It is neither an FE nor an FT. There is a guy on Y-blocks forever who is into the Lincoln Y's big time. He brings a stroked 368 to the Y-Block Nationals every year. If anyone can help you out, he can.
I've done a brief search and it looks like none of the local parts chains list the 332. I would imagine that almost anything for a 368 will work, which is listed for some cars in 57. But there aren't many parts listed for the 368, either. It is an engine you can work with but you will probably have to be patient finding parts because not much is currently produced for them.

 

Rick, this is going to be a perpetual problem for you. What you are facing is a combination of 2 problems: Countermen who do not know old Fords, and parts books with vague designations.

The only solution to this is to know your stuff as best as possible, so you can steer the parts process down the right path. We all face it. For instance, I do 239s, and since there are two versions of them with many non-interchangeable parts, countermen will constantly give the wrong part unless they are guided -- sometimes firmly. The more "know-it-all" they come across, the more suspect they should be in your eyes. But you have to know your stuff and stand your ground.

The problem is that, in 1964, IIRC, the 332 was replaced by an FE based engine (yes, an FT) called the 330. This came in medium and heavy duty forms. Another confusing issue is that there was an FE in 1958 that was a 332.

Your 332 was part of a whole series of engines. On the truck side, there were 279, 302, and 332 versions, as well as the 317 car size. Then, on the car side, there were the 317, 341, and 368. Many parts will interchange between these engines, and finding a source may well involve knowing what interchanges yourself and ordering the part you know that will fit by it's car designation -- which often circumvents the "know-it-all" types behind the parts counter.

(To be fair, parts countermen often have to have an assertive "know-it-all" attitude, because so many of the people they run into are big "know-it-alls" themselves. When you like cars and/or guns, you are bound to run into the biggest concentration of know-it-alls and experts in all of human kind, and there's no way around that. All you have to do is run into a meeting of the "Warm Stove Society" or the "Bench Racer's Club" at a local gathering place once, and you'll know that this is true!)

Spending some time browsing old Motor Manuals in the library and visiting some of the site on the Web that really know their stuff about Lincoln Ys, like Mummert's site or the guy that Charlie suggested (there's a guy named Royce Brechler, for instance, who "has been there and done that" when it comes to these motors) can get you pointed on your way.

However, I think the long term solution to your problem will be handled by you becoming a bit of an expert yourself, and not in the sarcastic sense of the word. Consider that you're going to get messed up once or twice in the learning process. However, the more you learn and know, the better you'll be at the game.

Another aspect of knowing is to do junkyard scrounging. If there are any agricultural areas nearby, start finding wrecking yards that still have old iron to pick over. You will find some treasure, unless the city slickers have combed the place as a source of "investments."

 

That's the guy.

 

It just keeps askin' you to gather the rest of the parts to make an engine.
Then you'll have to find something to put the engine in.
It just never ends.

 

Never ends...no kidding! I am working on a 312 that wont have a home. Figure I can make the front frame of a '64 F-250 parts truck into an engine stand, put some mufflers on the 312, and listen to it run each Sunday .

 

Very good advise here and well taken on my part. Thanks to everyone who has helped...Some people might think this is a lot to do with nothing, fixing up an old 1960 bus ...but it has some great potential and I feel is worth the work and expense.

I would like to keep the 332 Lincoln (and as of now plan to) BUT if another Ford Truck Engine that parts are more available for would bolt to the 5 speed in the bus that may be something I look into also. Does anyone have any thoughts on any other motor that would work?

The bus is a snub nose, if anyone wants to see what I am working with just Google 1964 Bluebird Wonderlodge. 1964 was the first year BlueBird built the Wonderlodge, my bus is a 1960 that a body shop professional made to look just like the 1964 Wonderlodge, in fact the craftsmanship he put into both the exterior and interior is superior to the factory built coaches I have seen..

I am a sheet metal worker, silversmith/jeweler by trade and my wife is an artist with a paint brush so our attention to detail and commitment to this project will result in a really great looking and running coach when finished.
Rick

 

Rick: Getting something to bolt to the transmission wouldn't be such a difficult proposition. The bolt pattern on many transmissions remained a constant. What you'd need to consider is the input shaft length and input bearing retainer diameter.

I can't answer your question for sure, from off of the top of my head. But I would bet that many Ford engines that came in trucks would fill the bill for you. For instance, I would feel pretty confident that the 330MD/HD came with the same transmission or a similar one. Get that bellhousing and you'd be able to mate the transmission with any FE or FT engine. Then, your task would be making motor mounts and hooking everything up.

