04-02-2021, 08:49 PM | #21 | |
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Re: 1cm
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04-02-2021, 09:09 PM | #22 |
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Re: 1cm
Back to the original question... merc 4-in? Since you say you run it up, that means it's not stuck. So, pull a plug, and measure the stroke. I think it might have been Ron that posted long ago, regarding using a large zip tie (or other flexible 'something', like a cable.) I'll let others elaborate. Should be able to tell if it's 3.75 or 4.00
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04-02-2021, 11:19 PM | #23 |
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Re: 1cm
Not a betting man, but I'm hoping the zip tie says it's a 255. That truck that it's in is already a hotrod. Put a license plate on it (or not) and run it into town on a Saturday night. What could possibly go wrong?
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04-03-2021, 07:37 AM | #24 |
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Re: 1cm
Put a ramp bed on it and haul your hot rod!
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04-03-2021, 07:52 AM | #25 |
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Re: 1cm
I don't think an accurate measure can be taken with the heads on. The tie strap is generally used to find TDC on #1 cylinder. The crankshaft counterweight measurement across the cheek is a good way other wise pull a head and measure from TDC to BDC.
The F6 we had back in the day had a 239 CID engine but it wasn't made in Canada either. The F7 & F8 Big Jobs all either had the Lincoln 337 till 1952 then they had the 279 CID or 317 CID big Y-blocks in F7/F8 or F700/F800 respectively till 1956. Ford of Canada always did things differently so the larger F5 & F6 Ford trucks may have also had the 255 available to them. This is not common in the US. All the F1 through F6 Ford trucks I've worked on had 239 CID engines with 8RT heads. |
04-03-2021, 10:11 AM | #26 |
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Re: 1cm
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Unfortunately, that would make it a 239. I think you going to have to measure it to satisfy all of the inquiring minds out there. |
04-03-2021, 10:23 AM | #27 |
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Re: 1cm
Can you see any casting marks on the block? Like "C1BA"...if so, good chance it has a 4" crank.
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04-03-2021, 10:46 AM | #28 |
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Re: 1cm
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04-03-2021, 11:10 AM | #29 |
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Re: 1cm
A friends parents bought a new 52 F-2, he was still using it in the 70's and I ask him about the Mercury heads. He said they were on it when it was new and they were to lower compression for trucks. But it was a USA build.
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04-03-2021, 02:22 PM | #30 |
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Re: 1cm
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04-03-2021, 02:26 PM | #31 | |
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Re: 1cm
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04-03-2021, 02:28 PM | #32 | |
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Re: 1cm
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04-03-2021, 05:54 PM | #33 |
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Re: 1cm
Wow all those trucks! Not only was the 255 optional, but the M series 6 cyl 254" was in the mix. Newc
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04-03-2021, 09:33 PM | #34 |
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Re: 1cm
For US production, it was '52 when trucks got the 279 and 317 OHV engines. I would think it odd that Canadian production would have them earlier, but some states/provinces titled vehicles by year of 1st sale, not by model year.
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04-03-2021, 09:57 PM | #35 |
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Re: 1cm
As far as I know (which I will admit is limited), the Canadian trucks came from the same plant whether they were Ford or Mercury at Walkerville at least till the Oakville plant was built later.
I think what Tubman was trying to get across is that Mercury engines generally used the 4-stud Holley 885 type carb so they had a different manifold and air filter. Ford US didn't put a 3-stud model 94 on a Mercury engine for the 8BA era. They generally always used the Holley 885 to the best of my knowledge. I can't say about Canada for any certainty but it does make a person think about what they were doing there. Mercury heads would have been comparable to truck heads for compression but they aren't the same. They are close but not the same. Trucks pulling heavy loads had to have lower compression and gearing for the engine to survive. Mercury heads were not as low a compression as truck heads but not far from it. They lowered the compression due to the increase in cubic inch displacement to keep the overall compression about the same as the 239 CID engines. This would lower the possibility of detonation under extreme loads. This is why I question the use of 1CM heads or any Mercury heads on a truck for that matter. |
04-03-2021, 10:01 PM | #36 |
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Re: 1cm
I have a '50 C8BA block that had the C8CM heads on both sides, a four bolt intake, and a Merc crank and had never been bored.
My best guess is that they were short a proper Merc block and just put all the Merc guts in to satisfy the Merc it was to be matched to as the basic block was used for both Ford and Mercs. The block came out of a Merc. So who knows for sure what happened on the assembly line back in the day... |
04-04-2021, 06:25 AM | #37 |
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Re: 1cm
The 8BA in my 52 Vic had Merc heads & cam. It ran quite well . When i rebuilt it, found out it had domed pistons. I think those pistons may have helped improve performance...?
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04-04-2021, 07:17 AM | #38 |
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Re: 1cm
I guess it depends on how high the crown of the dome is. All the Ford made 8BA pistons were domed originally. The Mercury and Ford pistons only differ by the piston pin location since they have the same con rods. The French made SUMB engines are the only exception to that rule that I'm aware of since they made a shorter con rod for their 255 CID engines.
There have been all sorts of aftermarket 8BA type pistons over the years depending on application and manufacturer. Some have a cone shape dome instead of a radius shaped dome and some were made on a different radius. |
04-05-2021, 06:59 PM | #39 |
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Re: 1cm
My Mercury engine still has a lot of the original green paint ECM heads 4” crank and it came with a 3 bolt manifold and a strange tower on the 3 speed that the shifter came forward up over the back of the engine.
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04-05-2021, 07:49 PM | #40 |
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Re: 1cm
Cab Over Engine (COE) trucks had a different shift tower arrangement. Maybe that's why it has the strange shape.
Another thing I wanted to mention on post 38 is that all the 8BA era blocks were basically the same. Ford Dearborn used the same casting till sometime in 1951 when they added a 1BA casting mark in the lifter valley. This designated two things. The 1BA blocks had the rotator type valves and the crankshaft had a larger bore in the back end to accept the automatic transmission torque converter. I would not be surprised if a Canadian C8BA block had Mercury heads if it was truly an OEM Mercury 255 build but it's easy to replace the heads too. Some of the Canadian truck engines I've seen had the tan color paint but I don't know how far that went. Ford Dearborn even changed colors several times in the 8BA era depending on whether it was a Ford, Mercury, or a truck. With Canada's separate Ford and Mercury dealer system it made for a lot of interesting differences from their US counterparts. It likely makes it hard to get parts for some of the semi-orphan models like the Comet and the Monarch cars since there were no US counterparts. |
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