Ford Y-block engine WIP - finished 4/29/15 (busted photo links fixed, 3/7/16)

[Russell C]

First, I'm no expert on engines, but with enough observations of reference photos, I can usually get a majority of details right that I'm not overly criticized by detail purists. My NASCAR Mercedes 4-cylinder engine and my Top Fuel 4x4 7-cylinder engine, for example.

Here's the starting collection of a Y-block out of the AMT '56 Ford Crown Vic, with just a bit of preliminary work on creating a separate starter, getting the tube on the front ready for a separate chrome cap, separate pulleys, and the beginnings of a lathe-turned aluminum alternator. It has a watch gear as the fins part and another pressed steel watch part that I will alter in order to kill the proverbial "floating alternator" problem. Not seen on the other side is the shaved-off oil filter, that's what the new white motor tool-turned white plastic thing is toward the back. The intake has a new bit on the front to make installing a radiator hose work better, and I think I can get away with using my long left-over set of Holley dual quad carburetors out of the Quicksilver kit (scratch that, see correction in post #35), but I will have to separate 'em and turn 'em sideways like this guy did. (I wont tell anyone they're 24th scale if you don't)

After rummaging through enough reference pics, it begins to look like the AMT Crown Vic engine is not all that great of a representative of a Y-block, but oh well. Good enough for jazz in my case. I'm not using the kit tranny, and the reason for that will become obvious a bit later.

Edited March 8, 2016 by Russell C
fixed busted photo links caused when forum was upgraded

[tbill]

I like what I see so far, looking good.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Looks good to me, and instantly recognizable as what it's supposed to be.

[62rebel]

replace the straight-up distributor mounting post so it will angle correctly.

[Cato]

replace the straight-up distributor mounting post so it will angle correctly.

Rebel, my 1:1 FE has the dist vertical; why would the Y-Block be angled? Are the block castings different?

[62rebel]

completely. the distributor sits at the back of the block behind the intake. the tube in front of the intake is the oil filler. FE's have "split" heads, half of the head is part of the intake, and there is no open "valley" to use a cover, such as the Y-block has. FE's mount the oil filter up front either horizontally or vertically from an oil filter bracket, not a filter housing bolted directly to the driver's rear of the block. FE's have internal oil pump plumbing where Y-blocks have it externally plumbed. FE's mount the water pump via four bolts over the timing cover and separate from it, and their distributor nestles snugly up front of the intake.

[Russell C]

replace the straight-up distributor mounting post so it will angle correctly.

Yep, right off the bat that had me wondering since the kit has it straight up, but all the photos I see like this one show it angled.

The other mystery to me is how the AMT instruction sheet says to paint the block, heads & such blue, but with only a few sorta Petty-ish blue exceptions among tons of internet photos, nearly all Y-blocks are orangy-red. AMT was aiming for a particular variant?

Now, the reason why I think the AMT block isn't quite right is that the block's lower vertical side areas and vertical side areas of the heads look taller on the full size (ignore that guy's likely rattle-can gold paint). But regarding the heads, it could be AMT's exhausts are too thick, making it look like there is not enough area below 'em to stick in the spark plugs....

[chunkypeanutbutter]

This page: http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/293251-how-to-properly-color-a-y-block.html ....

....says....

"'54 - Creme/Ivory colored block with red air cleaner and valve covers, black

accessories

'55/'57 - Red block, black valve covers and accessories, Argent Gray air

cleaner

'58 - red block, black air cleaner, valve covers, and accessories"

[Ace-Garageguy]

Now, the reason why I think the AMT block isn't quite right is that the block's lower vertical side areas and vertical side areas of the heads look taller on the full size . But regarding the heads, it could be AMT's exhausts are too thick, making it look like there is not enough area below 'em to stick in the spark plugs....

Last one we had in the shop. Does this do you any good? I've got a lot of shots of this particular engine I can put up in the 1:1 reference section if you want.

Edited February 28, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy

[Russell C]

... any good? I've got a lot of shots of this particular engine I can put up in the 1:1 reference section...

Well, the more pics there are, the more probable it is that I'll spot a detail I've overlooked. Plus other builders probably could use 'em as well since it was a reasonably popular engine. I won't turn 'em down if you got 'em.

Edited February 28, 2015 by Russell C

[afx]

Last one we had in the shop. Does this do you any good? I've got a lot of shots of this particular engine I can put up in the 1:1 reference section if you want.

Yes please Bill make a post in the 1:1 reference for this engine.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Yes please Bill make a post in the 1:1 reference for this engine.

They're up.

[Cato]

completely. the distributor sits at the back of the block behind the intake. the tube in front of the intake is the oil filler. FE's have "split" heads, half of the head is part of the intake, and there is no open "valley" to use a cover, such as the Y-block has. FE's mount the oil filter up front either horizontally or vertically from an oil filter bracket, not a filter housing bolted directly to the driver's rear of the block. FE's have internal oil pump plumbing where Y-blocks have it externally plumbed. FE's mount the water pump via four bolts over the timing cover and separate from it, and their distributor nestles snugly up front of the intake.

Thanks rebel. I'm intimately familiar with FE's; did not realize they are radically different designs. Thanks to Ace for great photos.

