Remanufactured Y-Block for my car

[hiball3985]

When I have pulled engines, either stick or auto I just use a floor jack under the trans to support it. Lining up the torque converter bolts when reinstalling just takes a little juggling but isn't that hard.
If you have trouble reaching the two top bell housing bolts there are rubber plugs in the fire wall that can be removed from the inside and then use an extension and socket.

[oldave57]

Rich,

My engine hoist is the Harbor Freight 2-Ton (they have a 1.5 Ton also) and with it fully extended the capacity is reduced to 1/2 ton (or 1,000 lbs), so it should be able to lift the combined weight of the engine and transmission.  However, I agree completely with Rich that installing the engine/trans together would require the front radiator support and sheet metal removal.  The first picture is my installation of engine in my original 57 (about 12 years ago).  When I did that installation I had the transmission removed (to have it overhauled also) so the engine went in and then the transmission.  Had to do that from underneath but it went okay. 

I used that same hoist to raise up my Skyliner to remove the transmission from that car last year to put in new front seals.  Had to get the bottom of the tires up 16.5" from the floor in order to clear the underside of the engine bay with the transmission on the transmission jack (cheap Harbor Freight trans. jack), so had to build cribbing under the rears and some additional cribbing under my front ramps.  The cribbing was 4X6 pieces 12" long, all screwed together with construction screws so they couldn't slip apart.  Seemed very solid to me (and I was the one under the car).  It was all doable, but I was glad when it was over and the car was back on the ground.

Good luck with your engine.  I think your plan to remove the transmission first and then the engine seems the best.  I do wonder if you could reinstall the engine (probably need some rear engine support) and then push the car back up onto the lift for the transmission install.  It would be a lot easier than the way I did it.

Dave

[ROKuberski]

Dave,

Great photo of the engine on the hoist.  To minimize movement of the car, I plan to pull the engine with the car sitting under the hoist, no car on the hoist.  That way, I can roll the car back after lifting the engine.  I can then roll the engine on the hoist to the engine stand and then push the car back into the garage.  So, I will need to either remove the transmission or support it in position. 

I was looking at the front "V" shaped nose piece on the car.  I could not remember if that was on the car when it was painted or not.  It was not on the car, so I can remove this without breaking the paint if I have to.  To gain additional room, the front bumper would have to go too.  I'll send the engine on the hoist picture to my friend to see if his lift is similar.

It looks like you have a two sheave pulley on the harmonic balancer but there is a gap where a third sheave would fit.  Mine is a three sheave and is stock and, I need all three. 

I had thought I would mount the alternator/A/C compressor/PS pump on the engine before installation.  I see you have not done this.  Why?

I have considered removing the radiator support to repair some old rust damage that is directly under the battery.  I'll see better what it looks like when I have the engine out. 

I also noticed that your firewall is red, mine is white and that is original paint.  The white on the exterior of the car is a brighter white than the Ford Colonial White.  I will likely have a couple of rattle cans made up in my color to repaint the firewall.

Rich

[gasman826]

- the engine alone will come out without removing the hood...over the fender

- my Mickey Mouse picker was built too high off the floor.  With the car setting on the wheels, the picker would hit the tie rods.  The reach is too short...it would hit the bumper or nose...if it didn't, it was way too close for comfort.  With weight on it, the crappie casters won't roll over a fly turd!  Needless to say, the picker is now heavily modified with longer reach, lower to the floor, enforced everywhere, and added the transmission/rear end plate option.

- for installation of heavy things, I made a whole set of alignment bolts.  Just a couple of long bolts with the heads cut off, ground to somewhat of a point and slotted for easy removal with a screwdriver.

[59meteor]

Concerning the AC compressor and PS pump, back in the early 80s, I worked for 5 years as an engine Re & Re guy, so I replaced literally 1000 engines during that time, and we very rarely disconnected the AC lines, and never removed the PS pumps. We always unbolted the AC compressor and PS pumps, with the lines attached, and either wired it up for clearance, or were able to lay the pump or compressor down on the frame or rad support. Also, the only times we ever removed the transmission, was if the customer wanted it sent out for a rebuild while the engine was out, which rarely was the case. We didn`t have lifts, so usually unbolted everything up top first, then jacked the front of the vehicle up on jackstands, unbolted all the bottom stuff, and used a floor jack to support the transmission. On Fords with torque convertor studs, I always rotated the convertor so that the studs were at 12,3,6,and 9 oclock position, with a torque convertor drain plug at 6 oclock, and rotated the crankshaft so the flexplate holes were in the same positions. That would get everything close enough, so that when you had the engine just about all the way flush with the bellhousing, you could use a small flat blade screwdriver to make any minor adjustments with the drain plug to get the studs to pop into place. The engine job had us bring the car into the shop, pull the old engine, strip off, clean and paint all the sheetmetal parts, (oil pan, timing cover, valve covers, clean up the gasket surfaces of the intake and exhaust manifolds, water pump, fuel pump etc, check and clean all the pushrods, rocker arms, etc , and replace anything that needed replacing. Roll the old engine on a cart to the core strip down area, and pickup the fresh long block. The cam and timing chain setup was already installed, but we had to install the new lifters, the pushrods, rockers, etc, adjust or , on non adjustable valvetrains,check the hydraulic lifter preload. Put all the "tin" back on, and paint the engine, prime the oiling system, install it, fire it up and break in the cam and lifters, set the timing and carb, and road test the vehicle. Each guy would do 3 or 4 a week, sometimes one a day. If it was a custom job, where the customer wanted his original engine back, that would usually take 3 or 4 days, so you would do a couple of "1 dayer " jobs in between. I was in my mid 20s back then, and almost everything at that time was a carbed, V8 RWD American car, or a 2WD or 4x4 truck. Also did a lot of vans and some medium duty trucks, like Ford Louisvilles, COEs, and F 500-700 gas 361/391s, and 366/427 Chevy trucks. I sure couldn`t go at that pace anymore!

