This is a first in a series of articles about engine families and their history/ idiosyncrasies. Eaton Balancing offers services for all types of engines.
Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Production: 1954–1964
Predecessor: Ford L-Head engine (Flathead V8)
Successor: Ford FE engine, Ford Windsor engine
The Ford Y-block engine was introduced in 1954 by the Ford Motor Company to replace the side-valved Ford Flathead V8 engine. It was later superceded by the Ford FE (Ford Edsel) engine in 1958 and the Ford Windsor engine (on smaller cars) in 1962 but remained in production as a base V8 engine offering through the 1964 model year as a viable engine for the Ford truck lineup. Regarding its 1954 introduction, the story goes that the engine was originally planned to be introduced in 1953 to coincide with the Ford Motor Company’s 50th anniversary but a nickel shortage that year (in part due to the military action taking place in Korea) delayed the planned introduction until the following year. But that extra year paid off in that the 239 (Ford) and 256 (Mercury) engines had very few new engine introduction issues and many of these engines are subsequently still on the road today. The same could not be said for the introduction of the 1955 Chevrolet 265 cubic inch engines which were confronted by a majority of warranty issues due to its rush into production. The last year for a Y-Block engine to be officially used in a Ford car was 1962.
Because this engine was the result of ‘clean slate’ engineering, there were many new design features not previously seen on a Ford production V8. Some of these features included full pressure oil filtration, counterweighted fuel pump concentrics, oil trough for timing chain oiling, valve guide oil diverters, shaft rocker arms, a single water pump, and staggered oiling at the connecting rod journals. Priority oiling to the mains was also a standard feature and was eventually reintroduced on the sideoiler 427 as an upgrade to the FE oiling system. Although some of these features were eliminated after the introduction of the engine as cost cutting measures, other improvements were also introduced during the course of the engines production life (1954-1964). Some of these included the oil slinger at the rear of the crankshaft (1956), neoprene rear seals that would replace the original asbestos rope seals, a gerotor style of oil pump over the originally introduced spur gear style of oil pump (1957), the introduction of the disposable spin on oil filter in place of the cartridge filter sytem, and an upgrade of the Load-O-Matic ignition system to a more modern ignition sytem (1957).
Particular to this family of engines are the stacked intake ports at the heads and intake manifold. Instead of the intake ports being side by side as is the common practice, the intake ports are in pairs and stacked on top of each other. The thought process behind this is a larger port being available while leaving room for the optimum placement of the pushrods. The intake ports being stacked also contributes to the runner lengths being the same lengths or more equalized between all the cylinders which in turn makes for a higher peak torque than an engine with varying lengths of intake ports.
This family of engines is infamously known for having oiling problems at the rocker shafts which in turn is directly attributed to the poor quality of the oils at the time. The non-detergent oils in conjunction with the already slow flow rates of oil to the topend subsequently allowed the oil galleries to plug or stop up. This problem plagued the entire Y-block family of engines during all years of production and the common fix was to run a separate oil line from one of the main oil galley plugs in the block directly to the valve covers to a hollow valve cover stud which allowed oil to directly feed to the rocker shafts. By the original design and so that the top end was not flooded in oil, an oiling restriction was placed at the center cam bearing that forced the oil to flow through or around the center cam journal in a very controlled manner. The design of the restriction simply added to the problem of the slow flow rate of oil to the topend. The oiling problem was also compounded by a cast 2” long horizontal channel on the head deck surface which allowed non-detergent oil to sludge up in this area and also inhibit the flow. The modern fix is to groove the block behind the center cam bearing so that a full flow of oil at this area is restored to the topend of the engine and restricting any excess flow at the rocker arms. And of course, a good quality oil and a reasonable frequency to the oil changes also helps significantly.
Distinctive also to this family of engines is the rear mounted distributor and other than the LYB engines that were introduced in 1952, these were the only V8 engines offered by FoMoCo having rear mounted distributors. Another distinction on the Y family of engines are the center cylinders having the exhaust valves placed next to each other. This created some overheating in this area and was eventually worked around by the use of ‘steam’ holes in the block and heads to aid in some additional cooling and especially on those cars with low profile radiators such as those offered on the 1960 thru 1962 Fords. With the introduction of the FE and MEL engines in 1958, lessons had been learned in regards to exhaust valve placement and the new engines remedied this issue by either placing intake valves next to each other at the center cylinders or simply doing an even stagger of the valves down the head.
