I will be the proud owner of a '55Fairlane Fordor Sedan in a few weeks. It's the original 6V 272 w/ auto. Yes, I used proud owner and Fordor in the same sentence. The car will be an ongoing project as a mild custom/restorod, but I'm trying to get a plan together for the drive train. The car needs minor things to be road worthy in town and my goal is to keep it running as much as possible during the summers, then tackle different things in the fall and over winter each year.

I plan to keep the Y-Block, but I'd like to raise the displacement when it's time to rebuild the engine or tranny. The car will be primarily a boulevard cruiser, but I'd like some decent power. I plan to do a 12V conversion, change the steering and suspension, improve the brakes, etc. Once it's really roadworthy I'd like to use it to tow a small vintage camper or pop-up camper trailer so that will influence what I do to the drive train.

Since towing will be part of the intended use, am I better off just using John's stroker kit to take it to 310ci or would a bore to 292 before the stroker kit for a final 318ci be better? I'll be happy with anything over 325HPas long as it's as reliable as possible. What can I expect for max RPMs on the310 or 318?

I plan to keep the car an automatic, but I'm not sure if a C4, EOD, or other transmission conversion would be best? I know there are adapter kits to put another brand of transmission on the Ford, but I'd like to keep everything Ford, Merc, or Lincoln. I'm planning to change the rear suspension and swap ina 9" rear end/axle so a new drive shaft isn't an issue. Wheels will be bigger steel reproductions in 17s or 18s. Again, the goal is to balance reliability with improving fuel economy on the highway/interstate while towing. The longest trip I can see it doing is the 9 or so hours it takes to get to Detroit if we ever wanted to bring it to a major Ford show. Otherwise 4-6 hours covers 90% of the shows we would drive to. We'd probably hit 6-10 shows a year.

I know I'll have a lot more questions after I take ownership of my Fairlane,but for now these are my big questions that have the biggest impact on the project and budget.

Thanks,

Boiler

If you want at least 325hp and want to tow, you will need an engine bigger than 318ci. Even at 318ci, you will have over 1hp/ci and that probably will not have favorable characteristics for towing on a regular basis. You're also going to be spending some money to achieve that goal, so be prepared for that. Since you want to tow, maximum rpm is not important. You want the power down low. That being said, Y Blocks have been built that routinely see 7000 - 7500 rpm.
You need to decide if you want drag strip power or towing power and build the engine based on that and whichever way you do it, you will have a more powerful engine than you have now.


Lawrenceville, GA

Thanks Charlie. I guess I misunderstood how much power John was getting from his stroked 318s. I thought they were in the range of 400hp...

I do not plan to tow that often and the weight won't be more than 3,000 pounds. I do understand the need for the power down low, which is why I was looking at stroker kits and 4-sp auto conversions. I definitely do not need a 7,000rpm engine, but I was curious what I could expect for redline on a stroked y-block. Worst case, we'll keep tent camping and I'll just tow a small, custom built gear trailer.

I know I can bore out to 292 and then stroke it from there, but with any intent to tow I didn't know if that was good idea or not.

Long term plan was to migrate to a stroked Mod motor, but I haven't dug too far into that. I figured I'd stroke out the 272 and just enjoy it for a while I save for and build the other engine/tranny drive line.

You'll need a forced induction or a big, big stroker to get power and low RPM torque.


Hyvinkää, FI

Boiler, My '55 with a near stock 292 pulls my 16' Canned Ham ('56 Shasta) just fine. The 292 has plenty of down low torque for towing a relatively light travel trailer.

"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL

Thanks TMC! Did you add any additional coolers? I figured it would be ok, but wanted to check with experienced members. I think I'm still going to stroke it out, but I'll make it more budget friendly and lower the HP goal to free up funds for an AOD transmission swap.

LMF, I'd love to supercharge the engine sooner, but it's not in the plan (and may not make the budget) till the very end of the build and I'll probably do that on a 351W 4-bolt Dart or Scat block. But since the Dart blocks are capable of being bored and stroked to over 429ci I may just go that route and keep it simple. Figure I'll be saving the funds for 2-3 years before I can make that swap. But, TBH, if I'm enjoying the car as it is with a 318-330ci Y-Block, I may just leave it alone and drive it!

I'm fortunate that I have a local customer/mentor that is a Ford NHRA drag racer that can help guide my budget on the 351W build when the time finally comes around if i decide to go that route. Keeping it all Ford with column shifter is something I've decided I want to do, but I have to figure out a new plan for the drive train. I was planning to take the easy path and go with a pulled 5.2L LM7 bored and stroked to 396 with a T6 transmission in a custom console with bucket seats. Scrapped that idea. I just can't do it. Have to keep it all Ford.

Stay with the y block, Lot more fun, and, as master said, they do make a lot of low end torque. The blower route would work, but it's not cheap.

Frank/Rebop

Bristol, In ( by Elkhart) 

They can be, but that is not an engine that will be good for towing. There is much more to it than simply the displacement. You can have a 200 horse 318. You can have a 400 horse 318. It can redline at 5000rpm. It can redline at 7000rpm. It depends on which other components you use which are chosen based on the job the engine will do.


Lawrenceville, GA

My Dad towed big vans for many years with Mainline utes and F100's both with stock 292's
Plenty of low down torque for this job.
I can even remember our low loader with a 12 tonne road roller on the back breaking down and Dad towed it back to our workshop with the F100.
Just my opinion but you don't need to spend big dollars on 312's and blowers and what not for a good car that can tow a van on the odd occasion.

Gary - 1958 Star Customline and 1940 Ford Deluxe Hotrod

First, you're not likely to get any encouragement here for spending time & money on a Y-Block, & then dumping it in favour of another engine later. Frankly it doesn't make sense, financially or otherwise to do that.. If you build the right Y-Blk you will likely love it. However, if you are determined to go to a later engine at some point, might as well do it now, cause there's no way to build a robust Y cheap, because it's not a main stream engine like a chebby. On the other hand, if your 272 needs a rebore, by all means take it out to 292 or more (beyond 292 a wall thickness check is recommended) Some but not all, may be bored to 312+0.40 over with out being to thin, which comes out at 306". Or go to 292 & consider a stroker kit from say John Mummert. For towing a low end torque cam would be best. Mummert can steer you on that too. An AOD is a nice idea, but is somewhat entailed & costly to do.. Just some comments & ideas.

Paul