Hello folks, first post (here) and new project

[Subsailor]

I recently purchased a '56 F100 with a 292 in it. The previous owner bought the motor from someone that rebuilds and sells them. Shortly after he installed the motor he was diagnosed with a medical condition and his mental capacity went down hill pretty quickly. By the time I found and bought the truck he was unable to provide me with any history about the motor or even where he had purchased it. By looking at it I can tell it's a fresh rebuild and it has the "Thunderbird Special" valve covers. He thought he remembered it being out of a '55 or '56 T-bird, but who knows. It is a 2 barrel old style Holley carb and has the exhaust crossover. I have not pulled the numbers off of the motor yet, but will soon. One of the things I have discovered is that he was unaware of the difference in the timing chain cover from a car 292 to a truck 292. Because of that the front motor mount is not mounted correctly and the crank pulley is resting on the forward motor mount and will not work. I found the correct timing chain cover and have it ready to install, but before I do that I thought I better check with the knowledgeable folks here for anything special I need to know before I start this little project. I did purchase the dampener/pulley removal and install tool from "CASCO" after reading some posts here, but other than that, anything I need to be careful with or aware of? Thanks, Glenn

 

[darrell]

no a lot to watch for .one thing its not out a tbird.

 

[miker98038]

Welcome. You might add your location to your profile. Not required, but occasionally useful.

http://www.ford-y-block.com/

This is John Mummert’s site. Bottom of the page under information center are a number of useful tables, like block and head casting numbers.

You’ll also find useful information by searching “Eaton Balancing” and Tim McMaster
( http://yblockguy.com/)

 

[Subsailor]

no a lot to watch for .one thing its not out a tbird.

Thanks Darrell, that was just more of an assumption on my part. Did this motor not come in a T-Bird? Not a big deal, just curious.

 

[Subsailor]

Welcome. You might add your location to your profile. Not required, but occasionally useful.

http://www.ford-y-block.com/

This is John Mummert’s site. Bottom of the page under information center are a number of useful tables, like block and head casting numbers.

You’ll also find useful information by searching “Eaton Balancing” and Tim McMaster
( http://yblockguy.com/)

Thanks Mike, forgot to add my location when I registered, got it now. Also, thanks for the other sites as well. Steep learning curve for me with the Y-block.

 

[dmsfrr]

... By looking at it I can tell it's a fresh rebuild and it has the "Thunderbird Special" valve covers. He thought he remembered it being out of a '55 or '56 T-bird, but who knows. It is a 2 barrel old style Holley carb and has the exhaust crossover. I have not pulled the numbers off of the motor yet, but will soon. One of the things I have discovered is that he was unaware of the difference in the timing chain cover from a car 292 to a truck 292. Because of that the front motor mount is not mounted correctly and the crank pulley is resting on the forward motor mount and will not work. I found the correct timing chain cover and have it ready to install, but before I do that I thought I better check with the knowledgeable folks here for anything special I need to know before I start this little project. I did purchase the dampener/pulley removal and install tool from "CASCO" after reading some posts here, but other than that, anything I need to be careful with or aware of? Thanks, Glenn

What does the crank pulley look like? '55/'57 T-Birds have one that is not used in full-sized cars or trucks. If the engine has a pulley like this one it's from a T-Bird. photos 1 & 2
If you bought tool # TL7 from Casco it only works on T-Bird crank pulleys.
Sorry, I don't have photos of the full-sized car and truck crank pulleys.

There were no *T-Bird specific* engine blocks. But there are specific parts that bolt to the block that were used only on T-Birds. Also, T-Bird blocks are only 292's or 312's cast at the Cleveland foundry. If the letters or location of the block casting number indicates the Dearborn foundry then it couldn't have been a block from a T-Bird.
http://www.ford-y-block.com/Block%20identification.htm

'55 & '56 T-Birds only came with 4bbl carburetors & intake manifolds. The base model T-Bird in '57 came from the factory with a 2bbl 292.
But these are just bolt-on parts, like the crossover style exhaust manifolds.

