1954-Orphan Ford OHV V8 (Y Block)

[all american boy]

This is what my solo seat open wheel buddy said about 54 OHV V8.


'55 and up were a different engine.


Distributor had a different size opening in block for it.


Crankshaft had smaller journals.


None of the '55 and up parts will fit.


Some little tidbits.

[39deluxecp]

And gutless.

[Bob/Pa]

They were gutless in 54 Merc also.

[rotorwrench]

They made a large heavy OHV casting and then only gave it the same basic CID as the flathead it replaced. What were those whiz kids thinking? Even Olds started with a 303 and it was noticeably more powerful back in 1949. Overconfidence can be a killer! It certainly didn't help ford sell those cars.

[scicala]

Originally Posted by 39deluxecp

And gutless.

No quite as gutless as the flathead V8 it replaced though.


Sal

[5851a]

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I had a 54 2dr sedan it wasn't a fire breather but very quiet and smooth. The valvetrain was very quiet for solid lifters. Couldn't tell it was running at a idle from inside the car. I was happy with it.

[Ford blue blood]

As some historians had related Henry was extremely resistant to change. The engineers were able to sell the OHV engine to him because it had the same displacement, 239cu. in.

[40 Deluxe]

Originally Posted by Ford blue blood

As some historians had related Henry was extremely resistant to change. The engineers were able to sell the OHV engine to him because it had the same displacement, 239cu. in.

Wait a minute! Henry had been dead 7 years by then! Those "historians" must have been making stuff up!

[rotorwrench]

Which Henry? Henry Ford II pretty much let the whizz kids decide on a lot of stuff. He was a lot different than his grandfather. Ford Motor Co was behind the power curve about getting into the OHV V8 game and I'm sure it was affecting sales. I think the Korean War was what tied their hands a bit. Once the war cooled off, it didn't take long to do a change over but I think they were a bit hasty about their choices.

[scicala]

Originally Posted by Ford blue blood

As some historians had related Henry was extremely resistant to change. The engineers were able to sell the OHV engine to him because it had the same displacement, 239cu. in.

Henry Ford had long since passed away before the Y-Block development started. Henry Ford II was not resistent to change. He saved the company with drastic change,


Sal

[40 Deluxe]

Originally Posted by Ford blue blood

As some historians had related Henry was extremely resistant to change. The engineers were able to sell the OHV engine to him because it had the same displacement, 239cu. in.

This is just one example that proves Henry was right when he said that "History is more or less bunk!", meaning that so-called historians are not factual. They leave facts out, embellish some events. and totally change the what, when, and where. Like in school in the '50's we were taught that "Columbus discovered America". Nothing was said about the Vikings. And so on.
Same with this story; "Historians" fabricating stuff out of thin air. Or repeating what they heard in a bar somewhere.

[Daves55Sedan]

Actually, the first OHV V8 engine that Fomoco marketed was the 1952 Lincoln 317 with 4bbl intake. It turned out to be a highly celebrated development and won famous racing events during the era.
Ford developed their first OHV 6-cyl engine (the 215 I-block) and marketed it in 1953.
Compared to later Y-blocks, the early '54 239 OHV V8 had a smaller intake and the heads had ports closer together to mate with the small intake. The distributor had different shaft and gear, camshaft and timing chain was different and had a smaller timing cover. Later in the year, Ford began manufacturing a new version of the 239 which basically had a 272 block casting, but was only used in trucks.

[scicala]

No disrespect intended, but just correcting a couple things. The 215 OHV 6 cylinder engine came out for the '52 model year, and the Lincoln OHV 317 V8 that came out for '52 had a two barrel Holley carb. No 4 barrel until 1953 on the 317.


Sal

[Hot Rod Reverend]

Originally Posted by all american boy

Distributor had a different size opening in block for it.



None of the '55 and up parts will fit.


Some little tidbits.

I am afraid that this info from your friend does not jive... The difference in the distributor is the tang at the end that fits into the oil pump, not the boss in the block for the distributor. Also, while there are parts that do not fit between engines, to say "none" is absolutely incorrect. Things such as engine sheet metal, some of the internals, bell housing, flywheel, etc all fit.

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by Hot Rod Reverend

I am afraid that this info from your friend does not jive... The difference in the distributor is the tang at the end that fits into the oil pump, not the boss in the block for the distributor. . .

Here's a photo of the bottom end of a '54 distributor shaft. Showing the flat 'tang' that engages a slot in the oil pump drive shaft, and 13 teeth on the cam driven gear. A held-over design from the flathead I'd guess.
The later Y-block distributors thru '64 have a hex socket drive and 14 teeth on the gear.

[marko39]

One of my first cars was a 54 Lincoln Capri. For a big car it had plenty of power.I think it had a Mallory Dist. and strange coil. The worst thing about it was starting.It needed a heavy duty 6 volt battery to turn that engine one that the owners manual called aircraft grade.

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by marko39

One of my first cars was a 54 Lincoln Capri. For a big car it had plenty of power.I think it had a Mallory Dist. and strange coil. The worst thing about it was starting.It needed a heavy duty 6 volt battery to turn that engine one that the owners manual called aircraft grade.

Lincoln's used different engines than the Fords and Mercs. Here's a link, with a couple images...

http://ford-y-block.com/lincoln.htm

[all american boy]

Here is another tidbit.


You start here with the '49-51 Ford on Wikipedia.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1949_Ford


You go up to the '60 coming out.


The whole 'ponton' body and OHV V8 (Y Block) story will come out.


Ponton body means it is one continous mulitple curves.Not separate fenders, runningboards,etc.



Why '49-51? There is no OHV V8 in it.


Because the Ford-O-Matic was in '51's!


Automatics played a big part in the 50's Ford OHV V8 story.

[40 Deluxe]

Originally Posted by dmsfrr

Here's a photo of the bottom end of a '54 distributor shaft. Showing the flat 'tang' that engages a slot in the oil pump drive shaft, and 13 teeth on the cam driven gear. A held-over design from the flathead I'd guess.

No holdover here! The flathead did not have a 'tang and slot' oil pump drive. It was gear drive off the back of the camshaft. Oil pump was at the rear of the block, distributor was mounted to the timing cover at the front.

[Daves55Sedan]

Originally Posted by dmsfrr

Lincoln's used different engines than the Fords and Mercs.

True, the early Lincoln Y-blocks (317, 347, 368) were a completely different animal from the Ford Y-blocks (239, 272, 292, 312). And it would be true to say that there were zero interchangeable parts between the Ford and Lincoln Y-blocks (unless maybe a carburetor could be swapped).