The 292 engine
 

I found a 292 engine in a 62 the parts guy selling it says it turns i imagine by hand

he is a couple of states away

im curious about the 292
the '59 292 stated in Wiki states 186 hp
"292 CID Y-block V8 1959–60 186 hp (139 kW)"

also stated in wiki the 61-64 135hp
"the 292 CID Y-block V8 1961–64 135 hp (101 kW)"

is it true the horsepower decrease in a later year.

and if this engine im looking at is the years the gentleman states as a 62
will this engine be a ok in my 59 250.

im plan on using this as a daily driver
includes freeway use. i rather not hide it in the garage.
here is the dumb question your waiting for.. is this engine ok on the freeway with a f-250 weight?
was there much change between the 59 292 and the 62 292

thanks for all your support.

Kurt :-drink

Not sure about the hp thing, to lazy to look it up, but in those days the horse where kind of small anyway, all the Y blocks are going to have the same limitations (polite, huh?) but the thing that is going to make the most impact is the rear end ratio and engine RPM, could you drive it with the other Y block on the freeway? ¾ tons usually have lower gear ratios. :)

" could you drive it with the other Y block on the freeway"
ur asking the wrong person

thats a good question

auerdoan

I've a 59 F250 with the 292.My truck is driven daily,year around and it has ample power for anything I require of it. I commute about 80 miles per day,half on freeways,about half on twisty mountain roads.

Old F1 is correct about the gearing in the rear -end needing to be changed.Stock,I had a 4.56, and changed gears in the Dana 60 to 3.54.You might want to put in the next size down(numerically) for better cruising mpg., but I didn't want to loose too much low-end torque in the mountains where I live.If you're a flat-lander,you might be fine.

I am all about economy,so my 292 has pretty much stock specifications.The last long trip I took it on,I got about 16 mpg,driving 55 mph.I do have a very heavy vintage camper shell/camper attached.Without that extra 600 or so pounds,and all that wind resistance,I'll bet I'd get about 19 to the gallon.Mr4speedford gets about 20 in his 60 F100,same motor.

Well maintained,the 292 is a great,nearly bullet-proof motor, and is still easy to obtain parts for.Though not your cheapest bang for the buck,performance-wise, if I understand you correctly,that's not what you're after,anyway.It has character in spades,and is way more interesting to me than the more modern, cookie-cutter motors a lot of guys put in.As previously stated,it can do anything I need it to do.

P.S. No need to go outside California to find a good Y-block,there are tons of them here,and lots of friends of the Y right where you live.

Thanks Ibuzzard, maybe a better question for this post should of been
"How many are daily drivers"

I did manage to learn a bit about gearing in this post.

If i drifted. I should mention i truly enjoy the thoughts of all stock.

Ive stated upgrading engines and tranny but i think this is mostly due to the fact that i dont have stock and i was trying to due with what i have.

When the originals are functional i just like them more.
The more i look at the originals the more i like them and appreciate them.

Thanks on the heads up about there being plenty of 292s around. ill keep lookin on that note

Howdy Kurt,


I think the 292 is one of the best engines Ford ever made!

You can absolutely use it as a "Daily Driver" I plan to drive mine a LOT when I get it running.

It will be fine in an F250, .........Mine is going into my 55 F-600!

I'll have a 2 speed axle and I am putting it in front of an electronic automatic OD transmission.

With the right gearing yours will get good mileage.

Mine will be geared so it will turn about 2100 rpm at 60mph in high-range/OD.

The Ford Y Block 272 cubic inch (4.5 L) engine was first put into a Ford vehicle in 1955, and was the standard engine included with the majority of Ford models. Two-barrel 162 hp and four-barrel 182 hp versions of the Y Block 272 were offered when the engine was introduced.

The Ford Y Block 272 engine was made by the Brazilian arm of Ford, at its Sao Paulo division, and was included with Brazilian F-Series trucks until 1977. They were also standard in the Brazilian Galaxie from its inception in 1962 to 1976.

The Ford Y Block 292 cubic inch (4.8 L) engine also emerged in 1955—used in vehicles specially ordered by law enforcement or government organizations. The Y Block 292 only became publicly available as an option in the Ford Thunderbird V8 and Montclair in 1956, and became common in Ford trucks until 1964, when the 292 went out of use.

Internationally, the Australian arm of Ford included the Y Block 292 in Customline 4-door sedans and a “Mainline” utility vehicle from 1955 to 1959. Also, it was used in Argentina to power their F100 pickups until the mid 1960s.

The Ford Y-Block 292 cu in engines made in 1955 included a four barrel carburetor with a bore stroke of 3.75 x 3.3 inches. Horsepower depended on the transmission (manual or automatic), but averaged around 200 hp.

The 292 was introduced in 1955 with the Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Montclair and was known as the "Thunderbird Special" engine. In '55 the 292 was not available in Ford passenger cars other than the TBird and the Merc, except as a special option when ordered by a police department or other government agency. The next year the 292 was offered in the Ford car lineup as the "Thunderbird V8" option, while its immediate y-block predecessor the 272 remained Ford's standard V8 in '56.

