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FORDMODERNREFINEMENTSFOR FORD’SORIGINAL OHVENGINE

of the Hemi. The Ford Flathead’s dayswere numbered, and by ’53 it was retiredin favor of Ford’s newest engine, the Y-Block, introduced in the ’54 models.The Y-Block was designed tomaintain

the simplicity of engine design its buyersexpected. A short stroke, overhead valves,and the greatest amount of structuralrigidity ensured the engine would last andhold up to future compression upgrades.Introduced at 239ci, the displacement

soon grew to 256, 272, 292, and ulti-mately 312ci in the Thunderbirds, Mer-

Hot rod projects take twists and turns during the entirebuildup process. Our project ’54 Ford F100 is no exception. Known to theStreet Thunder staff as the “Toaster,” it gained its name one mid-summer daywhen the lack of interior insulation quickly elevated its inside-cab tempera-ture to well above the outside air. This prompted the exclamation, “I feel likeI’ve been for a ride in a toaster!” And the name just stuck.

The Toaster had been a hot rod for as long as I can remember, and has seenits share of fixes and alterations. The chassis was modified many times and

sported a Chevelle front subframe and rear axle. Theengine and transmission were swapped many times, be-fore ending up with its current late ’60s 343ci AMC; no

doubt the result of a budget-minded transplant by its previous owner. We de-cided the time has come to reconsider this project as a whole rather than thejumble of mismatched pieces it has become.

Working with Gary at Outcast Kustoms of Eagan, MN, we began by con-sidering an array of options and build themes.

Together we focused on building the Toaster into a ’50s show-truck flavoredcustom. Bold colors, tuck and roll interior, and of course a period-correct

vintage engine with a blend of modernequipment and choice vintage speedparts. Gary convinced us the only goodchoice was keeping the old Ford Ford-powered. As we debated the merits ofFlatheads, Y-Blocks, and FE’s, it becameevident each of our choices would be agreat fit, but their could be only one.

HISTORY OF PERFORMANCEFew argue the legendary status of theFord Flathead. First introduced in 1932,it became the instant hot rod engine ofchoice, as Chevrolet was still committedto the overhead valve inline six, andChrysler to the inline flathead sixes andeights. While not the fastest engine of itsday, compared to supercharged Auburns,Cords, and Duesenbergs, it was afford-able and plentiful, making it an instantfavorite for the early hot rodders and pro-pelling the ’32 Ford to iconic status.AfterWorldWar II, the American pub-

lic clamored for bigger engines and morepower.Detroit responded. In the late ’40s,GM released its first overhead valve V-8engines inOldsmobile andCadillac,mak-ing them instant stars on the track and inthe showrooms. Then came similar famefor Chrysler in ’51 with the introduction

BUILDING FORD’S SUCCESSOR TO THE LEGENDARY FLATHEAD

AUTOMOTIVE RACING PRODUCTSMAIN/HEAD/ROD BOLTS, &

OIL PUMP DRIVESHAFTFor over 40 years ARP has set the standard bywhich performance bolts are measured. For ourproject Y-Block, we made certain they were usedeverywhere they counted and then some. ARPalso makes a great oil pump driveshaft for ourengine that is heat treated to 220,000psi.

CLAY SMITH CAMSCAMSHAFT

Clay Smith Cams has been grinding performancecams since the birth of hot rodding with theiriconic cigar smoking woodpecker logo “Mr. Horse-power.” We selected a rather mild cam with 224degrees of duration at .050-inch and .446 inchesof lift with 108 degrees of lobe separation.

FEDERAL-MOGULCOMPLETE REBUILD GASKET SET

The Fel-Pro complete rebuild gasket set camecomplete with all of the gaskets we needed to as-semble the Y-Block.

EGGE MACHINE COMPANYROD/CAM/MAIN BEARINGS, INTAKE/

EXHAUST VALVES & LIFTERS, PUSHRODS,CAST ALUMINUM PISTONS, TIMING CHAIN,CAM & CRANK GEARS, & VALVE SPRINGSIf this list looks long, it is. But when the timecomes to build a vintage engine Egge has becomeour first stop. They are the guys that have theparts nobody else does. Established in 1915,Egge Machine Company is known worldwide asa vintage engine piston manufacturer, supplier ofinternal engine components, complete engine re-build kits, and nostalgic performance products.We knew we could count on them for a great setof cast aluminum pistons and the stainless ex-haust valves when no one else had them.