[Russell C]

Distributor. Ground off the part below the cap, glued a rod into the underside hole to have something to grip the remaining cap with. That's a #77 drill bit on the left (minus the pin vice I used, of course) and some nice reasonably soft blackened wire from my wire collection on the right. I can see why there's some demand for pre-wired distributors. Bit of a chore drilling nine holes, I got two of 'em nearly perfectly centered......

Edited March 5, 2016 by Russell C

[dino246gt]

Just a little tip for wiring that cap, push wire down through one hole and up through another, now one piece of wire becomes two wires and they won't pull out of the cap.

[DumpyDan]

Cool

[Jantrix]

replace the straight-up distributor mounting post so it will angle correctly.

Aw geez. I've built three y-blocks over the years and never noticed this.

Edited March 19, 2015 by Jantrix

[Stray]

Just a little tip for wiring that cap, push wire down through one hole and up through another, now one piece of wire becomes two wires and they won't pull out of the cap.

Now THAT is great thinking! I will definitely be taking this advice.

[Russell C]

Water line / oil filler cap. One item missing from the kit engine that's hard to miss in 1:1 photos is that 'water feature' thing (I only use highly technical lingo) at the top front which has a small two-size diameter line going to the front of the intake under the top radiator hose inlet. I made that out of a small chunk of a leftover suspension part with a flat piece at its back, and there is just a temporary copper wire there where the two-size diameter line will go later.

Next, I happened to have an old chrome oil filler tube cap in my parts pile, but the chrome on top was worn off and it had a dimple in it. So, I chucked it in my motor tool and 'lathe turned' it into a better dome shape. I didn't re-chrome the top, that is no more than a circle of Bare Metal Foil mashed onto it and polished with a tiny bit of Simichrome polish I still have from that decades-old tube in the background. That stuff really shines up BMF.

The oil filler cap is parked there temporarily on a wire peg. Ignore the bits sticking out from the sides of the heads, I'm filling in the locator holes for the headers so I can have a better appearance on the heads with the headers located just a teensy bit farther up.

 

Edited March 5, 2016 by Russell C

[Ron Hamilton]

I like this thread. I have an original Revell '56 Ford Pickup, which I plan to build. All of the door openings and hood line up fantastically, eve though things may change when I put in a set of door jambs, and reshape the windshield openings. I tried my hand at one of the re-issues back in the 90's, but the doors would not line up to save their lives, so I glued them shut, and put it back in the box. Where the kit is to this day I cannot tell you. It is in my basement somewhere. I got the original unbuilt kit from a friend for a good price. It had a tire burn in the hood, but that is easily fixed. I built one back in the early '70's, and thouroughly enjoyed it. I plan to do a Y-Block build for this one.

[Maindrian Pace]

I put a 312 into a '37 Ford pickup. Cool engines.

[Russell C]

Valve Covers. Close-up photograph is a great humbler. Top photo shows the not-so-good path I headed down first .....

..... chrome spray paint with bits of soft paperclip wire I attempted to 'turn' on my motor tool into something that resembled washers & bolt heads, and fine marker-painted lettering. Initially looked ok from a distance, but the photo bothered me too much. I thought the ribbed area was just too prominent, compared to what is seen in full size chromed covers. Which, from what I saw, never have raised letters. So, I filed off the letters, masked over the ribbed area, and sprayed a dozen or more thick coats of primer to build up the area.

Filed the raised rib areas flatter, applied five separate (top & 4 sides) areas of Bare Metal Foil to each cover, buffed it as shiny as I could get the surfaces, and then created the bolthead / washer effect by using gray insulated wire with the insulation stripped away from the very top. Much more overall satisfying appearance for me now. I've already nudged that one slightly askew bolthead/washer down a bit, and I'll have to make some of the ribbed lines in the tops a little wider. The white primer under the foil is just soft enough for me to mash in wider lines without wrecking the foil.

Edited March 8, 2016 by Russell C

[Cato]

I put a 312 into a '37 Ford pickup. Cool engines.

First class installation and presentation.

[Maindrian Pace]

Thank you!

[Russell C]

Fuel Pump & bowl. As the result of figuring out which fuel pump the AMT Crown Vic had in it via this guy's 1:1 truck engine photo gallery, below is how I busted up the one-piece kit part which was molded into the front cover piece. In the old days I would have been just fine with painting the entire piece the same color as the engine block, or maybe paint the case the same as the block and schlock some silver onto the pump, but being ever more observant while retaining my skills of working on itty-bitty parts, I just couldn't resist seeing if I could make the thing more fun to look at. Won't be deadly accurate, but this was at least an exercise to see what was possible.

A chunk of white sheet makes the block mount part of it more similar to the 1:1 pump. Since I had a piece of yellow discolored clear sprue in my collection of clear lens parts, I 'lathe-turned' that on my motor tool to the proper diameter. Using my smallest drill bit (#80), I drilled the holes in the sides for the rod thing that holds (?) the fuel bowl to the pump body. This is just friction-fit together temporarily, I was amazed that the wire clings to the clear bowl with the tiny notch I carved into the bump on the bottom. Good thing it hasn't popped out of there only to be lost in the carpet yet.

Edited March 8, 2016 by Russell C