A quick reference of the engine specifications for 1955-57 will show the Ford V-8s ahead of the Chevrolet counterparts in displacement, horsepower and torque. The Y-block head provided 
excellent air flow and considered superior to the Chevrolet engines of the same time period. Although the Y-Blocks were on the heavy side, the real detriment was its displacement limit. The original architecture was very small and tight. Even with the benefit of today’s technology, (aftermarket rods and stroker cranks) the reasonable limit of a Y-block is about 352 cubic inches while the Chevrolet small block design could go well past the factory limit of 400. Simply put, with the ever increasing size and weight of the standard passenger car, the added parasitic losses for accessories like power steering, power brakes and air conditioning, cheap gasoline and the horsepower race all conspired to outgrow the first Ford OHV V-8 engine. It is interesting to note that both Ford and Chevrolet went to optional “big block” engines for 1958, 352 in³ (5.8 L) at Ford compared to 348 in³ (5.7 L) at Chevrolet.
Note that Lincoln introduced its own Y-block in 1952 and are more commonly referred to as the LYB (Lincoln Y-Block) or OHV (overhead valve). That engine was used in the various car lines through 1957 at which point it was officially replaced with the MEL (Mercury Edsel Lincoln) engine that was introduced in 1958. The LYB engines did continue to be used in the trucks though through 1963.
239
The first Y-block was the 1954 239 in³ (3.9 L) Ford engine; known for its deep skirting which causes the engine resemble a Y. Rated at 130 hp (97 kW), it replaced the 239 in³ (3.9 L) Flathead which was rated at 106 hp (79 kW). The Y-block was considered a major advancement over the flathead. The 239 engines lacked the breathing abilities compared to the later model Y’s and the first year engines also had some of their own pecularities in regards to water pumps, fuel pumps, distributors, oil drives, oil pumps, and camshafts which made many of the parts on the 239 not interchangable with later model Y-Block engines. The early 239 engines also incorporated a washered 14mm sparkplug which was superceded by a tapered seat 18mm spark plug in 1955.
256
Introduced in 1954, the Mercury Y-block was the 256 in³ (4.2 L). The 256 engine was available in the 1954 Fords for law enforcement use. This engine was originally intended to be the Ford offering in 1955 and the 272 would then be the Mercury offering for 1955. But the introduction of the 265 by Chevrolet in 1955 moved plans up in that the 272 was moved into the Ford spot and the 292 moved into the Mercury spot instead. The 256 engines subsequently were not offered in the Ford lineup and likewise, the 272’s were not offered in the Mercury lineup. The same interchange issues that were present with the 239 engines also apply to the Mercury 256 engines.
272
The 272 in³ (4.5 L) version was introduced in 1955. Most standard Fords used this engine with a two barrel version being rated at 162 HP. A four barrel version was offered and called the “182 HP Special”. The 272’s were not a standard Mercury offering. The 272’s were used in the truck lineup from 1955 through 1957.
292
The 292 in³ (4.8 L) was also introduced in 1955 and used in the Ford Thunderbird and Mercury cars (as the “Thunderbird Special”). For 1955, the 292 was not available in the Ford pa
ssenger car lineup except as an option when ordered by a government or law enforcement agency. For 1956, the 292 was offered in the Ford lineup as the Thunderbird V8 option while the 272 still remained the standard V8 in 1956. The 292 engine was also used in Ford truck lineup starting in 1958 and used through 1964. The 292 was used in the Ford car lineup through the ’62 model year after which point it was replaced by the small block Ford engine. The 292 blocks continued to be cast and assembled as both short blocks and complete engines for warranty, industrial, and marine usage until late 1967 although they were no longer being put in any trucks after 1964.
The 292 forged steel crankshaft available in the HD truck engines was popular with hot rodders in stroking the 289 V8’s. With some machine work, this part was used to upstroke the 289 V8’s to a 340 cid in combination with custom-made pistons and a .040 inch overbore (4.040 in. x 3.3 in.).
Ford Australia released this V8 motor as its only option in the 4 door sedan Customline for 1955 through 1959 (based on the Crown Victoria) and its utility based on the same styling as the Customline and called a Mainline.