FORD-Y-BLOCK.COMBLOCK PLUGS, FREEZE PLUGS,

& EXTENDED VALVE COVER STUDSThe parts John Mummert offers made assemblya snap, but more importantly, there is a wealth ofgreat information on his website, from castingnumbers to buildup tips and tricks.

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curys, and Thunderbird-engine-optionedFairlanes.The Y-Block’s lifespan was shortin comparison to that of the Flathead,which lasted 22-plus years. The Y-Blockwas soon eclipsed by the FE engine (big-block) when Ford once again respondedtoAmerica’s quest formore power and big-ger displacement.After a short life as Ford’s premier en-

gine, it was soon relegated to truckswhere its tremendous low-end torqueserved well. With the arrival of the FordWindsor engine (small-block) in the early

BY MARK SIMPSONPHOTOS BY MATT SPROUSE

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The valley area of the Y-Block is only open todrain back in the rear of the casting. To assistin cam lubrication and drain back, we drilleddrain holes near the base of the lifter bosses.

Poor top end lubrication plagued the Y-Block.All top end oil must pass through the oil groovein the center of the camshaft. We suggest ma-chining a larger groove to prevent clogging.

Larger OilGroove

Drain Holes

Original OilGroove

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’60s, the Y-Block was phased out only 10years after its introduction.While the FEs were introduced in the

late ’50s, they continued in service in pas-senger cars into the early ’70s. Althoughintrigued by the performance possibilitiesof these giant powerhouses, we focused tomaintain our theme of building a ’50s fla-vored show-truck. A Y-Block build wasour future.

RESEARCH AND THE HUNTWe aspired to build a 292ci or 312ci en-gine simply because they came later in theproduction run and have greater dis-

placement. As so many havesaid before, “There’s no re-placement for displace-ment.” Though we’re

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SPEEDWAY MOTORSTRU-RAM RAM HORN,

EXHAUST MANIFOLDSOriginal Ford Ram Horn exhaust man-ifolds were used exclusively on Y-Blockpowered heavy duty trucks, but became pop-ular for their performance gains over stock man-ifolds. Speedway offers an exact replica of thesefamed manifolds. We chose to smooth ours out tomatch the engine block and heads.

RED’S HEADERSTHERMOSTAT HOUSING

We located this housing at Red’s Headers. It’s areproduction of the original truck type only cast inaluminum. It was then ground and matched tothe vintage 573 Edelbrock intake manifold, beforereceiving its show quality polishing.

POWERMASTERPOWERGEN ALTERNATOR

Building a vintage-style engine requires atten-tion to all of the details. The PowerGEN alterna-tor looks like it belongs here. It is dimensionallythe same as the original generator and the fullypolished aluminum case gave us the show-carlook we were after. Its simple one-wire hookupand 75-amp output will give our Y-Block all thepower it needs for years to come.

EGGE MACHINE COMPANYOFFENHAUSER VALVE COVERS

We have come to expect Egge to deliver great in-ternal engine components for early vintage en-gines. But, they are an excellent source forvintage reproduction speed parts too. We pickedup this great set of vintage styled finned alu-minum Offenhauser valve covers that comple-mented the look of our engine build.

MARSHALL SINCE ’62ONE-INCH ALUMINUM CARB SPACERS

These high quality billet aluminum carburetorspacers helped improve our overall perform-ance and low-end torque. Marshall since ’62offers a complete line of custom and stock CNCmachined parts, and the kind folks there haveoffered a discount to all NSMC Members on anyof their products or services.

FORD-Y-BLOCK.COMHARMONIC BALANCER

The folks at Ford-Y-Block.com are committed tokeeping the Y-Block alive with product offeringslike this new harmonic balancer. Manufacturedto exacting tolerances using materials far supe-rior to the originals, the choice seems easy whendeciding between a 50-year-old part or new.

