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From the Don Brunn book titled "Ford F-Series Pickup Trucks," and the appendix on decoding VINs, I have determined that my '56 F-100 was built in Richmond, California and it was originally fitted with the six cylinder engine. The engine however is a Y-Block V8. An earlier post response directed me to a Ford technical information web page on Y-Block casting numbers. On looking at the casting numbers on my engine, I determined it to be either a 292 or a 312 engine, cast at a Cleveland foundry in 1956. The Brunn book on pickups indicates that '56 F-100s were fitted with 272 Y-Block V8s. Were the 292 and 312 engines only used in car models for '56? Would this mean that the transplant my truck received was from a Crown Victoria, a Fairlane, or a Thunderbird car? Is there any way to know?
My dipstick is at the front of the right bank by the generator. The oil pan drain plug is at the back end of the engine where the pan is wider and deeper. (Does this mean 'rear sump?' Were pickup engines fitted with forward sumps? I think the flathead V8 in a '51 I had owned had a forward sump.) It appears to have originally had the manifold crossover pipe that went over the water pump (now has dual exhaust with custom, curved pipe connecting to the left bank manifold and left side exhaust). Valve covers are chrome with no logos. The engine had a road vent tube with a canister and a filter screen. This was forward on the left bank, right by the fuel pump. This had been plugged by a previous owner. On removing the plug, oil spray coated the exhaust and made such a cloud of smoke I thought an EPA posse would be coming after me. (Blew out a quart in 40 miles.) I have since fitted a home made blanking plate and I drilled the valve covers to fit modern PCV valve with lines going to the back of the carburetor. Blow by oil spray problem is resolved. No leaks and no substantial oil consumption.
So far the new engine parts I have added (water pump, fuel pump, starter, radiator, temperature sender) have fit by ordering parts for a 292, but have been referenced for car models when talking with the 'counter man.'
Sorry for the length of this post, but I have tried to provide descriptive details that might help identify or origins for the engine. Thanks in advance for any ideas on the origins of the engine.
It may have had a passenger car short block or engine installed. But if your dip stick is in the front ( typical passenger car ) and a rear sump pan ( typical truck ) you can't get a really good reading on the oil level. With the truck pan the dip stick should be about middle engine.
It's impossible to know for sure at this point. Most engines that old have had many parts swapped, making it difficult to know the origin.
On the car engines:
The thermostat housing points up and to the passenger side.
The water pump has a 5/8" shaft.
Oil pan is front sump.
Dip stick is up front.
On truck engines:
The thermostat housing points up.
The water pump has a 3/4" shaft.
Oil pan is rear sump.
Dip stick is in the middle.
Those are probably the easiest ways to distinguish between the two.
You can use this site to identify the heads, which may give a better idea about it's origin. Y
From the Don Brunn book titled "Ford F-Series Pickup Trucks," and the appendix on decoding VINs, I have determined that my '56 F-100 was built in Richmond, CA
If it's a 1956, it was assembled in San Jose, not Richmond.
Ford used the R assembly plant code for Richmond: 1953/55; for San Jose: 1956 thru 1979.
The only V8 available in 1956 F100/600 was the 272. Both the 272 and 292 were available 1957/59. From 1960 thru 1964, only the 292 was available.
No truck came with a 312, only installed in 1956/57 Ford/Thunderbird and 1956/60 Mercury.
Irony: The Richmond plant is there today, restored by the city and rented out for mixed usage. The San Jose plant was converted to a shopping mall.
Pic: 1951/56 Assembly Plant Codes listed in the 1948/56 Ford Truck Parts Catalog.
whoever installed your engine didnt have a clue as above said you will not get a correct reading on your dipstick with a setup like that.the next time you change oil mark your dipstick if it doesnt read close.is your truck a standard if it is take of flywheel pan and check back of crank to see if you have a 292 or 312.
Hello, hiball3985, charliemccraney, 312,and NumberDummy! My truck is back from the shop and tucked away for winter storage (will come out next Monday for some touch up at the body shop). While it was home, I looked again at the engine / oil pan and I was mistaken. It does have a forward sump. Thing that stuck in my mind was that the drain plug was very close to the straight axle cross member. The draining oil wants to splash on the straight axle. So it is a car engine. Your tip, charliemccraney, on the thermostat housing pointing to passenger side was a good one. I remembered from fitting the water pump, radiator and heater hoses that mine did point towards the passenger side headlight. My dipstick always to seemed to correctly represent oil level. Since my engine originally had the crossover exhaust pipe going over the water pump, I believe it must be a 292 and probably not from a Thunderbird. I have been looking at lots of T-bird engine photos and also t-birds I see at shows and most of them seem to have a 'ram's horn' exhaust manifold that feeds a dual exhaust system. this still leaves me wondering what car model my engine could have come from.
NumberDummy, your observations on the two assembly locations near San Francisco were interesting. I had read from the Brunn book that bay area production was moved from Richmond to San Jose for the '56 models and now from your chart I see that the code 'R' continued to be used for San Jose through 1956. I bought my truck over eBay out of Fresno, CA and the seller indicated it had come from Sacramento. Perhaps I am the first owner to take it 'out-of-state.' I am intrigued that the San Jose plant is now a mall and the Richmond plant is restored for 'mixed use.' Sometime I may have to find my way to San Jose and see first hand the place of origin for my truck. Side note - just before I moved out to Washington, I went to Indianapolis to see a '51 F1 that I was trying to buy. It was stored in the building that had been the Stutz factory. a developer / car collector had bought the factory building and was renovating / leasing parts of it for 'mixed use.' I don't believe that local Indy / Indiana car clubs had ever been able to get into the part of the old Stutz factory where his cars were stored, but on making an appointment to inspect the '51 I was considering buying, the curator of the owners collection met me and I got a complete tour of the old factory. The elevators were still being used to move cars from his collection to different floors of the building. - The F1? I should have bought it. It was in great shape and it went for a fair price, but I still had my MG car and the price was a bit more than my budget allowed and storage would have been a problem. Oh! The things we all wish we might have done in the past!
