39 Ford with Y Block
 

Are there any threads where someone has put a Y Block in a 39 Ford Coupe?
I just don't know how to search for something like that. Could anyone show what I need to put in the search block?
Thanks
Mike

Re: 39 Ford with Y Block
 

Check out the HAMB, Mike. More hot rodders over there.

Mike

Re: 39 Ford with Y Block
 

You might also check the late V8 section. I'm sure it's been done a time or two but many opt for the shorter GM engines of the early to mid 50s.

Re: 39 Ford with Y Block
 

What would you like to know? It takes more work then the other motors like a caddy olds or chevy to install.

The first issue is the oil pan has to be notched and you need a truck pan and timing cover.

The 57 and up distributor hits the firewall but a 55 56 works but its a poor choice for a hotrod motor.

Re: 39 Ford with Y Block
 

Buddy of mine putting one in a 38 sedan, he ran into same issues Skidmarks noted, biggest was notching out firewall.

Re: 39 Ford with Y Block
 

Beloit KS, I was involved with a gentleman from there and Civil War stuff! The HAMB would be the place to check.

Re: 39 Ford with Y Block
 

More than anything, I wanted to keep my Ford, Ford powered but with more power. But thanks to all who responded and i'm off to the HAMB.

Mike

Re: 39 Ford with Y Block
 

Well, this will be non-HAMB (past there cut-off period) but if you just want a good engine and are not concerned about being period correct, I would consider a 5.0.

Re: 39 Ford with Y Block
 

I have posted these pics on another thread recently but they may serve for some inspiration here.

https://s18.postimg.org/89giakrnt/IMG_2567.jpg

https://s18.postimg.org/9bqot42rd/IMG_2565.jpg

Re: 39 Ford with Y Block
 

ive thought about a yblock in a 36. It can be done. I'm thinking a mitchell overdrive with my flattie will get me to a show or the local hole

Re: 39 Ford with Y Block
 

You might want to consider the weight to horse power ratio of the y -block , If I was inclined to swapping to an overhead ,I would consider the 260, 289 or 302 as an alternative. more hp. and parts are less expensive and plentiful, the Dist is in front ,lighter in weight, no overhead oiling issues to deal with, better interchange ability.

Re: 39 Ford with Y Block
 

I liked the Y-blocks in the cars they were made to fit just fine but they are a pita to put in other vehicles. They are some what limited in performance due to bore size limitations and the funky port arrangement but they are respectable for the era they were made in. They could take some pretty high rpm. As soon as the Ford motors got larger like the FE blocks, they kind of went by the wayside

My pop had a 1961 Ford truck for a long time and he purchased it new. Farm trucks don't get a lot of miles on them since they are used more for harvest than any other time of year. Pop set his up to haul cattle to market and he left it that way after purchasing larger dual tandem trucks for harvest. The engine finally threw a rod through the block on one of those cattle to market trips back in 2008 or so. He had a hell of a time finding another motor for it. He finally traded it off after that. It certainly wasn't a powerhouse but it did OK for a 292 size.

Re: 39 Ford with Y Block
 

I'm guessing that's behind Bojangle's in Dawsonville Ga ;)

Re: 39 Ford with Y Block
 

Why yes, how'd ya know?

Re: 39 Ford with Y Block
 

i got a friend that has one in a 35 pickup

Re: 39 Ford with Y Block
 

In 1955 a friend of mine had a very nice '40 coupe that had a very tired flat head, "Dick" decided that he wanted to re-power the car with a new Y-block. I can remember some of the alterations we did to the chassis, but not all of them.
Dick bought a brand new crate motor from Ford, then we set out to install the Y-block engine into his coupe.
We knew the chassis was going to require a lot of alterations so we removed the body from the frame.
As I recall we used a '55-56 Ford OD trans and a '46-47 Ford pickup rear end with an open drive line and parallel rear springs. The front axle was a 2" dropped axle for a '41 Ford, with a '41 front spring, and anti roll bar. The '40 steering gears were retained. The front and rear shocks were converted to tube type. A track bar was added to the rear suspension. The wheels were '49-50 Merc 15" with pill-box Merc hub caps.
The engine was left stock except for the front timing case cover which as I recall was for a '55-56 T-Bird. I don't remember to much about the hookup of the engine, I do recall that we used an 8v electric system which did not require any alterations to the cars electric system.
The car was painted black with red pleated upholstery.. The car ran and handled very well, with one exception, my '36 coupe with it's well built 59AB engine and Columbia OD would run off and hide from Dick's '40. We took the two cars out to local Vegas drag strip, I again ran off and left Dick in the dust. The best speed he ever turned with the car was in the mid 70's. Dick got mad an went home, would not speak to me for several days.
The car had been built with the thought that we would take it on a summer long cruise around the country. Our shake down cruise was down to Los Angeles. We went by the offices of Hot Rod Magazine. Parked the car out in front and told them what we had, they were not the least bit interested, telling us they had a drawer full of pictures of '40 Fords.
With our ego's deflated we started to walk out, one of the men in the office asked us to wait, he was on his way to lunch and would look at our car. The man walked around the car, stepped back into the office and called out for a photographer. Several pictures of the car were taken and we left with our ego's re-elevated.
Several months later Dick got a call from Hot Rod Magazine, they wanted his permission to include the car in an up coming publication.
Dick's '40 was the centerfold car for a Hot Rod publication in early '56 that featured '40 Ford's. Naturally we were the talk of the town in Vegas..
Dick drove the car for over ten years as his everyday car, then he decided to sell it. Nobody was interested, so he re-painted it Hugger Orange and sold it within a few days for a very good price. Two weeks later the kid that bought the car totaled it.
In the early '80's Dick called me, he told me to go buy the latest issue of Hot Rod Magazine, his '40 was the featured car in the series they had been running about cars of yesteryear..

Re: 39 Ford with Y Block
 

Very cool story thanks for sharing. I'd love to see the pics of that car if you run across them.

I'm not surprised that your '36 with a built Flatty could outrun the '40 though when you say the Y-block was completely stock.

Ford had some real lazy advance curves built into their distributors in the early Y years. There wasn't much carburation either. A little more of both would have done wonders. You

Re: 39 Ford with Y Block
 

Try and find a July '56 Hot Rod. Complete story on putting a Y-block into a '40. There's one on Ebay right now.

Re: 39 Ford with Y Block
 

i was into y-blocks in the 60s ,built a 292 bored, heads milled and 3 deuces. had in a 59 ragtop. it ran good but i was really pissed when my buddy blew me off with his stock 59 chevy 283.

Re: 39 Ford with Y Block
 

Well you are comparing a Ford which had a curb weight of around 4100 pounds to a Chevy that weighed about 3600 pounds. Additionally the 3 deuce setup while cool looking actually come up short compared to a 4 barrel carb on a well designed intake manifold.

How did the transmissions compare?