I am looking to build a 292 for my truck. I would like a decent amount of getupandgo but do not wish to sacrifice driveability. The originat 3 on the tree will be dumped in favour of an auto(I think maybe a toploader). I have an ECK block, EBU rods,113 heads and a ESU crank for starters. The bling list has a Blue thunder manifold with an Edelbrock carb. Should i go for the forged dome pistons and roller rockers, what is a good compression ratio. Reading thru some old posts has left me a little confused about comp ratios. Is the Y-265S cam a good choice. Having never had to go shopping for these things before I am not sure where to start and what goes best to make up a good package. If it was a 351 the local speed shop would suffice but when I explain what I want to do with a Y the answer is why rebuild a boat anchor (some people have no class or are unable to operate outside of mainstream). Obviously I need a plan for the engine before I start purchasing and any advice is welcome.

Regards Peter.

Hang loose and enjoy the ride.

Brisbane Australia

Hey Peter ,I will e-mail you a guys name & phone number  ( Jeff Cooper )from Toowoomba . Give him a call & tell him what you want .He knows Y-Blocks inside out .He has rebuilt 2 motors for me in the last year .Not cheap ,but he knows all the tricks .

Regards Lon

yblocksdownunder

Lots of help but we need a LOT more input from you. What is it car or truck? What do you want it to do. Will you drive it all the time or just once in a while. The more you tell us the more and better advice you recieve. Pete

It is a 56 f100 which is basically standard with a 272 and 3 speed manual. It is an occasional driver, friday/saturday night cruise but might be used for a 500 mile round trip to a show etc. Economy is not an issue but reliability is. It needs to be easy to drive (no 3500 stall converters). I want to build it myself as I get more pleasure out of things I do myself than paying someone to do them. The truck is my hands on therapy. I realise that the original post is like asking how long is a piece of string but we all have to start somewhere and I think I have found a forum where the very knowlegable enjoy passing it on. Hope that helps get the project a little further on. Regareds Peter.

Hang loose and enjoy the ride.

Brisbane Australia

I think flat-top pistons will get the compression high enough, but you must, absolutely must, zero-deck the pistons. I would use Mummert's head gaskets. I would use the RollMaster adjustable timing chain and degree the cam. Degreeing the cam something you can do yourself.



Call John Mummert to pick a cam.



Use the -113 heads, they're good ones. Look for some high ratio rockers for the intake valves. I don't think the exhaust valves matter with the rockers.



And get a new distributor.



The intake is your choice.

Best regards,



Paul Menten

Meridian, Idaho

PC, what are your thoughts with 1.43 exhaust rockers and 1.54 intakes?

Mike, located in the Siskiyou mountains, Southern, OR 292 powered 1946 Ford 1/2 ton, '62 Mercury Meteor, '55 Country Squire (parting out), '64 Falcon, '54 Ford 600 tractor.

It seems to me ......that street engines would be more "bottled up" by exhaust than intake. Several good dual pattern (street) cams I can think of, have extended exhaust timing versus the intake events. In fact, that's always the way the dual patterns are built - unless I'm missing some weird turbocharged arrangements

I was thinking that (barring access to a full set of good parts) a guy could put eight higher ratio rockers on the exhausts only and move toward the same effect.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

It seems I get the feeling that since the y block has such crap intake flow numbers that dual patterns with more exhaust lift & duration aren't as effective as they are on 289's, or 390's with junk manifolds that have other restrictions on the exhaust side. 

I actually put eight 1.54 rockers on a stock 292 (with miles)in a 3/4 ton I have &  it seemed to have a slight difference in the seat of the pants dyno. 

Shortly after this, I did develop a nice main knock... OOps.

Hopefully shear coincidence!

Dunno.....its always looked to me that since the cam grinding machines are basically "tracers", it was just plain easy (cheap) for the manufacturer to use the same "master lobe" at different index centers right down the cam blank. It sure isn't because the exhaust valve kinematics are exactly like the intake (different weight etc.). Just the weight difference alone changes how fast you can expect to accelerate the valve and put more "area" under the lift curve without "floating" it. 

For the dual patterns, they build a different "master lobe" (or steal it from the next larger cam offering) with more duration or lift and use it for grinding all of the exhaust lobes. As fixed as the offerings are for intake manifolds, head ports, etc., its probably easier to get a few horses from the exhaust side of things than vice versa.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

There is a good discussion on cams here: http://www.y-blocksforever.com/forums/Topic6147-3-1.aspx



I would give John Mummert a call. You will get a better cam if you talk with someone who knows the engine.

My personal preference is to stay away from companies like comp, crane, and etc concerning the Y-block. It's not that they're bad companies. I just can't believe they know what will work best for the Y-block.



I'd have to second everything PC said.


Lawrenceville, GA