55 engine swap?

[skidrdan]

I have a 292 that I am tearing down and it seems to have a lot of stop leak in the cooling jackets toward the rear of the engine. I don't know if this means there is a cracked block or head some where, but hoping not. Does any one sell short or long blocks that would fit in the car. Hoping it doesn't come to that! I have a 289 with a C4 trany from a mustang, is there any way to retro fit that if it came to that. looks like the deep part of the oil pan is in front on the 289, where the 292's pan is in the rear. Hoping for the best, when I can get out of the house and to the machine shop to seek professional advise. Thanks for any shared wisdom. Dan

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[jack-in-sac]

I have a 292 that I am tearing down and it seems to have a lot of stop leak in the cooling jackets toward the rear of the engine. I don't know if this means there is a cracked block or head some where, but hoping not. Does any one sell short or long blocks that would fit in the car. Hoping it doesn't come to that! I have a 289 with a C4 trany from a mustang, is there any way to retro fit that if it came to that. looks like the deep part of the oil pan is in front on the 289, where the 292's pan is in the rear. Hoping for the best, when I can get out of the house and to the machine shop to seek professional advise. Thanks for any shared wisdom. Dan

The stop leak may or may not have been a block problem. It could have been a blown head gasket. On the other hand there are not new Y-block blocks that I know of. I have seen many engine transplants over the years from modern Coyotes to 50s Chrysler Hemis to big block Fords and Cadillacs. Certainly a Chevrolet that masqueraded as a Y-Block. Lastly a Windsor is certainly done. The engine bay accommodates a wide range of engines. You would need to use a rear sump oilpan and a different oilpump pickup. C4s and AODs have been added to Y-Blocks. If you are going with a Windsor you might investigate finding an AOD. I will likely not be as cheap as using a transmission you already have or buying a C4 from a third party. In short via the long way around; Yes installing a Windsor has been done with the added benefit of removing some weight from the front of the car to improve handling.
good luck, J.

 

[CSPIDY]

Why not have the block boiled, cleaned and checked for cracks. Well worth the investment

 

[skidrdan]

Why not have the block boiled, cleaned and checked for cracks. Well worth the investment

I will when the travel restrictions are off. I'm hoping iI can make sure the block and heads are useable. thanks

 

[doug7740]

I have a 292 that I am tearing down and it seems to have a lot of stop leak in the cooling jackets toward the rear of the engine. I don't know if this means there is a cracked block or head some where, but hoping not. Does any one sell short or long blocks that would fit in the car. Hoping it doesn't come to that! I have a 289 with a C4 trany from a mustang, is there any way to retro fit that if it came to that. looks like the deep part of the oil pan is in front on the 289, where the 292's pan is in the rear. Hoping for the best, when I can get out of the house and to the machine shop to seek professional advise. Thanks for any shared wisdom. Dan

Dan,

What you are seeing in the water jackets towards the rear to the engine is not stop leak its core sand that has accumulated there since the block was originally cast.

Attached is a photo from the Thunderbird Restoration Details and Specification Manual which addresses this condition.

I have seen this on the Thunderbird engines that I have rebuilt. Send the block to the machine shop to have the block boiled and checked.

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

 

[skidrdan]

Dan,

What you are seeing in the water jackets towards the rear to the engine is not stop leak its core sand that has accumulated there since the block was originally cast.

Attached is a photo from the Thunderbird Restoration Details and Specification Manual which addresses this condition.

I have seen this on the Thunderbird engines that I have rebuilt. Send the block to the machine shop to have the block boiled and checked.

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

thanks for the info. Very interesting. I will definitely get it boiled out once we can travel again. The motor was bored 40 over and would think they would have cleaned it out at that time. Maybe not because there are many things that were not done properly at that time. Hoping for the best with the block and heads. Thanks again for sharing the info.

 

[demigodofa]

Mine is going to have a different heart (302 Windsor, AOD tranny), but that's only because that is how the previous owner had set it up to be and was his wish, and I told him I would do it. I've never seen a Y block in a car with my own 2 eyes and this car did not come with one. I received this car with 4 bolts holding it together. Not a screw, nut, piece of wire intact.
I'm not sure if your car is "fully together" so to speak. If it is... I would do as others have mentioned above. and IF your block can't be repaired even if it is cracked I would just source another one.... You won't get another motor or transmission in the car without pulling the body to get all of the measurements etc. you need. I currently have the Windsor as low as it can go in the car frame, pinion angle is set now, and I'm still not entirely sure if I have to tunnel the car body or not to accommodate the AOD transmission. I think I'm good from engine to firewall, I have to set the body on one more time. And now it's onto making a driveshaft, sourcing U joints to marry to the rear end driveshaft I find etc. It will be much more costly, time consuming, and may not even work in the long run vs. putting back in the car what was meant to be and paying someone to build a motor or buy a running one.

And then there's "completeness" this car i have was already a basket case, I'm not cutting up parts or welding motor mounts into a fairly complete 1955 Thunderbird. It has a '56 frame etc. So what I'm doing isn't total sacrilege. If you can retain your stock block I would. The first gen. Ford Thunderbird crowd does not seem to be as much about hot rodding as it does about keeping the cars close to original, (same as early vette's I suppose) cars were already gorgeous why hack them up. Just my 2 cents.

 

[skidrdan]

Mine is going to have a different heart (302 Windsor, AOD tranny), but that's only because that is how the previous owner had set it up to be and was his wish, and I told him I would do it. I've never seen a Y block in a car with my own 2 eyes and this car did not come with one. I received this car with 4 bolts holding it together. Not a screw, nut, piece of wire intact.
I'm not sure if your car is "fully together" so to speak. If it is... I would do as others have mentioned above. and IF your block can't be repaired even if it is cracked I would just source another one.... You won't get another motor or transmission in the car without pulling the body to get all of the measurements etc. you need. I currently have the Windsor as low as it can go in the car frame, pinion angle is set now, and I'm still not entirely sure if I have to tunnel the car body or not to accommodate the AOD transmission. I think I'm good from engine to firewall, I have to set the body on one more time. And now it's onto making a driveshaft, sourcing U joints to marry to the rear end driveshaft I find etc. It will be much more costly, time consuming, and may not even work in the long run vs. putting back in the car what was meant to be and paying someone to build a motor or buy a running one.

And then there's "completeness" this car i have was already a basket case, I'm not cutting up parts or welding motor mounts into a fairly complete 1955 Thunderbird. It has a '56 frame etc. So what I'm doing isn't total sacrilege. If you can retain your stock block I would. The first gen. Ford Thunderbird crowd does not seem to be as much about hot rodding as it does about keeping the cars close to original, (same as early vette's I suppose) cars were already gorgeous why hack them up. Just my 2 cents.

Dam, sounds like you have a huge task in front of you. I wish you tons of luck and hope you get it all together. I appreciate your advice and will hopefully be able to use my block and heads. We are on lock down here and can't get to the machine shop to boil out the part and check them. Soon I hope. Mean while I have cleaning parts and getting them ready for the shop.