The next major engine family would be the 385 -- truck 370s, 429s and 460s would all fit in this category. In such a case, you'd need to compare the length of your input shaft and the bolt pattern of the 385 series truck bellhousing.

Another alternative would be the big Super Duty engines, like the 534 V8, but in such a case, you'd be dealing with a parts chasing proposition like you have now.

If you're considering an off-brand swap to brand X or something else, this may be possible, but you might have to use a Ford clutch disk with the brand X pressure plate, so that the splines on your input shaft would work. For the rest, it again would be getting a bellhousing to fit.

One thing to remember: you aren't going to save much in gas by staying with the smaller motor. It takes so much power to move so much weight, and it takes so much power to push a brick thru the air at a given speed. These factors are constant, no matter which engine you run. If you are OK with what the 332 will deliver, then I think it will be a fine choice for you to stay with. If you want to go faster, it will cost more in gas. If you need to climb hills, well that's another thing.

I see then that you don't have a skoolie and I guess you won't be cruising the National Forests with your RV. However, the Wanderlodge is a great piece of nostalgia from an RV point of view, and I can see why you are attached to your rig -- they look pretty cool! Best of luck with your project!

 

An outfit called Green Sales, in Cincinnati, specializes in new and obsolete Ford parts. They may be a help down the line, but do not carry any aftermarket items (my understanding). Their research line is 1-513-731-3304. For the website Google Green Sales Company.

 

Please say you're not going Retro Hippy with your coach and painting flowers and rainbows and unicorns on it.

 

Retro Hippy (nice tag) is still alive and well here. Many of the San Franciscans of the late 60's migrated up here and setup communes in this valley. Now they are old but traditions are being carried on by the children and grandkids. Capitalism has risen and a lot are into making large amounts of money via organic food, organic seed, pot, etc. I am not part of that group.

Several years ago my grandkid from Kansas visited for the first time. I had to stop so he could take a picture of a 1 ton van with an airplane fuselage grafted (poorly) onto the top. Retro Hippy paint. It can be interesting sometimes.



Mike

 

Glad you like it, a good friend lived in Medford for a few years after retiring from Bell South and told me a bit about the area. The Spotted Owl Society curbed the lumber industry and the radio company he worked for had to cut back so he moved elsewhere.

 

No Retro Hippy paint job on the bus althought my wife and I are of the timeframe.... it would be a cheaper way to go, just give the grandkids paint, brushes and let them go...
I still have my teen age muscle car, a 1970 Oldsmobile Rallye 350 I bought when I was 16 years old....It went thru a complete restoration a few years ago. Think 1970 Olds 442 with the rallye wheels, hood scoop, rear deck spoiler but with a high compression 350 instead of the big block. When we want to go back to the days we put in the Creedence Clearwater CD's and head up the road to Eureka Springs Arkansas which is an old hippy town where a lot of the old hippies are now pretty good business people.

Color plans for the bus are 1955 Cadillac Mandan Red for the sides with the same year Cape Ivory for the top and 1 accent panel on the side. I am looking for something stainless steal to polish and cover the rub rails with not sure if they make stainless rub rail but I am looking.

For color combinations on cars I like autocolorlibrary.com, it gives color samples of cars thru the years, I think the mid 50's Cadillac and Buicks had some of the best color combinations..
Rick

 

Rick: I doubt that this will answer your need for a piece of stainless, but the aluminum side strips for Eagles are supposedly still available. Maybe the same is true for stainless from MCI, or maybe you could find suitable stock from a wrecking yard? Just a thought.

The Olds sounds very cool -- you must be one in a million to have your original.

Coming from Taos, I can relate to your stories of hippies and hippies turned business people. We have both in Taos, that's for sure.

Once, I saw someone who had taken a pair of VW microbuses, cut them off below the tops of the wheelwells, and put them back to back on the top of a skoolie. The whole business was painted a light brown with a brush. The microbuses still had their headlights, but I don't know if he wired them up to work. It was certainly an "alternate" way of gaining head room! As my old boss used to say, you see everything in Taos, and you don't have to go to the big city to do it.

 

One of my favotite colors from the '50s is the Rose Mist used on several Olds models. A stunning color especially for the era.

I'm sure that I am one of many that would enjoy seeing pics of your coach as you bought it and as it is proceding in it's restoration through to completion. As if these things are ever truly completed.

 

Now THAT'S funny! And...a heck of a good idea for an engine stand. Thanks.