1961 F100 Unibody 292 Y Block Rebuild Advice

[dw-satx]

Hello everyone, my son and I picked up a 1961 F100 Uni-body truck with a 292 V8 and 3 speed manual transmission. It seemed to be running good, but we drove it home about 40 miles and it started knocking. We pulled the valve covers and did not see any oil coming up to the top end at all. We decided to do a complete rebuild so we have pulled the engine. Stripped down the block and discovered sludge as thick as peanut butter in the pan. Is that what 55 year old dino oil looks like? The odometer has 7,833 miles so I assume that means 107,833 miles. According to the previous owner the engine had never been touched. They were not the original owners, but they had owned it for 20 plus years and just drove it occasionally. It has a 2 bbl carburetor and the crossover exhaust. We would like to put a 4 bbl carb on it and get some rams horn exhaust manifolds to dual it out. Would also like to put in a mild cam, but nothing else performance wise. The truck is in really good shape so we want to keep it as original as possible, but not opposed to making modifications where it makes sense.

Though I am pretty handy with a wrench I do not have the experience to do this much of a rebuild myself so will be taking it to a local machine shop. Here is a list of what I am considering and any recommendations would be welcomed.

4 BBL carb - something with vacuum choke?
ECZ-9425-B intake manifold??
Rams Horn exhaust manifolds
Dual exhaust
Mild cam upgrade
New water pump
New timing chain and gears
New oil pump
Convert to an alternator (keep the generator look)
Add power brake booster - keep the drum brakes
New clutch and throw out bearing
New tires and shocks
Weatherstripping kit (all the rubber is shot or missing) except for windshield and rear window

Oh, what color should this engine be? Cannot see any color on it even after wiping away the dirt and grease. I'll post some pictures of the truck and engine over the next few days. Thanks!

[40 Deluxe]

My suggestions: Either get a carb with manual choke or electric choke to save the hassle of plumbing exhaust heat up to the choke. Might want to find a PCV set up from a '63 or '64 292 pickup-keeps the oil much cleaner! The sludge you found is from a
combination of '50's oil and a poor crankcase ventilation system. Y-blocks were notorious for sludging up and blocking oil flow to the rocker arms. Many aftermarket fixes were available, but if you install a PCV system you will eliminate the problem.

[Tinker]

pull the heads and clean out the the oil passages. y-blocks have always had upper head oil issues. There are many different fixes posted. do a search.

The passage goes up the block then 90 degrees along the head then up through the head. Neat. There are post about restricting the oil outlets or pressurizing it (pinching). Get it cleaned up, check the bearings and burn some tires

I did a large 2barrel holley with manual choke. intake change and carb. done deal.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Holley/510/0-4...Fda6wAodKAsO3Q

Tim is a great resource. http://yblockguy.com/
but there are a lot of yblock guys here that know their stuff.

A 292 is a great start already. torque monster. great motor to start with. If your doing a total rebuild there are some improvements to be made, just ask here.

headers reds... http://reds-headers.net/index.php?ma...ff807957e46715

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by dw-satx

..... what color should this engine be? Cannot see any color on it even after wiping away the dirt and grease.

Here's a link for engine colors, scroll down to the 4th chart.
http://www.y-block.info/enginecolor.html

dw-satx, lots of good basic engine info here...
http://ford-y-block.com/technical.htm

Originally Posted by Tinker

.....y-blocks have always had upper head oil issues.....
The passage goes up the block then 90 degrees along the head then up through the head.

just FYI, first photo, 1/4" (or less) oil passage along the head, immediately above the head gasket. This area can get clogged easily.
Photo 2, the oil passage up thru the block is 5/16", the passage up thru the head is 1/4".
.

[Daves55Sedan]

If nothing has ever been done to the engine, then it still has the original valve seats in the heads. It is essential that these all be changed to flame-hardened valve seats during the head rebuilding. The original seats will not hold up with use of un-leaded gasoline. You can keep your original valves though as long as they are not bent.

Make sure your rebuilder has a dunk-tank to dunk the engine in to dissolve all the old gunk in the engine oil passages. If he is any kind of rebuilder, this should be standard procedure.

[dw-satx]

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Thanks 40 Deluxe! Definitely do not want to repeat the sludge issue. I was thinking modern oil by itself would fix that once I got everything cleaned up, but will definitely look into the PCV setup. Thanks again!

Don

[dw-satx]

Tinker, I had already pulled the heads so went and took a look at those oil passages and they do not appear to be clogged, but it can definitely use a good cleaning. That will be one of the things that I will make sure the machine shop does.

Concerning the 2 bbl Holley carb, would I be able to use the original intake if I went that route? Thanks!

Don

[dw-satx]

[QUOTE=dmsfrr;1426387]Here's a link for engine colors, scroll down to the 4th chart.
http://www.y-block.info/enginecolor.html


Per that chart, I should have a black block and red valve covers. That would be in line with what I am seeing. Thanks!

Thanks for the other link as well. Will be doing some reading tonight.

Don

[dw-satx]

Daves55Sedan, Hardened valve seats is definitely one of the things I will have done - just did not have it on my list. I am having the heads re-worked at the same time I take the block in to be rebuilt. So if the valves are OK, I would like to re-use them. Should that be the same for the pistons? If there is nothing physically wrong with them can I or should I re-use them as well?

[Tinker]

dmsfrr, posted this link. Its a great link to look through.

dw-satx, lots of good basic engine info here...
http://ford-y-block.com/technical.htm

here's another one.
http://yblockguy.com/techtips/tech_tips.htm

What carburetor do you have now?

[Tinker]

Far better people here with better suggestions.

https://fordbarn.com/forum/showthread...ght=holley+500

https://fordbarn.com/forum/showthread...ght=holley+500

couple links.

[dw-satx]

Not sure what I have as there is no manufacturer logo or name anywhere that I can see anyway. It is not the original carb and why I was so eager to replace it. Here are a few pics.

[Tinker]

looks like a ford motorcraft 2 barrel.

[dw-satx]

Judging from some pics on the web, it looks like I have an Autolite 2100. I'll look up pics for the Ford Motorcraft 2 bbl and compare to that as well.

Those look pretty darn similar and the listing on Autozone says Autolite/Motorcraft 2100 and 2150.
http://www.autozone.com/repairguides...00c1528008557e

[Tinker]

yep - basically the same carb

[Tinker]

So you have a ECZ-9425-A intake now?

[dw-satx]

I think it is a GOAE-9425-F or a COAE-9425-F.

[Ole Don]

One thing that someone who is not familiar with a Y block can miss; the oil filter adapter must be removed before hot tanking. Its about a 1 1/16 nut.

[dw-satx]

Thanks Ole Don, Mine is still on there at the moment. Will make sure to get that removed, bagged and tagged for reinstall when we get it back from the machine shop.

Don (DW-SATX)

[scicala]

"Concerning the 2 bbl Holley carb, would I be able to use the original intake if I went that route? Thanks!"


Don, yes the new Holley from Summit will bolt onto your intake. A 500 CFM one may have throttle bores larger than the intake manifold so be careful there. To get full advantage of the larger carb, you may need to get the manifold holes bored out larger.

Sal