Howdy,

I've got a 292 in a '61 Mercury (or so I believe). I
identified it as much many years ago (I got the car in
college 25 years ago). However, it doesn't have the
cross-over between exhaust headers that someone
else mentioned in this forum. So:

1) what do I look for to positively identify it as a 292?
the exhaust ports are in-line, and the two center ones
are close together. it has two bolts in the top of the valve
covers.

2) what is the problem with not having a cross-over?

3) I'm starting it up after my folks let it sit for about 7 yrs.
I put 1oz Marvel Mystery Oil in each cylinder (pulled and
replaced the plugs) in order to lube the cylinder and rings,
changed the oil and filter, cleaned the fuel filters and will
blow out the gas line and use fresh gas in the tank. Anything
else absolutely necessary to get her started do you think?

4) she has a 2bbl carb i've rebuilt once before. should I
look for a different intake manifold and carb (like a 4bbl)
or is changing these not likely to improve the motor
performance at all. i've refitted a dual exhaust (previous
owner had put on a single)

thanks for any help to a "car" enthusiast..

cheers,
Stefan

 

The crossover was used for single exhaust systems. It goes across the front of the engine. It is most common on trucks but it was use on some of the earlier engines. Yours may have duals or a Y pipe, behind the engine, that joins both sides into one pipe (single exhaust).
The exhaust bolt holes should be in line. Have you been to www.ford-y-block.com? There is a lot of helpful information there. The easiest way to determine wether it is a y-block is to find casting numbers because the lincolns and fords are very similar looking but are not the same at all.

 

In 61 the 292 was the entry level V8 engine in US car models and it only came with a 2bbl and single exhaust.
A 352 was the more popular choice and a 390 was also an option; those two are FE engines.
Now OTOH if you mean a Canadian truck I cant help you there.

Easiest way to tell is if the distributor is in the back it is some version of a Y block. The FE and later SBF are all up front.

 

Oh, and yes a 4bbl intake will improve performance. You want the '57 and up ECZ-9425-B manifold. It will use the modern holley bolt pattern carbs. It is on ebay fairly often, $75-$125. Just don't use a huge carb for a stock 292. 500 to 600cfm should be all you need. There is a new Blue Thunder aluminum intake that is pretty much a modified copy of the ECZ-B manifold but this is probably too much for your engine. It is available from the website I mentioned above. I am assuming that your engine is stock. If it is modified a big carb and the Blue Thunder manifold may help. What kind of exhaust do you have? Headers will help improve performance too.

 

Are there any headers that will fit without having to modify
the suspension/chassis? I'm pretty sure that my manifolds
are stock. I put the dual exhaust in about 15 years ago - the
original exhaust got very, very hot and the manifolds cracked
at the front bolt where they mount.

I'm over there today to fix the ignition switch and blow out the
fuel lines. I'll write down the numbers on the top of the manifold
(I saw some behind the carb).

The distributor is at the back.

thanks much,
Stefan

 

I think that Reds Headers will have something that will fit. Sanderson Headers makes some for y-blocks too but they are for trucks. If your car mounts the engine at the front of the frame rather than the sides the truck headers may work as well. I believe that most cars mount to the sides of the engine but some had front mounts. The site I mentioned above (ford-y-block) has some header info too. Of course if you can't find something that will work you can always have them custom built for your car.

 

Stefan, since this is a truck forum Im wondering what you have there. It would also help to include your location in the profile window in the message.
We have several Canadian members so a Merc could be a car or truck.

I wouldnt spend the money for headers on a stock engine, the 56 and later factory type dual manifolds do a very good job. Sanderson made Y Block headers for cars and trucks, including fenderwell type and Reds keeps expanding his line but unless you have the cam and induction to get some serious RPM you wont notice any improvement.

Spend the money on a Petronix or similar module for the distributor. You can then upgrade the 2bbl carb to one off an FE 352 or 390 engine for a noticable boost. Going to a 4bbl intake and carb of course is a help but I get the feeling that you dont want to get in too deep for starters.
Most of us here are more into the DIY way of doing things anyway so ask away with any questions.

 

Thanks Carl..

I have a car (a '61 mercury meteor) and I posted in this forum
because it had a dedicated forum for Y-blocks and I've found
very few others out there. I figured car and truck applications
for the motor would differ very little (difference being more in
the transmission/differential).

Anyway, my VIN is 1W52W5558** which indicates that the
motor provided with the car was a 292. I'm pretty sure its the
stock motor - mounts are to the sides.

You read between my lines correctly. At some point, if I keep the
car and am gainfully employed again (victim of the dot bomb
collapse) I'll probably undertake a fairly complete mechanical
restoration. At that point I would give some thought to
rebuilding the motor in my garage with some mild improvements
(forged crank and over-bored pistons, maybe hydraulic valves
and a better carb, intake, and headers).

I'm not an adrenaline junkie anymore so I care more that it
runs very smoothly and has good power.

I take it that Petronix is a brand of electronic ignition?

cheers,
Stefan

ps. I checked my fuel pump today (and replaced some rubber
lines in prep for the startup) and found that it had what looked
like a sintered bronze filter in a glass bowl. Very damn cool.

 

Vis a vis intake manifolds and carbs.

According to my Chilton's pictures I have a Ford 2bbl on the
motor (I found a symbol that looks like a 101 on the driver's
side of the carb).

I found what looks like these characters on top of the rear
center riser on the intake manifold. In this order

8

G0AE-8426-1

1E19

Can anyone tell me if these make sense in some text. It was
quite hard to distinguish some of these letters/numbers.

cheers, S.

 

I kind of figured were you were coming from Stefan, certainly not one of the gold chainer checkbook crowd.

OK here are a few things to save you money.

