The 64 292 in a f100 is rated at 135 gross hp. Some 292s were rated at 200+ hp.


Other than compression, whats the difference?

 

Intake, cam, heads (compression and flow), dual exhaust.
When made as equal as possible, an truck engine should have a slight edge on the factory 200ish hp car engines because the rams horns or headers required for dual exhaust are better than the car manifolds. Of course, throw a pair of headers on the car and the playing field is level again.

 

Unless you turn the trunk into a hot tub or stuff 6 defensive linemen in the car, the playing field will never be level.


I want more performance out of my 292, but Im not sure that I want to make the investment that I would have to make to do it. My COM is doing ok, but its due a rebuild/replace in the near future.


Dollar for dollar, Im better off with 5.0/AOD, but the look and sound of the 292 is worth something as well.

 

Dual exhaust should provide the biggest gain.

It is a fairly big investment but when all of that is done, the entire top end will be like new. Since the engine has to come apart for the cam, the bottom end can also be assessed. Even if the bottom end doesn't need any work, since it is down so far, you can zero the deck for a hair more compression than the 200 horse engines had. When it is all back together, you know what you have. There is value in that, as well, which you probably won't get with a used 5.0. Will you know how long the AOD will last?
Swapping the engine/trans may come out a little cheaper but you don't get the same thing. Make sure to use a roller cam motor if you do swap. Otherwise, you probably won't be changing much in the power department. Of course, roller cam will be fuel injected which means you have to convert to carb or adapt the truck to fuel injection, which adds to the cost of the swap.

 

If I ever did the 5.0/AOD I would use a roller 5.0 with a carb, mechanical fuel pump and buy a reman AOD with a constant pressure valve body.


That would run me @ 3-5k depending on the cost of the engine.

 

How much will a rebuild of the com cost?
I don't see the engine work to achieve your goal with the Y costing much over $2500, assuming the bottom end is in good condition. It can be significantly less if you find used headers or a set of recently rebuilt high compression heads for a good deal but that's not likely. If you already have a 4 barrel carb, that will save some but because a carb is required in either case, this really shouldn't factor into a comparison. And the current 2 barrel intake is not bad, either and may work just fine for you.
3-5k for 5.0 and aod seems high in comparison. Unless the com is ridiculously expensive to rebuild, I just don't see where the savings are.

 

1961/64: 3rd line of the Warranty Plate: CERT NET HP = 135

1961/64 F100/700 with 292 2V: 160 gross HP

No 292 2V or 4V installed in a truck was rated at 200 gross HP .. Some 292 Passenger Cars only were rated at 200 (and etc) gross HP

Scroll down to see 1952/59 Ford Passenger Car gross HP ratings:

 

Thanks, ND. According to the chart, the highest rated 292 is a 2v, so your current 2 barrel intake should work just fine. That right there takes off about $500 for the intake and carb. The 4v intake would help even more, though.

 

If using a Ford Y block V8 Passenger Car intake manifold, make sure it's from a 1957 and etc.

1955/56 Y blocks used the awful Holley "teapot" carb, which has a different bolt pattern than the 1957 and later Holley 4V

1955 Y block Passenger Cars: The auto choke is mounted on the intake manifold!

 

For the type and amount of driving I do, its probably not worth doing a engine/tranny swap.


I need to install my new fuel pump and filter since there isn't a fuel filter anywhere in the fuel system now. After I clean any junk out of the carb, Im hoping the truck has more power, right now it seems pretty low.


I haven't heard many good reports on headers in this application, I think its better money spent to go with ram horns. My local muff shop owes me an install so the duals will cost nothing.


I don't want to start down one road, spend a bunch of money, then change gears. I need to be all in or all out on the 292.

 

I misread the hp numbers. I was reading 135 gross, that seemed pretty low.


How much should I pay for a set of ECZ-G bare heads that need rebuilding? I have run across several sets and the prices seem all over the place.

 

Charlie, is ther any value to installing larger valves in the heads on my 64?


Is there enough room to install a 1.9 in 302 Windsor valve for the intake and move the 1.64 in intake valve to the exhaust side?


The Windsor valve is a bit shorter at 5.075 in vs 5.090 in.

 

I have Red's stubby headers and they work fine. Sanderson have a similar set that should work. It's the Patriot/Speedway motors headers that have had the problems as far as I'm aware. In the exhaust dyno test, the Sanderson headers did better than original rams horns.
Exhaust test to end all tests?

A set of G or 113 heads should be in the ballpark of $300.00. If you have any salvage yards with older vehicles, you might find some for a very reasonable price. 113 heads are the second highest compression but they also flow slightly better than the Gs and should work well.

There is not much value in fitting larger valves to your current heads. The 1.9" windsor valve probably won't work because of the plug location. Same for relocating the intake valve to the exhaust side but the exhaust valve really does not need to be bigger. In the cylinder head testing, bigger valves did not necessarily equal more power. The total cost to rebuild will be about the same as large valve heads and after all of this, you still have low compression heads.
In the following link, you will see where 2 pair of C0AE heads were tested, one set stock, the other w/larger valves and higher compression. The stock head made more power
Cylinder head comparison on the 312

And, you didn't ask, but I don't think anyone regrinds the factory '57 cam. Pick something in the 2-Teens @.050" and that should be a pretty good all around street cam. That is a generalization, of course. It's best to contact your favorite cam grinder, tell them your goal and desires about driveability, sound, and take what is offered. Mummert has a few options that should work well with the auto. The Isky E-4 is a good one. Some people like to custom order the E-4 with wider lobe centers, 110 or 112 which tends to flatten out and broaden the torque curve which makes it real nice for the street with an auto.

 

On the subject of the cam, there is a discussion about that right now on y-blocksforever. John Mummert has actually checked the specs of factory cams and a member has posted a picture of a chart showing those specs. So, if you desire to have a cam as close to the '57 spec as possible, it's great info. I think that chart is from an article in Y-block Magazine so you could pick up that copy or maybe just ask Mummert about the article if you want more info.

Note that the F code cam is also listed because it is a '57 cam. Some think that was also used in the 285hp E codes. That's what I have. It's a good cam but it does have a slight lope to it and probably won't work well with an automatic and stock converter. So that one might not fit your goals but the other '57 cam should be great.

Stock cam lift

And here's the picture, if you don't want to read through the thread. Save it to your computer then you can rotate and zoom to read it more easily.

 

I had a COM rebuilt about 2 years ago for about $1500. Based on others I've talked with, that's in the ballpark or a tad higher than average. At the time, the COM was working fine, just getting up to about 80k miles and I didn't trust it anymore.

I put Reds headers (long) on my F-100 and converted to dual exhaust a few months back. Sounds better than it did, but I didn't notice much of a performance gain. If I were to do it again, I'd go with the rams horns--nice period look and easier to work around.

~Steve