Last Friday I bought a house with a garage / shop in a Sheriff's Sale (foreclosure) so my current '56 F100 will be able to come out of the storage bin it is presently in. I also will have space for my son-in-law's boat, my motorcycle and my son's motorcycle. Boys and their toys! - Now though, cash will be tight and the renovation of the house will place some demands on my time.
Last edited by brit_wheels_fan; 12-13-2016 at 10:31 PM.
Reason: error corrections
No T-Birds have Rams Horn exhaust manifolds. They don't fit.
It is very unlikely that it came from a T-Bird. T-Birds have a 1" spacer between the water pump and timing cover, generator brackets that position the generator forward of the passenger car and truck location to line up with the water pump, and a different harmonic damper. The thermostat housing points straight forward. They have tach drive distributors. It has a rear sump oil pan which is different from a truck rear sump pan. If your engine has any of that, sell those pieces to someone restoring a Bird and enjoy a sweet pay day.
Since you have the car thermostat housing and oil pan, it's a car engine with the truck exhaust manifolds installed. You can use the block numbers to narrow down which displacement it is. For some, you can't know without some disassembly of the engine.
Personally I'm shocked Numbers Dummy didn't tell him
to look on side of block for casting number.
You use to be able to rely on Numbers Dummy for good
'both feet on the ground' common sense advice.
What's the world coming to?
Merry Christmas!
Some time ago I did post my engine block casting numbers. Someone, possibly NumberDummy, provided a "technical link" for identifying Y Blocks. Mine was cast at the Cleveland foundry in 1956. The tech link indicated that for my numbers the engine could be either a 292 or a 312, but it also indicated that for the engines in this series it required looking at crankshaft bearing caps (or the crankshaft) for numbers that would identify specifically which engine it is. Many have assured me that external engine parts are the same for the 292 / 312 engines. Someone in this thread has indicated that there were differences in water pumps, distributors, and generator mounts for Thunderbirds. - I am highly confident that my engine is a 292. Many knowing persons have indicated that most 1956 Y Blocks were 292 engines. In about 1967 my dad bought 1956 F100 as a backup farm truck. Our regular truck was a '65 F-100 six cylinder three speed. Dad generally drove the '65 to his job at the coal mine, but if it was show season for our livestock the newer truck was used for transporting the animals and dad would then drive the '56. He liked the '56 with the V8. It may have been an automatic. Dad said it was no good at pulling hard (we used it like a tractor pulling heavy feeders from feed lots to feed lot), but dad said that on the open road it would fly. We had been spoiled by a '51 F1 flathead, three speed that did function as our farm truck and it did do duty that should have been done with a tractor. I remember moving feeders and pulling stumps with it. I was born in'51, the '51 F1 was dad's first new vehicle and I learned to drive in that truck at about 8 or 9 in our hay field. - I would still love to have a Meadow green 1951 F1. - Some day, maybe.
Not sure how it could be a 292 or 312 block. 312's have larger main bearings.
The Ford Tech Sheet that I was directed to clearly identified my engine on the basis of the casting numbers as having been cast at the Cleveland foundry in 1956. It also indicated that blocks within the series of numbers that my engine has were made into both 292 and 312 engines and that the crankshaft and crankshaft bearing were the only differences. To know for sure, if I would ever overhaul / rebuild the engine, the Tech Sheet indicated it would be necessary to check numbers on bearing caps or the crankshaft. - I have determined from responses on this thread that the engine was a transplant from a car or it was an engine that was built for application in a car rather than a truck.
I do use oil oil that I obtained from and that is formulated specifically for the Classic Car Club of Indiana. The oil has specific concentrations of detergents and ZDDP for use in older engines with sliding tappers and without catalytic converters. The CCC of Indiana had members with Auburns, Cords, Duesenburgs, Stuttgart, Packards, etc. (the expensive "true" classics. The club included some petroleum-chemical engineers in their ranks so they contracted to have an oil developed for their older car engines that had lubrication requirements that differed from modern cars. For the other suggestion of using lead substitute additives, I am using upper cylinder lubricants in the fuel I put through my engine. Lead substitutes are increasingly difficult to find. I used to use them routinely in my MG and Triumph cars if they had not been overhauled and fitted with harder exhaust valves and valve seats. The #2 and #3 exhaust valves on those engines shared a central exhaust port on the manifold and were notorious for burning and cracking those valves and valve seats after extended use of unleaded fuel. With the lead substitutes, some people thought they were getting sticky and plugged fuel filters. Some also thought they were experiencing increased frequency of electric fuel pump failures when using lead substitutes. For a time, I used Marvel's Mystery Oil in the fuel for my '56 with the Y Block, but now I am using a LUCAS product in my fuel for upper cylinder lubrication. I am also using gasoline that has no ethanol. Certainly the ethanol in our gasoline reduces the "shelf life" or tank life of our fuels.
Last edited by brit_wheels_fan; 01-05-2017 at 12:32 AM.
Reason: Error corrections
11-16-2016, 05:47 PM
CA
