If you want to do some serious racing a C-4 or even a race modified power glide is an option. For occasional racing and street fun I really like my AOD. I'm currently running 3.80 gears and cruise at around 2000 RPM at 60. I plan to put in a 4.10 soon. You get great gears out of the hole but good cruising with the overdrive. 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

Here's the other question ...what about an automatic behind , say , a modified 292 ? My left leg isn't " clutch friendly " anymore I'm afraid .  Is a C4 the way to go ? ..and can you get a converter with higher stall speed to launch the car better ?

T

It would be fairly simple to build a 450+ inch FE that looks like a 352. Torque monster time. If I had a '54 Merc, it would definitly get a y block. Might be 340" with Mummert heads a mild cam etc, but a Y-Block for sure. 

Frank/Rebop

Bristol, In ( by Elkhart) 

Y-blocks were stock bolt in for 55-56...

Paul

One  of the things that I have always loved about the Y is that if you put on a pair of T-Bird valve covers, they look more impressive than most any other engine out there. Had a set on my '58 Ford Custom 300 back in '63 and whenever I opened the hood, everyone was impressed. Same effect today.

If building a 332/352 FE to 1958 specs and a 292/312 Y to 1957 specs, then look for the Y to run circles around the FE with all else being equal.  But if going FE, by all means go for the cubic inches and get that apparent advantage.   I’ve run both and each have their own specific strong points but either would be period correct for what you are planning so go the route that suits you best.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

I'm a fan of both engines. Built & raced both back in day. I guess it depends how deep your pockets are for what you want. More speed stuff available for the FE & it might be a bit cheaper to build but you'll have more people scratching their heads with a y block when you pop the hood. Nothing looks or sounds better than a well built Yblock.

Dan      Kingman Az.      86409

Thanks for the comments ....lots to chew on .

As to what body , I'm giving serious consideration to a '55-'56  F series pickup . There is a cruise up here every year ( like so many other towns ) and about 8 or 10 early to mid 50's Ford pickups make the show . Some are Chevy powered which makes no sense to me ( that's another story ) and some have 289-302's in them . Seems to me that would be perfect for a Y block done up right .

The other one I'm looking at is a '54 Merc that is bone stock and could use an engine upgrade .

T

When talking 332- 352 vs 312 then in my opinion without a doubt I'd reach fo the mighty 312. The 312 when tuned properly seemed to be a little stronger than the 332 or 352 and I've owned them all. I'm not knocking these early FEs, they just seemed to be down on power for what I thought they should have. The 390s and and up are a different story because they were putting down some serious power. But the 312s were already doing that in 1957 with the supercharged versions in STOCK form putting out 370 to 380 HP and 420 FT lbs torque. The Nascar versions closer to 450 to 500 HP. 400 + HP 312s are becoming a common occurance naturaly aspirated now with all this technology.

-Gary Burnette-

Kind of a personal thing in my opinion. There is overlap from a time frame standpoint on the Y and the FE. Have had both over the years. To me it sort of depends on the car you decide on. If I went with an FE I would go with a minimum of a 390 block. If it came orginaly with a Y I would stay with a Y. If it came with an FE I would stay with an FE. That being said, a lot of '54 to '57 Fords had FE's installed back in the day. Had a '57 Ford Custom 300 with a 300 horse 390 in it back in '67-68 myself.