1. You dont need a forged crank for a street engine, they also weigh more than the cast crank plus require matching rods and by the time you get thru with zero decking the block you blew your budget. Im using one in my 54 F350 since it gets heavy use as a work truck plus the price was right. As a NE Yankee that means free! The 292's I build for customers all use cast cranks.

2. There are no hydraulic lifters for a Y, except for the stock solids the only other choices are a roller cam which you dont need.

3. That intake is C0AE which means it was a 1960 design casting; just a stock setup that came with your Merc. The 8426 is a generic # for a Fomoco intake.

4. Petronix is a module that replaces the points and mounts under the distributor cap. Does wonders for starting and performance.

5. Take it easy on the hp mods, that Fordomatic based tranny isnt very forgiving of a lot of torque. (Im assuming its an automatic) Several have used a Cruiseomatic and modified with FMX parts. There are also shift kits available for the FMX. Another option is using a C4 with an adapter kit.

6. If you want to upgrade to an alternator it doesnt get any easier than this
http://www.ranchwagon.com/tech/alt/alt.htm
I cleaned the looks up by just using the threaded rod to mock it up and then used a Grade 5 bolt and spacers cut to fit. Looks factory stock; tucked under most havent a clue its a GM.

7. For ease of operation its hard to beat the B version 4bbl intake which allows the modern Holley, Edelbrock (Carter AFB), or Autolite. For pure looks nothing beats 3 94's on an Edelbrock 573 intake; thats what I use.

The stock plug wiring that tucks down behind the block is prone to failures. I run new wires thru aftermarket looms adapted to intake bolts. Im also a big fan of NGK plugs for longevity and consistency.

Let us know when you get that beast running.

 

Hi Carl,

thanks for the great advice. I've built and repaired quite a few
motorcycle motors but never done an American V8. I'm quite
looking forward to it - the other end of the spectrum in size
to my bike motors!

I've already replaced the plug wires and re-run the looms as
you suggested - I thought the original routing was just baaaad.
Put in NGK plugs last week - I've always preferred them in bikes
and figured their car plugs were probably just as good.

Reading between the lines, the stock alternator is marginal and
you recommend a replacement? I've also got AC that I want to
get running properly - the system worked great about 8 years
ago - you could freeze an ice cream cone in front of it. Now??
Who knows.. low priority.

I take your point on bumping hp. I'll probably just restrict my
mods to intake/carb/headers - if you think I'll have any benefit
from that without internal mods? Where can I find this B version
4bbl intake? Would you have a part number so I can search for
it in the vintage yards? I presume it's a cast-iron intake. If I
can't find it easily, is there a aluminum Offy or Edelbrock intake
that works well that I can fit a 4bbl Holley on? I'm afraid that
running three carbs (I presume that is the reference to 3 94s in
your post) would probably bust my initial budget.

I'm going to make another stab at getting it started tomorrow. I'm running fuel into the pump from a 5 gallon container until I'm
sure the gas tank/line is good. I'm using a remote starter switch because I seem to have some problem in the ignition system between the ignition switch and starter solenoid (motor will crank
when I short the solenoid and the switch will operate everything but the starter). Replaced the switch but I still have the same problem - I suspect the solenoid but it's a relatively new one so it'll take some detective work with my multi-tester.

thanks for all the advice,
S.

 

Coupla things Stefan, Im flying low today so excuse the short reply.

The Ford intake is ECZ 9425-B, produced from 57 and later and is cast iron but tests show it flows very well. They run in the $50-75 range at swap meets and a bit more on E-Pay.
I may be wrong but I dont believe there were any aftermarket single 4 bbl intakes in the past.
The current Blue Thunder is seriously overpriced at $395 for the casual user.

As far as using multiple 94's that is not expensive if you look around a bit. I buy 94's at just about every swap in the $5-10 range. An Edelbrock 573 is in the $125-150 range for a nice one.

I didnt know you had an alternator, that was a option I guess back then as most still ran a genny.
The link I listed allows a higher current 1 wire GM so if you plan on any power options or a boom box amp that will help.

Gotta run, holler at you tomorrow.

 

Hey.. got her started today (however briefly) by wiring up a remote starter switch I had in the toolbox and just pouring some
gas down the carb.

The fuel pump doesn't appear to be drawing fuel from the fuel tank though I put in three gallons of fuel and blew the line clear
(back from fuel pump to tank). I suspect that this is because the
initial priming needs a gravity feed from the tank and the front
of the car is up on jacks and probably 1-2 ft higher than the rear
end right now. Does this sound right?

I'm going to check tomorrow that the fuel pump is drawing a vaccuum on the intake line while cranking the motor.

The wiring from the ignition to the starter relay (on the LF fenderwell) appears to be bad. It doesn't show any voltage when
I turn the ignition to starter and I've tried using a brand new
ignition switch.

When she did run (about 3-4 seconds) she sounded as smooth
as I remembered (about 128k on the odometer).

cheers,
Stefan

 

Ok!! I got a ECZ 9425-B with 4bbl carb and air cleaner on EBay
for $49! Too cool. I've always wanted a 4bbl on this car. This
is probably the limit of my updates (other than an electronic ignition) until I'm employed again but I'm excited to install it.

Anyway, I've found the gas tank is leaking! Small holes - rust
no doubt. I doubt that it can be successfully patched (must be
a lot of rust - haven't pulled it yet).

Is there a good replacement available anywhere or do I have
to scavenge for salvage? What if I just used a fuel cell? I know
it's not pretty but it would work well. :> Of course, I haven't
figured in the cost yet. If I can get this repaired locally, I'll do it.
I know some good welders. Can one TIG weld it if it is filled with
water?

cheers,
Stefan