1956 Big Truck Engines - confusion

[miker98038]

I believe that’s correct. Police cars and pick ups got the Dana 44 (or variant, there were at least a couple different bearing/axle combinations). The Ford rear end wouldn’t take the heavier loads. Hence the 9” rear end in 57.

[craig]

The 9" differential came out in '57. The 44 dana was stronger than the '49 thru '56 drop out differentials, but not as strong as the 9" that replaced both of them

[rotorwrench]

The 317 Y-block was a big block Y-design that replaced the old 337 flatheads in 1952. The 317 had hydraulic lifters for smoother and more quiet operation. The Big Job 317 had solid tappets as the 279 did.

The 279 was a big block truck version of the 317 design with the solid tappet cam followers. The 279 and 317 were used in the 1952 through 1955 F7/700 & F8/800 respectively. The later Big Job trucks (F700 & F800) used the 302 and 332 versions respectively and continued that practice for quite a while.

Lincoln cars eventually changed to the 341 in the same design in 1955 with the 368 coming in a year later. Lincoln then went on to the MEL engine design in 1958. Big Jobs kept the big block Lincoln type Y-designs till 1964 when they changed to the truck specific FE engines.