The Ford Barn - View Single Post - What Y-Block camshafts work well with automatic transmissions?

Daves55Sedan · 08-20-2021, 05:50 PM

My '55 Ford with 292 Y-block/Ford-O-Matic underwent serious engine remanufacturing in 1992. It was bored .060 over, milled heads and had a normal street performance camshaft installed. Crankshaft journals were ground and all new crank bearings. I re-used all the old valves and reinstalled after grinding and hand lapping into their seats. Added a couple of large washers under weak valve springs. I put the original '55, 2-bbl intake manifold on which had a Ford EBU (bugsprayer) style carb on it as it came from the factory.
I drove the car 60 miles/day, 5-days/wk at highway speeds from 1994 until 2016. The engine is still going strong. My area is between 400-600 ft. abv sea level and the intake manifold vacuum is a steady 19.
The guy that did the engine block machine work was meticulous beyond compare. You couldn't get him to overlook .0001 inch if you paid him to look the other way, so I'm sure he ordered the highest quality parts he could get.
The camshaft was #229-1210 with #FM-1223M cam bearing set, but I don't know what brand. If you can find a camshaft part# conversion chart on the internet, that might help.
I'd be more worried about the oil you are using than the camshaft itself. I use either Valvoline Premium Blue 15W-40 for gasoline and diesel engines pretty much year round, and we have climate extremes here, (extremely cold in winter and extremely hot in summer).
now it is 2021 and the old Y-block is still going as strong as it was in 1994.

08-20-2021, 05:50 PM	#4
Daves55Sedan Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Granite City, Illinois Posts: 3,008	Re: What Y-Block camshafts work well with automatic transmissions? My '55 Ford with 292 Y-block/Ford-O-Matic underwent serious engine remanufacturing in 1992. It was bored .060 over, milled heads and had a normal street performance camshaft installed. Crankshaft journals were ground and all new crank bearings. I re-used all the old valves and reinstalled after grinding and hand lapping into their seats. Added a couple of large washers under weak valve springs. I put the original '55, 2-bbl intake manifold on which had a Ford EBU (bugsprayer) style carb on it as it came from the factory. I drove the car 60 miles/day, 5-days/wk at highway speeds from 1994 until 2016. The engine is still going strong. My area is between 400-600 ft. abv sea level and the intake manifold vacuum is a steady 19. The guy that did the engine block machine work was meticulous beyond compare. You couldn't get him to overlook .0001 inch if you paid him to look the other way, so I'm sure he ordered the highest quality parts he could get. The camshaft was #229-1210 with #FM-1223M cam bearing set, but I don't know what brand. If you can find a camshaft part# conversion chart on the internet, that might help. I'd be more worried about the oil you are using than the camshaft itself. I use either Valvoline Premium Blue 15W-40 for gasoline and diesel engines pretty much year round, and we have climate extremes here, (extremely cold in winter and extremely hot in summer). now it is 2021 and the old Y-block is still going as strong as it was in 1994.