The 292 version of the Y-Block engine was used in Argentina in the F-100 Pick-up well into the sixties, and was known as Fase I (Phase I). Later in the sixties, the engine was modified to accept a new-style cylinder head with a different valve arrangement (E-I-E-I-E-I-E-I versus E-I-I-E-E-I-I-E) and was re-named the Fase II (Phase II). In this form, the 292 Fase II continued into the eighties in the F-100, and in addition, was also used in the Argentine Ford Fairlane (built from 1969 to 1982, and based heavily on American 1968 model).
The 292 Y was used in Ford produced vehicles in Brazil until 1975 while a gasoline 272 Y was used in the F-100 until 1977. Ford kept the 272 engine on large trucks until 1980 with these running on alcohol. These 272 alcohol engines are rare though as they are high compression and as alcohol fuel became priced closer to gasoline in the mid eighties, the engines were swapped out for either gasoline or diesel engines of other makes.
312
The 312 in³ (5.1 L) engine was offically introduced in 1956 and was again used in high-end Ford and Mercury cars including the Thunderbird. Documentation exists showing this engine was available in 1954 as a test engine and for purpose built vehicles but was not offered in any production vehicles until 1956. 1957 was the last year the 312 was offered in the Ford cars while 1960 was the last year it was offered in the Mercury lineup. The 312 engines incorporated a larger main journal size than its smaller counterparts (239, 256, 272, 292) but these crankshafts are popular with the hot rodding segment in that the mains can be turned to the smaller journal sizes and easily placed in the 292 blocks.
The 312 was available with a 2 barrel carburetor, a 4 barrel carburetor, two 4 barrel carburetors, and a McCulloch (Paxton) supercharger. Although the supercharged engine was factory rated at 300 HP, general concensus is that none left the factory at less than 340 HP.
Although 1960 was the last year the 312 was factory installed in a vehicle (Mercury), the blocks continued to be cast and assembled as short blocks and completed engines for warranty, industrial, and marine usage. Starting late in 1961, the C2AE reinforced main block was used for both the 292 and 312 engines and these were cast up to the end of 1967.
Quickest Y-Blocks on record.
Randy Gummelt eclipsed a thirty plus year old Australian record originally set by Bob Saint James (9.10 seconds at 173 mph in 1974) when he traveled the measured standing quarter mile at 8.15 seconds at 163+ mph. This was done at National Trails Dragway located at Hebron, Ohio, Sep 3, 2005.
Bob Linsay. The Randy Gummelt record held until August 16th, 2009 when Bob Lindsay ran a 7.966 and 171.46mph in the quarter at an Oregon track. Bob’s vehicle of choice is 180″ front engine dragster. Congrats go to Bob.
Fastest Y-Blocks on record.
Karol Miller, 155.844 mph, 1956 Ford Victoria, Feb 14, 1958, Daytona Beach.
Keith Cornell, Rolling Bones Group out of New York, 1932 Ford with 342″ Y-Block, 175.539 mph at Bonneville on 8-17-2011.
Keith Cornell, Rolling Bones out of New York, 1932 Ford with 342″ Ford Y-Block, 183.742 mph at Bonneville on 8-14-2012.
Keith Cornell, Rolling Bones Group out of New York, 1932 Ford with 352″ Ford Y-Block, 188.563 mph at Bonneville on 8-11-2013.
Tim McMasters, D/GR roadster, 304″ Y-Block, 192.365 mph at Bonneville Speed Week 8-9-2020.
Largest Y-Blocks on record.
412 cubic inch. Awaiting permission to publish name and details. Doubt anyone is going to beat this one with a factory block. The next one down from this is a 403 incher which was a 4.00″ bore X 4.00″ stroke using a fully sleeved block. Using a stock bored block without sleeves, a 375 incher is an easy put together using a billet 4″ stroke crankshaft. Eaton Balancing used the 375 cubic inch combination in the 2009 & 2010 Engine Masters Challenge competitions. At the 2016 Engine Masters Challenge, Eaton Balancing took a first place win in the Vintage Engine class with a 375″ Y-Block producing 603 HP in normally aspirated form.
Update: With custom angled parting line connecting rods, the use of 4.250-4.300″ stroke crankshafts can now be used in the Ford Y without extensive block modifications or excessive bore sizes. These crankshafts allow for an easy 390-403 cubic inch displacements for both street and racing use.
If you have documentation of a quicker or faster or larger Y than previously stated, then please email me the pertinent (and documented) information. Thanks. Ted Eaton.