MSD IGNITIONDISTRIBUTOR, COIL, & WIRES

Their proven quality and performance made theman easy choice for our build. Their Ready-to-Rundistributors are a breeze to install, simply con-nect three wires and you’re ready run. Inside thehousing is a high-output ignition module, and itdelivers a full 7.5 amps to the coil. Working to-gether, the MSD Heli-Core wires and Blaster 2coil delivered real firepower to our Y-Block.

BENDTSEN’S TRANSMISSION CENTERTRANSMISSION ADAPTER

Bob Bendtsen and the rest of the crew at Bendt-sen’s Transmission Center are dedicated to de-veloping adapter solutions for nearly any engine/transmission you can think of. We plan to backupthe Y-Block with a GM 4L60 transmission, forbetter fuel economy and greater reliability, and ofcourse they had an adapter for that. It camecomplete with flex plate, hardware, and high-torque starter.

EDELBROCK573 INTAKE MANIFOLD

Vintage multi-carb intake manifolds are plentifulfor the Y-Block. The 573 Edelbrock is one of thebest available for a three-deuce setup.

SPEEDWAY MOTORSTRU-HELMET AIR CLEANER

To enhance the engine’s smooth and curved lookwe choose a set of these great Tru-Helmet aircleaners. They included replaceable air filters andenhanced the overall look of our engine.

EASTWOOD COMPANYINTAKE POLISHING KIT

To give our vintage manifold the look of atrue ’50s show-car engine, we pol-ished the intake usingEastwood’s manifoldpolishing kit. Aftera fair amount ofsanding to smooththings out, their kitmade short work ofachieving a showquality shine.

VINTAGE SPEEDMULTI-CARBURETOR LINKAGE

Charlie Price at Vintage Speed has been dedicatedto keeping the old Strombergs and Holleys a viableoption for today’s builders. We picked up our

multi-carb linkage, fuelblock, and countless

carb rebuild parts.

simply looking to build a solid street per-former that would runwell on regular gas,we don’t want to leave any horsepower onthe table, considering the cost of buildinga 272ci is similar to building a 312ci.As we began our research and hunt for

the perfect engine core, we soon devel-oped a list of simple Y-Block truths:1. Even though the Y-Block was only

produced in four displacements duringits life cycle, Ford still managed to castnearly 40 different heads for the engine,with different intake runners, valves, andcombustion chamber sizes. Don’t counton the head being the right one for theengine to which it is mounted. Headcastings of ECZ-G and 113 are the mostpopular for their large valve size and smallcombustion chamber.2. Anyone with a Y-Block engine sit-

ting in the back corner of their garage orunder a tarp is convinced it’s a 312ci.Thefact is, 312s are scarce. Be prepared toshell out a few hundred extra if your heartis set on one. 312s and 292s share block

casting numbers and the only sure way totell them apart is to pop the oil pan andcheck the casting numbers on the maincaps (ECZ main caps on 312ci only).3. Do not assume the rocker arms are

the correct ones for the engine. Ford of-fered two rocker ratios for the Y-Block(1.43:1 and 1.54:1). The higher ratiorockers are most sought after and are stillreproduced. The Y-Block’s Achilles’ Heelis loss of oil flow to the top end. All oil tothe top end passes through the centercam bearing. The groove in the camshaftis narrow, so simple cam wear and sludgein the oil can leave the rockers starved.We disassembled half a dozen salvage en-gines and found numerous mismatchedhead and rocker arm configurations.After searching online and through

local sources and friends for weeks, wediscovered a 292ci in a nearby town.Though the engine was stuck, there waslittle corrosion as it was stored indoorsfrom the time it was pulled.At home, the Y-Block shortly became

a bare block. Our gamble had paid off.The inside was fairly clean with only alittle corrosion in a couple cylinders andone worn rod bearing journal. Althoughthe heads were low compression small-valve early ’60s castings, the block castingnumber indicated a 1958 engine. A fewweeks later, we discovered a set of 113heads at a local vintage salvage yard.After having our new combinationchecked by the folks atTPIS, we were fi-nally ready to build.

