'54 Y block ?

Hot Rod Reverend said:
...I have a 292 I am building now that I have had punched out to 312 and 030 over that....
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Boring a 292 out to .030" over 312 c.i. would require a massive .165" over the stock 3.75" 292" bore, or 3.915", and would result in 318"!
Did you maybe just use the common .030" over 312 pistons, (3.830" or a .055" over bore)) which would yield 304"? :)
 
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Blu Dice said:
So is a '54 239 Y block a good motor, or one to avoid? I don't know a thing about them - thinking about buying a Vicky that has one in it, and the seller doesn't know the history about the car. It also has the overdrive in it - what is different about the overdrive operation on this car compared to the '50 Ford I had - same? Reason I'm asking is because it's not working, and the seller really hasn't tried to fix it - so?
thanks
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Has it occurred to ya that maybe, and since the seller doesn't know the history of the car - it might not still have the original 239?

It's possible that sometime over the last 60 years the engine might have been upgraded to a 272/292/312.
 
V8 Bob said:
Boring a 292 out to .030" over 312 c.i. would require a massive .165" over the stock 3.75" 292" bore, or 3.915", and would result in 318"!
Did you maybe just use the common .030" over 312 pistons, (3.830. or a .055" over bore)) which would yield 304"? :)
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Yes - I have 312 .030 over pistons from Egge to go in the block. With the stroke on the 312 crank I am getting right at 318 ci. I have to plunk down some dough for rods next. Not really wanting to cheap out on those I am going to spring for a set of the I Beams from Mummert out in California. Call it a "poor man's 312"

@BluDice - In addition to rocker arm oiling, take a look at the downdraft tube after the engine has warmed up. Is it leaking oil? How much blowby do you have? If you can crawl under the frame to take a peek, you can tell if there is serious crankcase pressure causing all of that blowby if there are droplets that follow the length of the frame down the driveline. I have seen some of the breather caps have blowby so bad that the there is a place on the firewall. These are telltale signs of the motor needing a ring job (at least, if not a full rebore).

If you have time and if you can get under the engine, take a look for numbers/letters stamped above the oil filter housing on the block. The other two places would be near the linkage assembly boss at the rear of the block or the area on the block where the generator attaches on the passenger side. Cross these numbers to get a good idea of what you have. EBU was mainly Ford's 239 passenger car engine. EBV is usually the truck version. There are some websites where you can cross reference those numbers.
 
Hot Rod Reverend said:
@BluDice - In addition to rocker arm oiling, take a look at the downdraft tube after the engine has warmed up. Is it leaking oil? How much blowby do you have? If you can crawl under the frame to take a peek, you can tell if there is serious crankcase pressure causing all of that blowby if there are droplets that follow the length of the frame down the driveline.
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While your under the car as Daniel suggests, check the front frame crossmember for corrosion... :eek::eek:
 
Blu Dice said:
LOL I know all about "marked territories" I had a AMF Harley back in the early '70s, and until recently a shoebox -if there's no oil spots then it's time to add some oil - right?
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There is an old saying: "Fords never leak they are just marking their spot" ;)
 
"I can understand not going up in inches and keeping displacement similar to what they had that got them there. But I do wonder about why Lincoln had OHV in 52 and the rest of FoMoCo didn't get it until 54.. Or why Lincoln had an internal power steering unit about the same time and Ford and Merc didn't get it until late 60's or maybe even into the 70's.. Sounds like there was very little sharing of technology between the divisions, or they use Lincoln as the proving grounds for new stuff. Most likely it was all marketing"

May be because HF2 robbed Harold Youngren from Olds to be chief engineer at Ford. Since Lincoln was more a direct competitor to Olds rather than Caddy, He may have brought the OHV technology with him. Ford/Merc moved to OHV in '54 anyway, beating Chevy by one year, and with a much better design. Rockers on shafts are much better for valve train stability than stud mounted arms.
 
ford3 said:
ken maybe you can answer this question, why did ford design a completly new over head valve engine and leave it at 239 c/i, the same as the flathead v/8 engine?
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Ken, may I answer this? When asking questions like this, try this; put your mind in late 1953 and look for improvements. The Y block was a huge jump ahead, in breathing and cooling. It was near square, and with its shorter stroke could spin faster without shaking apart. Each year one could find a change that was usually for the better.
 
What helps with the rocker oiling issues is having someone rebuild your Y that knows the multitude of oiling system improvements that can be made. Anything else, MMO, external oiling systems, etc are just bandaids....
 
Blu Dice said:
Hey I'm a big believer/fan of MMO, doesn't it help with the oil/ rocker issues?
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Like streetdreams says, there are a multitude of things to watch out for when building a Y to help with oiling modifications. There is nothing Rocket Science like, but there are a list of things that certainly help.

One improvement that is right off the shelf is your choice of camshaft bearings. Durabond now makes a camshaft bearing for the 272-312 (sorry, not yet for the EBU 239) that has a groove on the OUTSIDE and the inside. This ensures oiling to the top end no matter what.
 
Tinker: I don't know if anyone has ever added a groove to the cam bearing itself, but over on www.y-blocksforever.com Ted Eaton has devised a good way to actually put a groove in the block where that center cam journal sits. The temptation would be to make it too large I would imagine. Once I discovered that these bearings were in production, and were just about the same price as regular cam bearings it was a done deal for purchasing.

boring super bowl.... that's why I'm responding and looking at all these threads lol
 
Blu Dice said:
It also has the overdrive in it - what is different about the overdrive operation on this car compared to the '50 Ford I had - same? Reason I'm asking is because it's not working, and the seller really hasn't tried to fix it - so?
thanks
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Hi Blu,
Regarding the Overdrive, there should be a fuse on the solenoid, and that is the easiest place to start to see if it is working. I don't know how they work on the '50's but I think the '54 is the same, it's a Borg Warner, here is a good site explaining the function. My '55 works as described.
http://www.fordification.com/tech/overdrive.htm

I saw someone mentioned to check what motor it really has. This is good advice, as I found that while my '55 should have a 272, somewhere along the line it was upgraded with a period correct 292. I found this by checking the block casting number, which is just below the 2 spark plugs near on the rear drive side of the motor.

Good luck and welcome to the Late V8s
 
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