Ok, here goes. I have a 1955 Fordor Customline. Original 272 with FordOMatic. Runs pretty well.



I purchased a 292 out of a 1957 Ford. It came with a newer FordOMatic attached. The guy I bought it from took it out of the car himself. He has built many a Y-Block in his days. After cleaning it up and taking it completely apart I made some discoveries. Here's what I've got.





292 Block from a 1959 car that has already been bored .040. B9AE-F

ECZ G heads. Not sure what year.

Intake manifold is ECZ 9425-B single 4 barrel.



From what I understand, these are all pretty desirable parts when you want to build a Hopped Up Y-Block. What would you do? What other parts would you add?



I am thinking about headers from Red's Headers which will go back to Smithy's. Also going to lower the car and upgrade to 12 Volt. Possibly a disc brake kit in the front.



Any advice would be very helpful.

Be realistic., how much money have you budgeted for doing a hoped up 292? We can dream all day.

And welcome to the forum.

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

I'm not looking to race the car, just have a reliable motor that sounds good and is fun to drive.



I guess I am looking for what else you would add to the three elements I already have. I do plan on using the new FordOMatic.



I know the block will be bored to at least .060 over to clean it up. Going to need new pistons, possibly new connecting rods. I was going to put an Isky E-4 Cam in it. That's as far as I've gotten.



Need a new carb as well. Not sure which one. Any thoughts?



Thanks again. Love this Forum.

As far as your new Fordo, check what year it is. I think the 59 and later ones were two speed, where the earlier ones were three speed. I think the two speeds had an aluminum case, but not sure of this.

54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ

Assuming you are not going to use the car as a daily driver but would like some improved performance here is what I would do. Make a decision about what trany and converter you want to use, I think for not too much $$ you can convert to a C4 which is much lighter. Remember if you go to the 57 FOM or a C4 you will need a trans cooler. Then decide what kind of torque converter you want with regards to stall speed. If you stay with the stock converter you will be limited to what you can do with a cam, which is your next decision. Discuss this with a local cam grinder such as Berry Cams in Minnisota or Racer Brown in Baltimore area for a reground cam and lifters. These small grinders will be glad to recommend a grind for your set up and will give you more good advise than the big guys. Also get their advise on valve springs and retainers. The B manifold will support 300+ hp if the plenum is modified and it is port matched. For the money, I am not a fan of the kind of headers that bolt in place of the ex manifolds. Use the money to get rid of the '55 mufflers with their 1.75" dia outlets. I suggest custom made ex and tail pipes of 2 1/4" with good high flow mufflers connected to the '57 ex manifolds. Finally I would mill the heads to raise compression to at least 9:1 mechanical, no matter what cam you can run with 93 octane premium pump gas. A small holley or carter and a '57 dist and you will have one nice running '55. Obviously all the mechanical parts such as rocker arm shafts have to be in good shape . And definitely get the disc brakes on the front and I would convert it to 12 volts with an alternator.

Doug T

The Highlands, Louisville, Ky.

If it's already bored .040 over, possibly it does not need another rebore? ..that would save you some money. With using a Fordomatic, I'd be careful what Cam I ordered. J. Mummert has a very good handle on what will work with the auto trans. He likely has what you need in stock. And imho, I doubt that arranging to buy a reground cam & lifters is money well spent on a Ford Y-block. The last thing you need in these engines is a cam or lifters failure, due to the expense & pita it will be..

Paul

I agree that it is not fun to replace cams in Y's.  But it has been my experience with the two small grinders that their products are more reliable than the bigger guys.  I have had cams from both vendors mentioned that have lasted in Y blocks.  I have had 3 failures from bigger cam suppliers.  Also the smaller guys will think more about things  like valve spring selection based on application than the major cam names who basically want to sell SBC and SBF cams by the ton,  I exempt John M from these comments since he specializes in Y's.I forgot to mention the overbore issue and I agree if the bores and pistons are good they could be reused for the application intended. 

This brings to mind the whole issue of "I want more performance but don't want to race".  My view is that if it is good enough to drive on the street it is good enough to drag race in the bracket racing context most prevalent today and it is fun!! Doing test & tune runs is very informative and will not hurt a car that is mechanically sound and well driven. IMHO racing is a lot more fun than car shows.  "I had one just like it except it was a '58 green 4 door six" gets a little old fast.

Doug T

The Highlands, Louisville, Ky.

The pistons do need to be replaced and it does need to be bored out again, so I can't reuse the old stuff.



Where would you suggest getting the pistons and piston rings from? How about the rest of the parts I'll need inside the motor?



Thanks for the help.