BEGINNING THE BUILDWith a solid engine core in hand and agood idea of what we wanted to achieve,we contacted John Mummert in ElCajon, CA. John’s built a strong businessservicing the needs of vintage Ford per-formance. John’s advice and the parts hebuilds help keep these early Ford enginesviable and competitive today. We set aplan using some of the parts John sells,including a specially prepped Clay Smithcam with a larger center oil groove and

ARP bolts for the heads, mains, and rods.Armed with the measurements from

the engine shop, we prepared to order thecam, rod, andmain bearings as well as thevalves and lifters.Themain bearing jour-

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Using a Standard Abrasives deluxe head port-ing kit from Eastwood Company, we gasketmatch ported the heads. The intake side re-quired little work, although the center two portson the exhaust side have some restriction.

The head casting num-bers are located underthe lip of the intake ports.ECZ-G and 113 heads arethe most sought after.

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ment arrived to truly determine the ca-pacity of our Y-Block. Builder ClayWittat TPIS pulled back the dyno throttleand all three Holleys stood wide open.The engine pulsed life, and the powernumbers rolled up the screen. Our mea-ger modifications paid off in horsepowergain over stock performance numbers.The old Ford made 253-horsepower at5,400 rpm and 277 ft.-lbs. of torque at3,500 rpm.There’s little doubt more power could

be squeezed from the Ford. Higher-com-pression pistons, a more aggressive cam,and improved intake manifold and car-buretor would all contribute to higherpower numbers. But, we accomplishedwhat we set out to do; the power and ef-ficiency of the engine were improvedwhile maintaining excellent street charac-teristics. The Ford’s reliability and serv-iceability had also been upgraded withthe addition of modern components,while staying true to ’50s show-car flavor.The exhaust barely cooled before we

had the engine back to the shop to getdressed up in a new coat of Eastwood’sOldsmobile gold engine paint and VHTflameproof white accessories.With the engine built we look forward

to finishing up the rest of the Toaster,knowing our vintage engine will delivermany trouble-free miles then turnsome heads when it gets there.

American Racing Productsarp-bolts.com(800) 826-3045

Bendtsen Transmission Adapterstransmissionadapters.com(763) 767-4480

Clay Smith Camsclaysmithcams.com(800) 454-7999

Eastwood Companyeastwoodco.com(800) 343-9353

Egge Machine Companyegge.com(562) 945-3419

Fel-Pro Gasketsfederalmogul.com(248) 354-7700

John Mummert’s Ford-Y-Blockford-y-block.com(336) 352-4866

Marshall Since ’62marshallsince62.comE-mail: info@marshallsince62.com

nals cleaned up with a .010-inch grind,while the rod journals required a .020-inch grind. All of the valves were candi-dates for replacement, and combattingthe effects of unleaded gas required stain-less steel exhaust valves.We wanted to keep our compression

below 9.25:1.With our head selection and.060 over-bore we stayed just below usinga set of Egge’s flat top cast pistons. EggeMachine Company had everything weneeded to get the job done. Egge also hasa great line of reproduction speed parts, sowe couldn’t resist ordering up a set of Of-fenhauser finned aluminum valve covers.Every vintage engine has its diehard

fans preaching the virtues of their belovedmill.The Y-Block is no exception, and wewere at no shortage of advice during thebuild. One part most could agree on wastheMSDPro Billet distributor specificallydesigned for the Y-Block. It’s a testamentto the staying power of this motor.To further enhance the vintage look we

selected a set of Speedway’s new reproduc-tion Ram Horn exhaust. These faithful re-productions of the original ram horns usedon Ford trucks share the reputation amongearly hot rodders for added performance.We also picked up a finned valley pan, thenmodified it to accept an original style oil filltube. Completing our Speedway order wasa set of new 9Super7 carburetors. Yes, wehad a set ofHolley2100s inhandand readyto be mounted to our vintage Edelbrock573 intake, butwe couldn’t resist ordering aset of these new carbs and putting themthrough dyno testing. (Check out the side-bar and see full test results on theClubweb-site.) A set of Speedway Tru-Helmet aircleaners tops off the engine.