[CobraJoe]

I'm a little late to the party rich, but the "raising of the garage roof" video was pretty cool. Very well executed my friend.

[ROKuberski]

I'm a little late to the party rich, but the "raising of the garage roof" video was pretty cool. Very well executed my friend.

Thanks for the comments.

Rich

[ROKuberski]

Concerning the AC compressor and PS pump, back in the early 80s, ........

As I have about .001% of your experience, I am paying attention.  I had figured on evacuating the A/C system and removing the compressor.  Since it sits where the generator used to be, it would be easy to leave it unmolested.  Same with the power steering pump.  In Dave's photo of the engine on the hoist, I can see that the distributor has been removed.  Since that sort of tucks under the back of the firewall, I had thought it would be easy to damage it on the reinstall.  Perhaps the only thing I will leave on the engine is the bracket for the compressor and alternator and just rehang the bolt ons after the engine is safely back in the car.  One kicker is the adapter plate for the AOD.  That has a gear starter mounted on it and it would have to be on the back of the block when the engine is reinstalled, also the flex plate.

I'm also wondering what plugs you guys are running.  I have Autolite 46's in now.  Are there any "modern" upgrades that make sense?

Rich

[oldave57]

Rich,

Sorry for the delay in my response to your questions on my engine installation.  We were gone most of the day yesterday and I'm just getting back to the site. 

When I installed the engine I just wanted to keep the engine as bare as possible to avoid any interferences when it went into the bay.  The power steering pump/bracket and generator bracket were items that I felt could be installed after the engine was in place.  They could also be left on the engine for install but it was just something else to watch out for when the engine went in place.  The firewall on my Skyliner is colonial white.  In fact, I had touched up the upper portion of the firewall in the attached photo using Rustoleum rattle can paint (Canvas White, gloss finish) that you can buy at about any hardware/lumber store.  It matches pretty darn close to the original colonial white (probably not close enough for a patch on the exterior, but for engine bay and trunk it works pretty well). 

Good luck with the engine install.  Keep us posted on how it goes.

Dave

[SkylinerRon]

Ted Eaton in Texas is a top builder of Y-Blocks.  He wrote up a buildup he did very close to what you want in the Y-Block Magazine a couple months ago.

The heads you want to use are casting # ECZ-G.  Isky still has a number cams for Y-Blocks.

I have an Isky RPM-300 in one of my 57's it is mild, smooth idle, good power at all engine speeds.

Good luck with your build, glad to see someone using the 292. I think you will be happy with it.

Ron.

[ROKuberski]

Ron,

Do you have a link to the magazine article?

Also, is this the cam that you have?  I saw 4 in the catalog, but some seemed inappropriate for my use.  https://iskycams.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=407

Rich

[SkylinerRon]

Y-Block magazine is a very small publication, under 600 copies by subscription and not on the internet.

But you can buy back issues.

Most of the top Y-Block builders and racers write for it and subscribe, They also have Y-B Nationals Drag Race
at the big Ford Nationals at Cordova and a smaller one in Calif every year.

Contact:
Y-Block Magazine
PO Box 1005
Ottawa, IL.
61350

I recommend it to all YB owners and fans.

[SkylinerRon]

I built an A-Frame to pull engines back in the 60's.

Used 4 10ft 2" plumbing pipes and an 8ft long 4" I beam and welded 4 slide-in couplers on the I beam.

With this you can angle the engine and trans enough to put it in with a floor jack on the trans tailhousing.

Never had to disconnect an engine from trans.

Goodluck,

Ron.

[ROKuberski]

I too thought about making a lifting frame that I could mount on my lift, but I do have access to a friends 2-ton engine hoist and engine stand.  I'm sure that I can set my engine on the ground after I strip it and use the hoist to put the new engine on the stand and then put the stripped engine back on the crate that the new one was shipped to me in.

I've decided that I have to pull the transmission separately.  I have lots of practice at this and there will be less chance of damaging something.

With the engine bay empty, I will try to tweak the tubing that goes to the hydroboost unit a little.  That's so close to the exhaust manifold that access to plugs 7 & 8 is only from under the engine and even then it's very close work.

Rich

[lalessi1]

Back in the day, I took the 390 out of my car by myself without a hoist. I stripped the engine down to the long block, no bellhousing or flywheel. Pushed the thing on the ground and jacked the car up enough to drag the block out from under the car. I didn't have the money for the hoist.... Probably lucky I am not dead from doin' things like that!