I am getting ready to finally start building the 292 for my 59 Fairlane 4-door, but I have a question about building the bottom end of this engine.

I have chosen my machine shop, I work in the parts industry so I can get pretty good deals on parts. The NAPA I use on a regular basis can get me SEALED POWER bearings for a pretty reasonable price.

Has anybody used these bearings for crank, cam, pistons?
What was the success/failure rating like?
Would you use/recommend using them?

Like I said, this engine is going in a 4-door family cruiser. I'm going with a very mild cam, I have the ECZ-G heads, and the ECZ-9425-B intake manifold. I am just cautious using these bearings without knowing a little bit about the quality of them.

Thanks in advance for any and all help/insight you guys can provide me on this.

For solid answers to your questions, hopefully some of those who are regular y-block engine builders will chime in on this, to include John Mummert, Ted Eaton, and Tim McMaster. Sometimes there are nuances to certain replacement component offerings that give them favor to those who have compared them to what is supplied by other manufacturers.

As a hobbyist, to me, Sealed Power is a solid name in the automotive parts supply arena. Today, Federal Mogul is the umbrella organization for ANCO (wiper blades), Champion (spark plugs), Fel-Pro (gaskets), Moog (chassis components), National (wheel oil seals and bearings), Sealed Power (engine parts), Speed Pro (performance engine parts), and Wagner (brake and lighting parts), to name MOST of their divisions.

For an overview of the history of Sealed Power going back to 1912, Google www.spx.com

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

go with the Durabond camshaft bearings that have the 360 degree groove on the OUTSIDE and the inside of the bearing itself. This design takes care of any 'clocking" issues or any problem with spun bearings. I had a set installed in my latest C2AE block that I am making into a 312 bore and stroke. Verne Schumann has them for sale.

Daniel Jessup

Lancaster, California

aka "The Hot Rod Reverend"
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com

Thanks for the responses guys. This is the first engine I have built, and I don't want to cut corners. I want a reliable engine that I don't have to worry about due to bearings in the bottom end.

Evan: Unfortunatley, these days brand names often don't mean much. Where the bearings are manfactured may be the issue. If made in China or some similar Asian country, beware!..

Paul

The Sealed Power mains and big-end bearings I have recently bought were made in Mexico, whereas the pushrods and rings are US made.
I have no qualms using Sealed Power, they have been around a long time.



I have just bought a set of DuraBond cam bearings from John Mummert and his part no. is F9A-SPL. They are grooved on the outside only.

.


South Australia