Both of the crankshafts in my 312's are crapped out, one is cracked, the other is too worn down to reuse in a 312. I'm having trouble finding another 312 crank to use, so I'm looking at building another 292 instead.

I can grind the worn 312 crank to use in the 292, and I have a line on a steel 292 crank.

I know a place where I can buy 292 blocks. There's an ECZ-A, a C2AE, and and EDB. Does anybody have any wisdom to offer on block choices?

 

I've never owned a 312, so i do not know where a person could find one (a crankshaft for a 312) unless they searched the forums. I am running a C2AE in my 63 ford unibody and it's to me, a powerfull little engine, but then the CITE steel crank has always interested me also, and they say ECZ-A is a better choice than a C2AE, but mine seems plenty powerfull and dependable to me, speaking of the C2AE late 292......Janet

 

I have read that the later blocks have an increased webbing in the mains area but have thinner cylinder walls. The ECZ-A if it has ECZ main caps is a 312.

I currently run a ECZ-C 292 thats .060" over bore with the C1TE steal crank.

Kevin Bigwin

 

Paul, I have yet to find any 292 block that cant go at least to a std 312 bore.
Also any 272 will easily go to a 292 + .060 and those are often dirt cheap.

In a pinch you could even take a 239 EBV or a 256 EBY out to a 292 but it will take more passes which = $$. Those are the truck blocks, not from cars.

 

kind of straying a little from the subject here but i have a 256 truck block that could take a 312 bore.measuring between bores it checks out as good as a poor 292.it has 3 inch main bolts from the factory and the caps are 1/8 higher.looks like a 312.

 

Thanks for the responses.

312, what year is that 256 block? I assume that's a Ford engine made in Canada, eh?

 

Paul, the 256 EBY seems to be rather a sleeper among Y's. It came out in mid 54 as an option in the F600 and in 55 was the standard F600 V8. They also had a 272 option in 55 and it was the exact same EBY block. Dont know what they did in Canada.

.

 

Carl, You make a good point. I do have a 272 that's going to come out of a 55 Vicky when I finish assembling a 292 for that car. I could have that 272 bored out to 3.80" and turn the worn 312 crank to 292 mains to make a small journal 312.

But is sure is tempting to see those other 292 blocks sitting around in that boneyard.

 

the block is ceby.the c standing for canada.they made a heavy duty 256 here.the block was laying around for a couple of years before i finally noticed it.according to the date code it was built in july54.it would be for the 55 run since we still used the flathead in 54.looks just like a 312 and im sure thats where the idea came from.the numbers on the mains are cecg-6329-a.there is a picture of one of the main caps in dec,2002 y block magazine.

 

312, is measuring between bores an accurate way to determine bore capacity, in lieu of sonic checking? How much does a sonic check of a block typically cost? Someone once said on this forum, maybe bigwin, that remaining cylinder wall of .125 inches was minimum. I'm planning a shortblock 292 C2AE buildup. Mike

 

measuring between bores helps to tell if you have a block that might take a big bore.if the spacing is bad you know theres no chance.its no guarantee that it will.i have never sonic tested a block.no place around here that does it.by checking you can save yourself the cost of sonic testing a bad block with no chance

 

46Yblock,

The .125 thickness is considered optimal minimum for a block used in high-hp applications, or possibly with nitrous/forced induction. In the real world, the answer is, it depends. If you were building a 350 SBC and planned to beat on it, then you might want to reject a block that didn't have at least that spec, all the way around, on all bores. Those engine are too common to bother taking even a minimal risk for this kind of use.

OTOH, an engine that is reasonably scarce would be worth a second look. The thickness is most critical on the major thrust faces; elsewhere, you can skimp a little. Again, this would be for relatively high-hp usage. The avg. street cruiser can get by with considerably less & you'll never notice, as long as you don't have overheating problems. 351 Cleveland blocks have notoriously thin walls & have been used in NASCAR races with wall thickness of less than .090 and survived just fine (this is going back to the '70s & early '80s before the modern SVO blocks). You can also alter bore spacing to help, to an extent. Long story short: An overbore of .030 is just fine and as long as the core shift looks OK on the block I wouldn't waste the money for a sonic check. Odds are very high that .060 is no problem either. If you are looking to bore it to the ultimate, get it checked. The cost is around $12-$20 per cylinder in my experience, often less if you are spending more $$$ with the machinist.

Hope it helps, Mike

 

Homespun, the information is very helpful. Thanks a lot. I have a 56 292 block now that is .080 over. Am planning the C2AE rebuild, and figured I might as well try to get as much bore out of it as possible, but want to go about it with more planning than with the 56. Mike

 

Thanks for all the replies. I got the C2AE block. It's currently at .040. I'll probably get some hypereutectic pistons and take it to .050 or .060.

 

I've been watching both threads on the bore and sonic testing. A few years back I found a 292 for sale at a swap meet and it looked to be a done up engine and the price was $2000.00 and on the list of things done to the 292 it said it had been bored
.125"
I believe this can be achieved as a .050" overbore on a 292 is a stock bore on a 312 then a .060" overbore on a 312 this all adds up to .110" over bore on a 292 so this person may have had it sonic tested to get the additional .015" bore.

I do not know what block he was using.

Kevin Bigwin