The 292 engine was introduced in Ford trucks starting in 1958. It stayed as the Ford V8 in cars through the 1962 model year, at which point the company replaced its y-block line with their small block Ford (SBF) engines that started out at 260 ci, later growing to 289 and 302, and were made famous by their use in Mustangs and by Carroll Shelby in various designations. The 292 was available in Ford trucks through 1964.

IMO the 292 is an excellent engine, considering the era. I have rebuilt a 312, which is basically the 292 block that Ford bored out a bit more, and put it in my Thunderbird. The engine is reliable, quite powerful, and has given me no problems of any kind.

As for horsepower in the 292...like with any other engine, it depends how it's set up with regard to carb, cam, heads, exhaust, etc. My guess on a stock setup on a truck 292 of a '62-ish vintage would be closer to that 186 hp figure, which is plenty for regular driving. If you want to do more, and go faster, there are thousands of pages, forums and threads on the web in which to read about people's use of the 292, with all sorts of modifications and in all sorts of applications.

The later 292s had heads with smaller valves and this lowered the hp. During the early 60's the auto industry went through a period of frugality as the economy was somewhat poor, so the trucks were built to match. The late 60's obviously changed a lot as we went to muscle.

The bottom of the engine was the same, you can get bigger heads from an earlier year engine and a 4bbl intake, add a new cam and street carb and the 292 will put out ~ 220 hp without spending big bucks. That is what is now in my 60.:-X22

:)Just wanted to add something thats not really important unless you get a hold of one. The Y-block came out in 1954 at 239 ,not much of an engine I'v heard, then in 55 went to 272 ect. The small block started out in the 62 fairlane at 221, then on to 260,289,302 ect. I have a one owner 56 fairlane with the original 292 that I had rebuilt a few years back and all that was changed was the intake to a 62 2/bl , so I could use a better carb. They are a good engine and will more than keep up on the freeway. Mine has the overdrive which helps a lot.:cool:

Lots of information here. i was kind of worried i would offend someone asking if they were freeway worthy. I didnt know much about these engines before the post, but i do now. Great history.

I m redoing my brakes and ordered the f-250 kits. installed the fronts w/no problem when i got to the back the new ones were smaller than the originals
i had to get some larger ones maybe this one was ordered with different brakes for a different load. Maybe a bigger engine im still piecing it together i cant find the tag that i would think would be in the engine compartment all i have is the pink slip

reads
F25C9R21079

250 292 59 R= assembly plant or color red

weight 3500,
class commercial (think all were commercial back then
AC- not sure of this

looks like a normal 250 two me besides the hand operated light mounted at driver side

under the truck lots of leaf springs more than 4 each side.
also has shocks( not sure if this is standard.
i dont remember seeing air booster or any type of brake booster for that matter

its a constant unraveling puzzle

Your data plate should be on the inside of the dispatch (aka glove) box.Post the info up, someone can decode it.I just did the self adjusting brake upgrade - actually my buddy did them for me - and he ran into a snag having to do with the springs.Is that what you're referring to?I'm not aware of any optional larger brakes, but someone else may have more info.People do lots of odd things to old trucks, and seldom document anything.Start yourself a log book of what you do and when, you'll make yourself and any future owners happy.

My 57 has a 272, 3pd, 325 gear. Right now I've put 840 on it on vacation with another 750 before I'm home. You can drive them! :-)

Later, Bill

I have a 1960 F-100 with a 292, 3-spd transmission, and 3.73 gears of which has been in the family since new. My 292 probably hasn't seen as much highway use as Ibuzzard's, but it has seen extensive highway use. For five years, I utilized my 1960 as a daily driver, three of which were 40-mile round trip commutes Monday through Friday on the highway including one cross-country trip from Maryland to California.

I only drove the truck at a maximum speed of 60 mph, which equated to roughly 3000 rpm. At highway speed, I would average 15.5 mpg throughout the year.

To give you an idea of the y-blocks reliability, my 292 has never been rebuilt since Ford assembled the engine in 1960. It wasn't until the last year of use (before restoration) when I elected to replaced the intake manifold, exhaust manifold, valley pan, and valve cover gaskets and replaced the timing chain and gears. I checked/adjusted the timing and dwell every month and adjusted the valves once a year. Up until the restoration commenced, the engine still ran smooth, didn't smoke, or burn any oil--even with 145,000 miles of use.

If you do plan to drive extensively on the highway, the engine will use some oil. The consumption is normal. At high engine rpm, at highway speeds, vaporized oil is sucked out the road draft tube. You will notice a couple drips from the tube when parked. My 292 would vent approximately half a quart of oil per 1000 miles.

As already mentioned, the y-block is a strong and reliable engine and confident you will be pleased with this engine. Best of luck and welcome to the forum.

A 292 built right shouldn't burn much oil at all and if you install a PCV system it won't slobber it either.


One of the other members here has a 292 in his 46 F-1 and he reported 20mpg or better on a road trip.