I just bought an engine today without the heads and intake that I was told was a 292. Now that I've got it home and have done some checking I can't find anything that verifies this. The only id on the block is above the oil filter and it says B5AE. There is no markings by the distributor or generator. I did see the heads that he said came with the block and it had ECG-D which would be a 55 272.

The bore mics out to 3.75 which would be 292 and the pistons say STD. The mains are -.020 and mic out to the same as a 239-292. One web site I found id the back of the crank. From looking at that if that's correct it shows the crank to be a 3.10 stroke.

I'm not sure what I have.

I was trying to update my tired 272 with something a little better. Not sure if I'm going in the right direction.

 

That is one of those blocks that doesnt show up on the tech site. It is a 55 256/272 truck block. The same casting was used for both sizes. The 256 was the engine used in HD trucks and the 272 became available in trucks mid 55. I recently pulled a B5AE 256 out of a friends F600.

Boring to 292 std was a common practice as those pistons often were available cheaper. Today any 292 size is cheaper than other sizes.

Retaining the 239/256 crank makes me think it may have been in a race car as that combo just got it into the under 276 cube class and it was also known as a high revving Chevy eater at the time.
In any case it can become a 292 by changing the crank.

 

I'd keep it! Sounds like a neat set up.

Bigwin

 

286 Merc you know what I'm going to say, but for the rest here's what I found so far.

Anyway I talked to a guy today that kind of said what you did. He had said it was a engine that wasn't installed at the factory as he has seen this casting #.

My concern was what crank do I have in here, or how can I tell. He didn't think that the 239 or 256 crank would fit with the 292 pistons. So he thought it would be a 292.

The block is green, not that means anything. The mains are -.020 and I haven't checked the rods. You can still see the cross hatch on the cylinder walls and there is no ridge at the top of the cylinder. The bearings and cam and lifters, what I can see of them look real good.

If it has the right crank it should be a good engine. I didn't pay to much for it, but was minus the heads and intake. The guy I bought it from said it came out of a truck.

The whole thing looks to be used very little. I only have to find out about the crank. If it's a 292 crank I'll be happy. If not then I may have to find one or just keep this, as it would be around 274 from my figures. Is there any way to tell while the cranks in the case or does it have to come out?

I'm hoping this will be a better replacement for my 272. Thanks

 

Is there a casting # on the crank that would tell me what it is, or do I have to pull the crank and somehow measure the throw?

How would you go about measuring the throw? Thanks

 

http://www.ford-y-block.com/crankshaftid.htm

The crank casting ID is right where it is drilled for balancing.
The above link is mostly correct, there are 312 cranks with 292 markings; most feel those are replacements.

And as far as various strokes, rods and pistons they are all interchangable to a degree. Common practice was to either mill the top of the piston or zero deck the block. It has been ages since I was into stock car racing so forget all the details.

 

I saw that page and looked at both my 272 and this engine. They both are the same.

I was thinking that I should be able to measure the piston travel and that would tell me the stroke. Won't tell me the type of crank I have, but atleast I would know if it was a true 292.

What do you think?

Also which heads would you use? I have the ECG-H heads off the 272 and I could get the ECG-D heads from the 292 engine. The ECG-D heads have the freeze plug in the end and the -H heads don't. Not sure if that makes any difference.

Both have the same valves, but according to the data the -D heads are lower compression. Later.

 

If you have the 272 crank, and want to stroke it, there's a cherry 292 forged steel truck crank turned .010 / .010 on ebay. There is 1 day and 7 hrs. left for bid. There are currently 9 bids, and price is now at $250. I'm trying to find a 312 crank and rods for my 292. Anyone know who might have one?
good luck with your project...........freezeplug

 

I think a few folks are confused here. The 272 and 292 have the same stroke so the block doesnt care what it came out of. The only difference with the cast crank is the oil slinger didnt show until 56.
There are only 3 strokes available as stock in a Y: 3.1, 3.3 and 3.44. The 239/256 had 3.1; 272/292 the 3.3 and the 312 had the 3.44.

I'd go with the -H heads; they are a fairly hot setup especially with a 292 bore. The D heads are low performance 272.

 

I ran into a guy yesterday at the automotive recycling yard that knew about my engine.

Turns out there's a place here in Minn called Gopher Rebuilding that did Y blocks. They would take the block and bore it out to what ever was needed at the time. They painted all their blocks green(that's where mine came from). That would be why I have -.020 mains and the rods are all marked. No idea what kind of block it would be.

I bought some ECZ-G heads from him. They were in tough shape, but the price was right. I'm getting them apart now. He also has a ECZ-9425-B manifold off his 57 T bird I will get when the time comes.

For anybody that is interested he has a 312 crank that I saw. Not sure what he wants, but know he would like to get rid of it.

 

There is also a place west of the Twin Cities that does cam grinding. I'm going to call today and see what they can do for the y block.

 

I hope to pull the block apart this weekend, after I get the heads apart.

So should I look for an oil slinger on the crank? Would it make any difference if it didn't have it?

 

True Blue,
Sounds like you're getting together a stout y-block! I'm interested in the 312 crankshaft. Ask him how much he wants for it, and email me at "dooron@saber.net" if his ask is reasonable I'll send him a money order to cover crank + shipping.
regards...........freezeplug.

 

I called the cam place yesterday and they are going to do my cam and lifters for about $123. They have all kinds of grinds, but will do a nice all round one for me.

 

Post the phone # for the place thats doing the regrind. Please! I'd like to get one done too.
Thanks,
Bigwin