I remember I promised somebody here more pictures of Brazilian Y-Blocks…
Last weekend I picked up one from the scrap yard. One more day and it would be turned into a VW or something like that…
Cleaned it up (was in terrible shape before taking a bath) and took the pictures…
My back reminds me everyday now that I should be more careful when lifting heavy loads after that day… A friend and I took the heads off to make it lighter and put in the bed of his F250, without any sort of mechanical help… We only used 4 hands. I won’t be able to do it again so soon…

I hope you enjoy the pictures.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...&albumid=11246

Best regards,
Lucas (Lobo)

 

Thanks for the pics Lobo. Looks the same from what I can see, except for the front motor mount and carb.
Dont think I have read WHY Y's were produced in Brazil so long. Did the public like them a lot, extending the production. Was it a Ford economic decision based upon reluctance to spend money on retooling? Or was it something else?

 

That's a question that I don't know the answer for sure...
But I believe it was mostly an economic decision.
This is what I think that happened back then:

Up to 1964, I guess there is nothing to be said.
But in 1965-66, Ford was spending quite a bit of money to begin the production of their first car in Brazil, the Galaxie 500.
Since they were spending a lot with this project, I believe that spending even more money to build a new motor was out of question. Besides, keeping the Y-Block alive here, there would be plenty spare parts for the US.
In 1967, the Galaxie was selling well and Ford was recovering some of their investments.
In 1968, Ford bought ******. ****** produce here the Jeep, a pick-up, a station wagon and the Aero-******.
When that happened, a new truck came into Ford's hands, the ****** pick-up. Ford called it F75.
Now they had a truck that sold better than the F100 since it had a 6 cylinders engine (remember what people thought at that time: less cylinders in an engine meant more miles with a gallon of gas.) and was a lot cheaper.
The F75 also had a 4x4 option, and the F100 did not.
When the 70s came, people wanted diesel trucks. Diesel fuel was extremely cheap at the time. The F600 already had an optional diesel engine in 1970.
In 1973, Ford began to import the 302 for the Maverick. In 1976, the Galaxie also began to use the imported 302. In 1976, the F100 was using the 2.3OHC engine. The Galaxie got the 302. Big trucks were diesel... Ford needed the plant were they used to build the Y-Blocks to produce the 2.3 OHC...
And they quit making the Y-Block.

Here is a F75, if you want to know what it looked like...
http://www.mercado4x4.com.br/images/W1534-3007.jpg

I believe I talked too much again...

Best regards,
Lucas (Lobo)

 

Talk too much? No not at all. Thanks.

 

Lobo2,

If I understand your post correctly; Ford made Y-blocks in Brazil until 1976 ?!?!

First, we have whole French Connection on Flatheads... now Y-blocks in Southern America !! Man ! Just one more reason to go south of the equator for a visit. Are they still easily found or was the one that put back out a rare thing? How do the part numbers / valve train / cast or forged cranks compare to the final US /early Brazilian offerings? Are new parts still readily available in Brazil?

Jim

ps: I hope I'm not re-asking old questions....

 

Jim,

The Y-Block was produced here up to 1975.
We also had French flatheads on the Simcas. We even had a hemi version, the Emisul. The Emisul came when Chrysler bought Simca in Brazil…

http://www.fbva.com.br/images/museus/motoresplanada.jpg

http://www2.uol.com.br/bestcars/carr...ul-pasteur.jpg

About the y-blocks... As far as I know, most part numbers are the same.
These engines and its parts were everywhere about 10 years ago.
Now it’s hard to find one. Parts are expensive and are not easy to be found.
For an example, piston rings in the US is way cheaper than it is here in Brazil.

The Brazilian engine is exactly the same as a 1959 272 US made truck engine… I believe even the versions were the same, Std or HD. And you may see some Brazilian parts on US y-blocks after 1960. And we never had the 312 version.
An easy way to find out if a particular cast iron part was made in Brazil is to look for the letters SPF forming a circle on the part. If you find it, it’s from Brazil. I believe the letters SPF should be in the same place the CF letters would be on a US part.

By the way, in 1959 the Brazilian Y-Block used a 2bbl Holley with the modern bolt pattern. Which carburetor did the 1959 US y-block use?

Best regards,
Lucas (Lobo)

 

Lobo, I think the carb bolt pattern on 59s was the same here.

 

Thanks for the pictures. I understand that you run alchol or gasohol down their in your engines. Are their any problems with use of it? Were the Y blocks built with hardened valve seats?

 

Sorry for the delay… I’ve had some computer problems, but now I’m back.

46yblock,
Thanks for the reply. If the bolt pattern is the same then I guess they are the same.

57_Ford,
Here in Brazil, I’ve never heard about hardened valve seats for y-blocks.
I don’t know if they had it or not. All I know is that they do very well on alcohol and with our gas.
I have a 272 built around 1960 on a wooden cracker box. Even on the high RPMs the marine application requires, it works very well and never had any problems with valves, valve seats or heads.

Thanks again!
Best regards,
Lucas (Lobo)

 

So it looks like they were using ECZ-G heads on those Y-blocks. Now I'm wondering what transmissions, especially automatic transmissions, they were using behind those engines. Up here, we're paying hundreds to get a bellhousing for a C4 behind a y-block.

Ford did have a C4 bellhousing for Y-blocks here in North America, but it was relatively rare. Used for one or two years.

 

Pcmenten,

The only automatic transmission available on an Y-Block here was the C4. They were used from 1969 up to 1975. But they were only available on cars, and are rare since people in Brazil don’t like automatic cars.
Last time I saw one of those bellhousings for sale was around 250.00, and almost that much for the flywheel and torque converter. That’s why I don’t have a C4 on mine…

Best regards,
Lucas (Lobo)

 

Oh, bless you Lobo 2!!!!!

I have searched for a million years for photos of the V8 60 with the Brazilian hemi heads!

You have made my day!

Thanks a million times over!

 

Lobo, the first link above, www.fbva.com..., shows a very nice, unfamiliar looking motor. What is it? Is it the V8 60 Wildbunch refers too? Even if it is what is it?
Mike

 

Mike I would love for Lucas to give a nice, lengthy data dump on this engine and especially the Brazilian aspects of it.

In the meantime, may I point out:

In 1937, Henry introduced the V8-60 as an economy engine and alternative to the 221 flathead he was offering in cars and trucks. I has a 2.6 x 3.2 bore and stroke, two water pumps, and in short everything you'd be familiar with from a regular V8, except that everything is 2/3rds the size, including the cubic inches: 135.

These engines were only offered for 4 years, from 1937 to 1940, and in 1941 they were replaced by Henry's flathead 6.

In regular cars, the V8 60 was sadly underpowered. But they became quite popular in midget racers and in some boats.

Somewhere along the line, Ford got into a relationship with Simca of France. I am not sure, but I believe that this was after WW2. In smaller European cars, the little V8 60 was just the ticket. If you are a true Ford lover, I'm sure you like the clean lines of the 1949 Ford. If you can imagine a smaller, hardtop coupe version that is about 2/3rds the size, and put in a V8 60, you will get a nice mental picture of this little gem.

Simca had operations in Brazil, and the V8 60 also was used there. Lucas can tell us more about this. However, Simca modified the V8 60 to get about 80 or so horsepower in these years, went to a conventional distributor more like the 49-53 flathead, and also gave it an aluminum conventional bellhousing and cast aluminum oil pan. But it was still that incredibly cute 2/3rds size flathead. Also, they did away with the two block mounted waterpumps, which were similar to the big V8 in Henry's design.

In 1957 or 1958, Chrysler bought into Simca and thus gained control of it from Ford. In Brazil, the V8 60 got hemi overhead valve conversions and was used by Chrysler-Simca, and that's the motor that Lucas has shown us the pictures of.

Note that Ardun, the famous Zora Arkus-Duntov hemi head coversion for the V8, also made coversions for the V8 60. Speedway Bill, in his Lincoln Nebraska museum has one of these. These differ from the regular V8 conversion, in that the exhaust is worked from a pushrod and intermediate rocker pivoting on the intake rocker shaft. Evidently, Duntov found the exhaust valve pushrod inclination to be too severe and went to this setup on the V8 60 version. I would be curious to see how much Chrysler Simca followed the Ardun pattern for their Emisul hemi conversion of the V8 60, including the intermediate rocker and pushrod arrangement for the exhaust.

The reason for this is that some people say that Chrysler used the Ardun head as a pattern for their famous early hemi of 1951. If Chrysler-Simca engineers used a design that is very similar to Duntov's V8 60 Ardun conversion head, I would be pretty confident in thinking that the engineers went to a well that had produced good water once before for their design.

When it comes to appearance, I think a dressed out V8 60 is about the most appealing engine to my eyes. Offenhauser still offers their aluminum heads for them (17 studs) and there is also sill a 2 carb manifold, along with a crank snout water pump arrangement that Speedway offers. This was a popular setup for midgets.

Incidentally, you might be interested to note that the V8 60 really never ran with Offys until Vic Edelbrock set one up on the West Coast tracks. The car was driven by none other than that old Indy dinosaur pilot, Rodger Ward, and was his ticket to his winning Indy rides with Leader Card. It is said that Edelbrock was able to make the sidevalve v8 60 run with 91 inch Offys by the use of "pop," or nitromethane added to the fuel, a technique that Edelbrock was one of the early masters of.

Lucas, if you can fill us in with more V8 60 stuff, it would be greatly appreciated. I sure would like to get ahold of one of those hemi V8 60s!

 

Wild bunch, thanks a lot for the run down. I forwarded the info, condensed, to a 42-47 truck group I belong to. Gave you the credits too. Looking at the hemi V8-60 again, it is one nice motor. I just have to wonder what the power potential was out of it. Did it still have the three main bearings like the Ford flatheads, and if so would that be a problem? Maybe not if the crank is 1/3 smaller.
Lobo, if you are out there, have you ever seen a hemi V8-60? How long was it produced?
Mike