COMPLETING THE BUILDGary prepped the engine for machinework and claims he spent nearly 40hours smoothing all the casting marksfrom the block, heads, and ram horns.Using a head porting kit from East-wood Company, he also gasketmatched and smoothed out the ex-haust ports as necessary.A set of “Marshall Since ’62” one-

inch spacer blocks added beneath thecarburetors improved performance andlow-end torque.They came to us preci-sionCNCmilled frombillet aluminumand match the Holley carb bases.A late-model alternator on this en-

gine would distract from its style. For-tunately, the folks at PowermasterMotorsports recognized this. TheirPowerGEN alternators are fashionedwith the look of an early generator, buthouse a modern one-wire alternator.Plans call for a lot of street miles on

this engine, so backing up the Y-Blockwill be a GM automatic overdrivetransmission connected using a Bendt-senTransmission adapter kit. Bendtsenwisely engineered this adapter to accepta common small-block Chevrolet hightorque starter motor and includes thestarter in the kit.

ALL FIRED UPIt was finally time to breathe life backinto the Y-Block. The silence was bro-ken when the starter engaged. In amo-ment, the Holleys teamed up toawaken the vintage Blue Oval. Therumble of the exhaust filled the roomwith a song not heard in years.After testing a few jet sizes, the mo-

MSD Ignitionmsdignition.com(915) 857-5200

Outcast Kustomsoutcastkustoms.net(651) 492-9565

Powermaster Motorsportspowermastermotorsports.com(865) 688-5953

Red’s Headersreds-headers.com(760) 343-2590

Royal Purpleroyalpurple.com(281) 354-8600

Speedway Motorsspeedwaymotors.com(800) 979-0122

TPIS-TPI Specialtiestpis.com(952) 448-7988

Vintage Speedvintagespeed.com(772) 778-0809

TESTING 1-2-3WE PUT SEVERAL MULTI-CARB SETUPSTHROUGH A WORKOUT ON DYNOBY MARK SIMPSON

In preparation for our Y-Block story, we dis-covered a great deal of conflicting informationin regards to using Holley 94 series carburetorsin multi-carb setups. Some believed the Hol-leys were a poor choice for these setups whileothers proclaimed their superiority over themore commonly used Stromberg 97s.

We decided to put the Holleys though theirpaces and accurately test them to determinewhat tuning needed to be done to optimizetheir performance. Different primary and sec-ondary bases, progressive linkage, straight

linkage, staggered jets sizes, even jet sizes,different power valve sizes, and block offs allwould be tested.

As soon as we finalized our plans andstarted rebuilding several cores, SpeedwayMotors released their new take on the oldfamiliar Stromberg 97 in a carb they dubbedthe “9Super7.”

The 9Super7 listed for under $300 and wehad nearly racked up that much each into re-building our Holleys with all the options wewanted to test. We were skeptical of how theywould perform for the price and couldn’t resistordering a set, after all we were going to beon dyno anyway. What we discovered sur-prised even us. For the complete story of ourcarb testing visit streetmachineclub.com.

NSMC

SOUR

CES

Zinc dithiophosphate levels in current “SM”certified oils have been dramatically reducedover concerns they would clog catalytic con-verters. Unfortunately, this increases the wearin older flat-tappet engines and can even leadto premature engine failure, especially in newlyrebuilt engines. Royal Purple has respondedwith their new Engine Break-In Oil, specially for-mulated with highly refined mineral oil and ad-vanced additives containing high levels of zincand phosphorus to optimize protection in flat-tappet and roller engines. This oil allows opti-mal ring seal and protects rotating assemblycomponents such as the camshaft and valve-train from initial start up wear, and during thefirst 2,500 miles of engine break-in.

We modified our finned aluminum valley panto accept a factory style aluminum oil fill andbreather tube, then TIG welded it in place.

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Torque is what you feel and horsepower is what youbrag about. Our Y-Block lived up to its reputation forbeing a torquey little engine, posting 258 ft.-lbs. atonly 2,400 rpm with a max torque of 277 ft.-lbs. at3,500 rpm. Our horsepower improved over stock andcame in at a respectable 253 at 5,400 rpm.

Gary at Outcast Kustoms insisted our Y-Blockneeded to be baby butt smooth, to achieve the’50s show-car look. He painstakingly smoothedout the block and heads before laying downseveral coats of Eastwood’s new engine paint.

VINTAGE SPEEDSECONDARY CARB BASES

SPEEDWAYMOTORS9SUPER7 CARBURETORS

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