Anybody Have Any Information on the 285 Horsepower Engine

[Oldmics]

Trying to find out anything about this engine that was short lived before the blower engine came out.

Want to find out exactly what camshaft was used. Looking for real documentation from Ford.

Thanks,Oldmics

[Lou]

I have a big Ford library and the only 385 HP engine I can find is the 1961 390 single 4 barrel HiPo engine.

[rmk57]

He's looking for info on a  285 hp engine, probably a y-block and something in-between the e and f code's.

[hemidave]

 The "Y block forever" site has a 13 page discussion on the specs of the 285 HP 312.

[Hoosier Hurricane]

Old Mics, I have some camshaft info, though not all of it is Ford documentation.  I have some copies of Ford internal communications that a friend, a former Ford engineer, sent me a few years ago.  One page is a sheet connecting part numbers to engineering numbers.  Today I reviewed the page, and found that there were TWO B7A-C camshafts listed.  One had an engineering number EDB-D, the other EDB-E.  In the mid '60s I ordered a B7A-C cam from My local dealer.  When I got it I noticed that someone had hand written "EDB-D" on the cardboard tube it came in.  It is stamped B7A-C on the back of the rear journal.  I still have the cam in my blown '57 T-Bird. I found a paper where I had checked several cams I had with my degree wheel and dial indicator.  I checked that cam, and it did not agree with the common 290 degree blower cam specs.  It checked 270 degrees in '60s cam talk.  It checked 230 degrees at .050 in today's cam speak.  I find that I can not use the .020 and .025 valve lash settings specified for the blower cam, it is unbearably noisy.  I run it at .016 and .018.  My measurements are IN 16-74, EX 73-17, lift IN .426, EX 405 (with 1.54 rockers), 118 degrees LSA.  Could this be the elusive 285 horse cam???    John

[Oldmics]

John

Thanks for posting up.

I probably have the same cam documentation from the same fellow.

Interesting that the specs for your cam does not match the published specs.

I have a stick that came from Smokeys yard sale from years back. It is supposedly a blower cam but also had some different measurements than what is commonly known.

I"ll have to drag it out and remeasure to see if it compares to your specs. I always kinda thought it may have been a Smokey special regrind.

I"ll get back to you regarding those specs in a coupla days.

Thanks again,Oldmics

[Hoosier Hurricane]

Old Mics, my paperwork came from Dennis.  I wonder if it is legal for me to have it.

I noticed that my cam specs are nowhere near the specs of your cam from the NOS 260 hp kit you have, so it obviously is not a left over 260 cam.   John

[59meteor]

Speaking of the 260HP kits, several years ago, I bought a pair of strange looking emblems from EBay , that had the "Mercury man"s head and "HP260" in the middle of the VEE shaped emblem. I thought they were kinda cool, and assumed that they were from some special package for a 260 small block, maybe in a Comet, but later I was told that they came inside of a Y Block 2x4 barrel setup that could have been bought over the counter at a Mercury dealer. Does that sound about right? I have never seen another emblem like that.

[Hoosier Hurricane]

Old Mics, did I read somewhere that the 285 also had milled heads?  Something like .035?   Or an old wives' tale?  John

[Oldmics]

Hoosier

I believe the 57 - 285 setup followed the same pattern as the 1956 Ford 260 setup.

The 56 setup had the ECZ-C heads milled (broached) .060 to raise the compression. I"m pretty sure the 57 285 followed the same already proven pattern by milling the ECZ-G heads.

The camshaft is the mystery?

Oldmics