Y-Block trucks and T-Birds use the same style timing cover with extended shoulders on the lower 4 bolt holes. photo 4
If the engine in the truck had this other style timing cover it came from a 'full-sized' car. photo 5
Also, the dipstick tube should be on the right side of the engine, between cyls 2 & 3.
photo 6
Your photo shows the oil dipstick at the front of cyl 1 which should indicate a front-sump oil pan that came on engines in full-sized cars, and shouldn't fit in trucks. photo 7

I'm not familiar with which style front motor mount bracket a '56 F100 would have used but it may have been one of these, photos 8 & 9.

Do you have closeup photos of the carburetor and distributor?
.

 

[Subsailor]

Thanks a lot DMS, great info. It appears I have a 292 from a “full size car” and I am okay with that. The timing chain cover currently on the motor is like the unpainted one in your pictures. The one I required (and had a little trouble finding) is like the red one. After 2 hours of sand blasting and some painting it looks good as new. As far as which front motor mount I have, it is the red one in your pictures. It is a good runner and should serve me well. My oil pan is like the red one in the picture near the bottom of your photos.

 

[dmsfrr]

...
Your photo shows the oil dipstick at the front of cyl 1 which should indicate a front-sump oil pan that came on engines in full-sized cars, and shouldn't fit in trucks. ...

Thanks a lot DMS, great info. It appears I have a 292 from a “full size car” and I am okay with that. ... It is a good runner and should serve me well.

You said earlier it's not currently running? I'm not sure how the front dipstick / front sump vs rear sump oilpan conflict actually works in a truck, unless something else has been changed???

 

[Subsailor]

You said earlier it's not currently running? I'm not sure how the front dipstick / front sump vs rear sump oilpan conflict actually works in a truck, unless something else has been changed???

It appears the front crossmember has been moved forward at some point in time to allow for the front sump oil pan to work in the engine bay. It is not running now because the motor has dropped just enough in the front since being installed to cause the dampener/crank pulley to be resting on the center bolt of the forward motor mount. I saw a video of it running before that occurred. The bolts not having the extended shoulders on the timing cover caused it to tilt forward slightly and drop. Here is a picture of the issue.

 

[miker98038]

Glenn, I’m not that far away in Kent. I’ve got a couple truck motors in storage, and I need to pull one out to use for a mock up on another project. I’ve sent a PM, if you can’t pick it up, post back here.

 

[Subsailor]

Glenn, I’m not that far away in Kent. I’ve got a couple truck motors in storage, and I need to pull one out to use for a mock up on another project. I’ve sent a PM, if you can’t pick it up, post back here.

Hi Mike, I did not get your PM, not sure why. I have it my settings to allow PM and emails, but nothing came through. I will try to message you. -Glenn

 

[darrell]

the car base works fine on a truck.i have seen early 1/2 tons with the front sump bases from the factory.

 

[Subsailor]

the car base works fine on a truck.i have seen early 1/2 tons with the front sump bases from the factory.

Mine appears as though it will work fine. I cannot really tell if the front crossmember has been moved or not, but there is at least an inch of clearance between the crossmember and the sump portion of the oil pan. No worries with that, just need to get the front engine mount up about 1/4 of an inch and I think the correct timing chain cover with the right “shoulders” will help with that.

 

[Daves55Sedan]

The Thunderbird special V 8 was use in '56 Ford full size cars. They had 4bbl intake with teapot carb, dual-diaphragm distributor and dual exhausts. I've never seen one that did not have dual action fuel pump.
The car oil pan will not fit in the truck due to difference in location of the frame crossmember.
At some point, the truck timing covers had (4) drilled and tapped bosses on top of the cover, but I don't know what year that started.
Cars, trucks and T-bird all had different engine steady-rest assemblies in front.

 

[KULTULZ]

The 'THUNDERBIRD SPECIAL' was the designation for a 1956/57 312.

THUNDERBIRD decorated rocker covers indicated a 292 while FORD decals indicated a 272.

Of course, this was subject to 'Mix-and-Match'.

It is either a 312 or SHELBY ...