My 1964 F-500 came with a 292 V-8. Somewhere along the track of time, the engine was replaced with what is generally thought to be a Mercury V8, perhaps a 352 from the late 60s or early 70s. it has the appearance of a "medium block" but could be something else. I have been told it is definately not a 351 Windsor or Cleveland. The big give-a-way are the valve covers with "Mercury" scripted across the top. The engine is fine and tight except it runs hot in hot weather. I mean after a leisurely cruise at 50 to 55 MPH (6:20 diff gearing and the original 20 inch wheels, with the Warner 4 speed) the truck has to sit with the hood open and cool down to be restarted. The fan clutch has a woble and is smaller than the 7 inch fan clutch I see in catalogues, perhaps further evidence this engine came out of a car? So, the fan clutch is being replaced with the correct size and hopefully no woble. I suspect the radiator is OEM for the 292 so its cooling capacity might be little small but it is in good shape- no core dents, no tank leaks, has been flushed. I suspect that a fan shroud would improve cooling efficiency. The fan sits back from the radiator about 4 1/2 inches, so I was thinking a 5 inch shroud.

Now, the radiator has bolt flanges suggesting there once was a shroud. here is the pickle- all the fan shrouds I find on-line claim to be 20 inches across. My radiator bolt hole flanges span more like 29 inches. So, am I looking at the wrong fan shroud? Does anyone have a source for the correct shroud? Again, I suspect the radiator is for the original 292. If there is no source of an aftermarket shroud with better bolt hole spacing I suppose I can fabricate my own. It will not be as pretty and may not fit as well.

As usual, any thoughts from you wonderful guys are appreciated (and that is no sarcasim!). Thanks in advance.

 

Looking in the catalog (yeah I know somethings aren't always shown) the 292 wasn't an option for the F-500. You had the 223 or the 330 available. The 330 is a industrial engine like the 361/391. Do a search for the "FT" engine and if that looks like yours.

The 223 radiator was a C3TZ 8005-G measuring 26 3/4 x 18 x 2 1/4.
The 330 radiator was a C4TZ 8005-AA measuring 26 1/2 x 24 3/8 x 2 3/8.

The shroud for the F-500 isn't shown. However one for a F-600/750 with a 330, 361, 391is. You might be able to find a D1TZ 8146-D but I doubt it. And I am sure Bill will add his pearls of wisdom to further clarify more details about this post.

 

Mark,
Thanks for the clarification and the clue. The door plate states "135 HP" if the rating system Ford used translates to anything we know today. I will measure the radiator to see what that indicates.

 

Valve covers:

Powered by Mercury = 1966/67 FE engine, either a 390, 410 or 428.

M E R C U R Y in block letters: 1963/64 Mercury 390.

No Mercury came with a 352 engine. FE engines have 5 valve cover bolt holes. per side.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C3TZ8146K .. Fan Shroud / Obsolete

Fits: 1963/64 F350 223/262 I-6 & 292 with DRW / 1963/64 F500/700 223/262 I-6 & 292 / 1963/64 B500/600 223/262 I-6 (B = School Bus).

WESLEY OBSOLETE PARTS in Liberty KY has ONE = 606-787-5293.

No Ford Dealer, no other obsolete parts vendor has any.

Uh, since we have the same Ford truck parts catalog, take a look-see here:

Text, Engine Section 60.4, Page 2. Take a gander at the F500 292 engine mounts.

Regardless of what the engine size is for F500/600's....

C2TZ16138G .. Radiator Support

Fits: 1961/66 F350/600 / 1961/64 F100/250 2WD/4WD / 1965 F100/250 4WD / 1966 F250 4WD.

 

LOL Like I said Bill will come along and shed some light on it.

Not that I am complaining but Ford failed the QA for technical writting. Why not list ALL engine radiators? I am not going to go fishing in this thing like you would a Bible. Next thing you're gonna tell me that I have to look at the tail light lenses to see what my windshield wiper bag fluid capacity is. Seriously thanks for being as thorough and knowledgable as you are Bill.

 

The radiator has the dimensions listed above for the 330. However, the plate says "135 HP" and that suggests the 223 was the original engine assuming my old Motors Manual table is correct. So, the radiator must have been changed when the engine was swapped out.

"Mercury" is in raised script, no "Powered By..."

I will count the valve cover bolt holes and double check if there is other writing such as is mentioned.

Another possibility is the someone salvaged the valve covers from a Merc and put them on this engine. Folks do that here as spare parts are a long ways away in the pre-internet days.

Thanks for the lead on an OEM shroud. I will contact them tomorrow.

One bitch. This engine has a two barrel Holley which I hate. I sure wish I could afford a manifold and carb for an Edlebrock 650 or 750 cfm 4-pot. Well, also could Santa send me a Brownie Spicer aux tranny for this, too, please? At 50 MPH I am cranking about 2700 RPM. At 60, I am turning 3300. That is if my engine math is correct. Also, with 8 to 9 tons of concrete mix, it is a long time between 3rd and 4th and longer to get 4th up to 50 MPH. I resprung this truck to 17,000 pound loads. Stopping is not much of an issue here since this is a rural area without much traffic. I would not overload an old drum brake truck like this if I drove in city traffic.

 

I don't care what the Motor Manual sez, your truck came with a 292 2V as original.

The engine code is the 4th digit of the VIN.

1961/64 F Series trucks: B = 262 1V I-6 / C = 292 2V / J = 223 1V I-6.

The Warranty Plate has CERT. NET HP marked on it. 135 is the CERTIFIED NET HP for a 292 2V.

Info source: 1964/72 Ford Truck Parts Catalog.

 

If you want to fabricate your own, check out last month's issue of R&C magazine. They did a great write up on fabricated metal and also built up fiberglass. At least you'd know it would fit...

 

The Mercury Valve covers aren't going to determine much. It can still be the 292 which has had somewhat rare Mercury Valve covers swapped onto it (or in a more unlikely case an entire "Mercury" Y has been swapped). Post a picture of the engine and the mystery will be solved.

 

Y block valve covers have two studs/acorn nuts per side within the center of the valve cover used to retain it to the head.

Y blocks have the distributor located behind the carb. Every other V8 has it in front of the carb.

FE (and FT) valve covers use 5 bolts per side along the perimeter of the valve cover to retain it to the head.

 

The valve covers are secured with five bolts each.

The radiator has the dimensions Airharley listed for the 330.

The VIN is "F50CK471059" so it must have had a 292 at some point.

I am charging my camera and will post a photo today.

It would be really nice to know what this engine is within the FE and FT family. I am about ready to pull a plug, rotate the crank to that cylinder's bottom stroke and fill it with Everclear until it weeps out the spark plug hole. Then crank the piston back to TDC collecting the Everclear into a graduated cylinder. The ml equate to cc which converts to cubic inches. Then multiply by eight and I have good idea of the engine displacement. Then mix the Everclear with soda water, a dash of bitters, some sugar and ice cubes- shake and pour and enjoy a "Brooklyn". That would be a Manhattan cocktail with a little extra flavor :-)