i read an earlier post from someone looking for a performance y-block shop.it kind of peaked my curiosity.exactly how much power can you squeez out of a y-block engine.please forgive me for saying it, but i`ve been kicking around the idea of putting in a big block,for a few extra ponies. but if i could get more power from my 292 without breaking the bank,i would rather keep it.who here has the meanest y-block,and how many h.p. are you making...............wayne

 

If you go to http://www.ford-y-block.com/GG330.htm there is a dyno test on a highly modified Y, which hits something like 400 hp. But there aren't a lot of folks who can afford that kind of HP. There are several around here that should be in the 300-325 HP range.
Personally I think a good and fairly easily achievable objective for a performance Y in a truck would be in the 250 to 275 HP range.

 

Yes, 250-275 is attainable and reliable but not necessarily in a truck.
If the engine is built to haul a truck that is used as a truck then the cam choice will limit you. Even big heads show no real boost at low truck rpms.

I figure that my 60 over 292 is good for 220-240 tops but that is in a working F350. I could get more if I went with a Blue Thunder intake and a big Holley but it wasnt the look I wanted. So I went with three 2bbls on an old Edelbrock 573.

Big Block? Lots of power potential but real hard to get it down the road. Ive done a couple of 460 swaps but this is the wrong forum.

 

sorry 286,i`ll probably never part with my old y-block.besides,i`ve already invested a small fortune into rebuilding it.but i sure wouldn`t mind squeezing a few more horses out of it.what would you consider to be the easiest and most cost effective power upgrades?.......wayne

 

You could put dual exhaust on. getting rid of the cross over pipe will give you some hp and you wouldn't need to worry about that heat riser any more.

 

Wayne, start off with detailing what has been done sofar and what bolt-ons do you have?

 

my engine has been rebuilt to stock specks.all i had to do is vat the block and hone the cylinders.the heads were also reworked.every thing in the engine is stock size and new.as far as bolt ons,i don`t have any yet.i`m about to upgrade to the petronix ignition.i ran a new single 2 1/2 '' exhaust with a two stage flowmaster.i wanted duals,but the exhaust guy said i couldn`t because of the three speed linkage.i would love to put in an auto tranny,but have had trouble locating one from a y-block truck.i also put on a new , stock type carb.what would be my next best step, after the petronix upgrade ....................wayne

 

I'd say with winter kicking in, it's a good time to get the engine all dolled up for spring. Try to locate some ECZ-G or 113 heads. These have larger (MUCH larger) ports and the valves are larger. These, with a 4bbl (or an even kooler 2-4 setup) would be a good boost!

Also, I have to believe that as simple as these trucks are, there should be room for a true dual exhaust!

 

With the motor all rebuilt and sealed up, I think the thing to do for a little performance would be the dual exhaust. Headers are supposed to be available for Y era trucks. Also Rams Horn exhausts show up every now and then on e-bay. Using stock crossover manifolds you can cap the front of the passenger side and dump it rearward, while taking the driver side out front and down under, or as in my case curve it left and through the inner fender.

 

if i can locate a set of ecz-g or ii3 heads,what kind of gains could i expect to see.also,how much should i expect to pay? what year trucks , cars carried those heads?i like the look of the rams horn exhaust . would my trans. linkage get in the way?i would like to run equal length exhausts if possible.i`ve always heard it`s better to do it that way.but i would settle for anything to have duals.do you have any pictures of where you ran through the inner fender.........wayne

 

Like 286 Merc said above, the big valve heads will give you more HP, matched with a 4 barrel, but much of the gain would be at higher RPMs. So lets say you found a good set of used heads for $150-$300. Had them rebuilt for $500 (a guess). Bought a model B cast iron intake for four barrel carb, $100. And then went with a new Edelbrock 500 CFM carb for $225. And of course none of this would make any sense without a dual exhaust setup of some sort, estimating a cost of $400.
So about $1400.00 later you have more horsepower, but are you going to be likely to use it?
My truck is a 46 1/2 ton, so the picture wouldn't be much help, except to illustrate that if you want duals bad enough there is a way to do it. There were so many clearance problems that even the Rams Horn wouldn't clear on the driver side.

 

Start your consideration from this point: in 1972, Popular Hot Rodding did a 57 312 build and got 258 horsepower @ 5500 rpm on the dyno.

the details of the article are scanty, but consider that this would be a stock rebuild using ECZ-G heads, a 3x2 setup with Stromberg 97s, headers, and an Engle cam. this was cruder tech than now, but if you are doing a street build, you should be about the same. To get the same power with a 292, you would need to increase the rpm by the same amount that your engine is smaller than the 322" example (.060 over 312)

 

Contact Thunderbolt Engines in Houston and ask for Gary or Mike. Tell them what you want to achieve and go from there.

Long block for my street machine was 2100. 292 block, 312 crank, G heads, 1.54 rockers, dual roller timing chain and gears, dynamic balance, special cam grind. Added Blue Thunder, Edelbrock 600 Performer and red's 2 tube headers. No dyno and have not run thru lights yet, but definately not the same as before. Guesstimate 325 HP.

 

Guesstimate 325 HP.

Id say more like 280-290 unless those heads saw some serious porting and you got the cr to 10 or more. Getting a Y to 1 hp per inch for the street is nowhere as easy as a SBC.
Now if those new aluminum heads ever come out thats a different story.

 

It doesn't sound to me like those aluminum heads are ever going to make it to market. If they do who could afford them for $3,000, and I heard that was going to be the price of a set without any hardware. They would become some of the rarest aftermarket performance items.