequoias

I wonder which Lincoln engine they used? Chuck

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire