I'll keep that in mind. Also, I may sell or trade just the engine and still have the tranny to get rid of.

Later Man...

 

Yep it makes sense. Engine must have been painted yellow cause I saw hints of yellow butthis is what it says.

EDB 6015 E = 292 cu. in. Y8 1958 - 1959 Cars and Trucks to April 1959 / 312 Y8 in Mercury

So that engine is of the 292 - 312 part of the Y block family. Only way to really tell is to check the crank flange or main caps to see if its a 292 or 312 cause they were basically the same just bigger journals and larger stroke.

And that explains why it doesnt say Tbird on it cause in 58-59 the FE motors came out and the Yblock 292 & 312 was removed from the Tbird and the FE motors used so they lost the Thunderbird decals.

~Update~

On the crankshafts the 272 & 292 used the EC crankshaft with a 3.30" stroke while the 312 used the ECZ crankshaft with a 3.44" stroke

 

I can make out Ford on the valve cover so if Mercury used their name on theirs then this is probably a 292 I am guessing.

Thanks Man, I really appreciate your help. Back to the shop now...

 

Three bolt carb, road draft ventilation, freeze plug in the end of the heads; the top-end doesn't seem to match the bottom end. The block is a 292.

Do you know where to find the head casting numbers?

I bought a '292' out of a 58 F-100 that turned out to be a 312, so swaps do happen. That's a farm truck and those farmers were pretty resourceful about engines. Oddly, to make that engine fit that chassis would have required finding the right bellhousing, front timing cover, oil pan, and front motor mount hardware. Someone was working hard to make that lashup work right; the original engine for a 53 would have been a 215 OHV 6 or the flathead 239.

 

The original po was a old man that took care of his stuff. He was very particular and if he would not have sold it to Bill P........it would run the Daytona track at full speed....LOL
The 292 may run without too much,Dave.....my 223 from the Bill P started up no problem.
I drove it to the mall......getting ready for heading to the ''ranch'' and Knoxville.....so must get some cool shorts and shirts.
I came out and about 4 skate boarders were very intuitive,and could not figure it out. They thought it was from old navy.....haha
If it runs good and I may be interested.......not sure yet......good luck/Bill

 

H Paul,
No I don't know where the head casting numbers are.

Actually it wasn't a farm truck. Its an odd story. the guy did some kind of hauling work for the military out of a high security base in New Mexico. The farm license was hung on it later when he came back to Ohio because they used to be cheap. The thing still has the base pass stickers on it. I looked the place up and it's still used for high security stuff. There was some story about moving some kind of turbines. the springs in the back and the frame are beefed up. they had some kind of hitch on it and the old style '50s vintage semi trailer electrical receptical is still on it.

The block below the heads has yellow paint on it but the top end was painted red. I guess they just painted what was easy to get to. BTW, it originally had the flathead V-8. They plugged off two ports on the radiator for the Y-block. The work they did actually looks pretty professional including wiring modifications. The story was that the old flathead just wasn't enough to do the job. The guy that did all that was the original owner and had it until about ten years ago and it had sat in has yard until the city was going to tow it away.

I guess it's either a 292 0r a 312. hey, what's the point gap on that thing?

Later Man...

 

Hi Bill,
It's trying to fire off but there is a lot of blow back through the intake so I'm guessing the valves have a lot of stuff sticking to them. The carb is a total basket case. I am going to have to take it apart and get it working. It took all aftrnoon yesterday to get the starter bendix gear freed up and working. I would never try to use this thing without tearing it down. I might offer a rebuild with it on order but I won't put time and money in it otherwise. I just want to see if it will run, otherwise it's not worth a lot to sell or trade. Obviously it can't be friven with no brakes and a loose rear axel that comes out. If it runs I will get it on video. The plugs were surprisingly clean. I would say it would be wise to put all new soft plugs in it at the very least.

Later Man...

 

OK, Here goes...
I got it running but not really good. Unfortunately I busted the bendix gear on the starter and I'm not going to spend the money on another one. So, I will just have to try and sell it as is. It needs a carb or a trebuild kit for it. I wouldn't use it as is. I would at the very least put new soft plugs in it. If you have read this thread thru you will know that it is a '58 or '59 engine and either a 292 or a 312. If was building a truck I would do a rebuild with a minimum of bearings, rings and a full gasket and seal set. As grimey as it is, I would venture to say that there are a lot of leaking gaskets. I have no idea what the clutch is like but I would inspect it and probably at least a new clutch plate and throwout bearing. I think ther tranny would be OK as is.

I will clean it up by degreasing and pressure washing. Then I'll take pictures and puit the stuff up for sale or trade.

OK, time to move on and strip the rest of this thing and get rid of the junk.

Later Folks...

 

Top end could hve been changed but the thing is its hard to tell with some heads cause some heads have overlap on what they were used on (most 292 and 312 heads were the same casting number). But it is possible they have been swaped out. I thought the intake manifold on my 56 was orignal but its from 160 it was replaced along with the passengersde exhaust manifold. But I found the orignal manifold and 4V carb as well as exhaust manifold in the shed. So swaps are going to happen but the block in my book is the best to look at when trying to determin the size of the engine.

If anyone is interested in buying this I will list the approximate weights below if someone wants to freight this engine that is being offered.

Bare Block = 155 Lbs
Long Block = 535 Lbs
Complete Engine = 610 Lbs
Cylinder Head Bare = 49 Lbs
Cylinder Head Complete = 56 Lbs
Crankshaft = 55 Lbs
Timing Cover = 16 Lbs
Flywheel = 31 Lbs
Inake Manifold = 31 Lbs

On the tune up specifications on the engnethis is what they should be.

Firing Order = 1-5-4-8-6-3-7-2
Distributor Rotation = Counter Clockwise
Valve Lash with Stock Cam = 0.018" - 0.019" Hot
Ignition Timing Factory = 3* BTDC Manual Transmission / 6* BTDC for Automatic / Most run best @ 8 - 10 * BTDC
Point Gap = 0.014" - 0.016" (I would recomend 0.015" since is between the two)
Point Dwell = 26* - 28*
Engine idle speed stock cam = 475 - 500 RPM


So if anyone is interested in getting the engine this information should help anyone that does.

 

Dave, Sounds like it was used at Groom Lake.

Here's a link for cylinder head ID;

John Mummert's web site

I'm guessing the head casting numbers are going to be under the exhaust manifold.

 

Pcmenten they will be.

The head casting number should be located between the cylinder # 3 & 4 exhaust ports on the passengrside or the cylinder # 7 & 8 exhaust ports on the driverside.

Now if they are not between those two exhaust ports look at the front some cylinder heads were installed backwards like mine (there are no cylinder head core plugs in the front but mummerts site said all Yblocks head core plugs in the heads). Also look on the underside of the intake manifold to head intake ports In the front one of them should have 6090 cast in it. Mine does but dont worry about that if thats the only number you can find. Odds are you will have to pull the valve cover and see if theres a number under the rocker arm cover. Mine has only one number on the head and its a date code I think but its situated exactly between the exhaust manifold ports on the passengerside directly between the # 3 and 4 cylinder exhaust ports.