never saw one that wouldn't clean up at.060.i cant see how it could run with that much wear.

It's not as unusual as you might think. John Mummert had a 312 block of mine that was standard and after boring .060 over the cylinders still looked "orangey", John's word. That's right, a standard bore block that didn't even clean up at .060 over.

Mike

I don't make mistakes, I just have educational experiences.

Some hurt and some cost money.

Having spent what I thought was a fair amount of time checking over the still assembled short block before selling it, I, too, was surprised that the .060 overbore was necessary for cylinder clean-up.

In my efforts to determine wear condition and rebuild-ability, I visually inspected all the cylinder bores for scoring and ridge, pulled main caps 2 and 4 looking for cracks in the webbing, and looked at the cam lobes to get a sense of engine mileage. Everything looked good, I thought.

I don't know the reputation of the machine shop, but John may be right. Somebody may have had a set of pistons on the shelf. ...Or decided to save all that time measuring what they had to do work on. OUCH!

NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York

Maybe the machine shop had a set of .060 pistons in stock they needed to get out of inventory.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

.060 and never been apart! Are you sure you got the same block back?

Rono on our Forum had engine machining work done at a machine shop in New Hampshire last year. After his positive feedback to me on the work done, and after looking at their web site, I'm planning to have them do the machining work I need on a y-block I'm efforting to build. R&L Engines in Dover, NH has a web page of usual charges. It indicates $138 per cylinder for automotive engine sleeve installation. I'm unclear if that price includes cylinder boring, honing, and fitting of the piston. R&L's price sheet indicates $248 per V-8 block for boring, honing and piston fitting. Pricing for this type of work can vary in different areas of the country.
_____________________________

I suggested using a 292 block instead of starting with a 272 if you want maximum cylinder bore without sleeving.

The basis of the suggestion is my understanding that the sand cores used for making at least the following 292 and 312 blocks were the same. The engine block castings for the following applications have the same external markings, but different bores and main bearing caps depending on whether they were 292 or 312 in size. (All of what follows is info. from John Mummert's web site under the 'Technical' section)

Engine block external identification casting markings where the cast engine block was used for making both 292 and 312 engine sizes:
ECZ 6015-A - 1956 Ford car 292 or 312; if in a Mercury, the block was originally a 312
ECZ 6015-B - '56 & '57 Ford car 292 or 312; if in a '56 Merc. or if a y-block in a '57 Merc, block was originally a 312
ECZ 6015-C - 1957 Ford car 292 or 312; if it's a y-block in a Mercury, the block was originally a 312
EDB 6015-E - '58 & '59 Ford 292 cars and trucks; if it's a y-block in a Mercury, the block was originally a 312
B9AE 6015-F - '59 & '60 Ford 292 cars and trucks; if it's a y-block in a Mercury, the block was originally a 312

[Main bearing caps for the 292 - marked EBU; Main bearing caps for the 312 - marked ECZ]

With FoMoCo producing y-blocks from '54 - '64, it is not unexpected to find a vehicle with an engine installed from an earlier or later year vehicle. It's long been cheaper and faster to install a good used engine from another vehicle than to rebuild the one that came in the vehicle originally. Automotive salvage yards have long flourished selling good used engines as well as other salvageable components recovered from automotive wrecks. Hollander Interchange Manuals are invaluable to anyone seeking used automotive component parts that were used on multiple year makes and differing models, or perhaps even other manufacturers' vehicles, depending upon the component.

I expect that all of the above 292/312 blocks can safely be bored to 3.830. The largest piston that Ford supplied over the parts counter for rebuilding the 312s was 3.840. That said, in the early '80s I acquired an un-fired Ford re-manufactured 312 engine that had FoMoCo pistons stamped .044 oversize or something similar instead of .040 in all eight cylinders.

This summer I sold a '57 312 that had never been apart. Although the engine had virtually no ridge at the top of any cylinders, and no indication of abnormal cylinder wear when I checked it over before sale, the machine shop in LeRoy, NY indicated that it needed to be overbored .060 for rebuilding purposes. The engine, now 322 in displacement, runs fine. I'm still surprised that the .060 overbore was required, but I didn't see the block after dis-assembly was accomplished.


NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York

Do you have a guess on what it would cost to sleeve all 8?

Glen's advice is the best. The only way to be reasonable sure is to have your block bores sonic tested if you desire to overbore as much as possible.

The problem is core shift when your block was made. When the metal enters the mold, the sand cores can move slightly, assuming the cores were accurately placed to begin with.

As you may know, John Mummert is making stroker kits for the y-block. In his listing of kits on his price sheet, the largest bore size he shows for the 272 engine is 3.77 in conjunction with the two strokes that he offers. That's not to say you can't go further, but this gives you an idea of what is generically considered 'safe' without sonic testing.

IF you check into the cost of sleeving all eight cylinders of your block to permit maximum overbore, I think you'll change your mind about going that direction and look for a 292 to overbore instead.

IF you aren't aware of John Mummert's web site and all the y-block components he offers, look up www.ford-y-block.com

Hope this helps.

NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York

You need to have it sonic tested, should go to 3.80 but just depends on core shift. I have been told that some might even go to 4", but the only way to know it's safe limit is sonic testing.

Glen Henderson



Freedom is not Free

Letohatchee, AL

I bought a 272 several years back that had been bored to 3.75 (292) and needs to be bored again. So can anyone tell me the max size that I can take it to or should I have it sleeved?
thx