ClassicCar

John O

Gents,

I am playing with a 54 Mercury, 256 ci and a Mercomatic. The 256 is a chronic smoker and is to be replaced. I just bought a 292 ci that is missing the following: intake/carb, exhaust manifolds, water pump and distributor. The block casting is C2AE (62' to 64"?). The head casting is ECZ-C (56"?).

Now the questions:

Will my 256 parts fit the 292 (except distributor)?

What would be the best distributor to use with this combo (256 carb is a Tpot)?

Suggestions for an eventual Intake and Carb replacement?

How do I determine what ECZ-C heads I have (compression ratio/HP)?

The engine was a non smoking, good runner but has been sitting for a year. Since itâ€™s out, is there any weak link or â€œmight as well replace itâ€ parts that I should consider?

Sorry for the diatribe, but Iâ€™d like to do it right and Iâ€™m new to Y blocks.

Thanks, John

PaceRacer50

going from my fading memory the 239 Ford and 256 Mercury built in 1954 used smaller port heads for both the intake and exhaust. I feel that the

port mis-match is going to create problems especially on the intake side.

I would watch Ebay for a set of dual exhaust manifolds and a 1957 or later

Holley square pattern 4bbl intake as these seem to always be for sale there.

If this 292 is stock internally I would use the Edelbrock 600cfm Performer

carburetor with electric choke. I have had excellent results with these

on my own 292's in the past right out of the box with no tuning needed.

I would not use the 256 distributor as it has something wierd about the

advance. I can't quite remember but I believe its vacuum advance only with

no provision for mechanical advance.

Again I would watch Ebay for a 1957-58 or later Distributor to use instead

of the one from the 256 Mercury.

You might want to check out the following web site: http://www.ford-y-block.com/

The guy that runs this site (John) is the King of Ford's mighty Y block V8.

They have the nicest parts made especially for these engines and offer

several other services to get you going, or screaming if you want that.

You can find the new aluminum 4bbl intake and tube headers there along

with the MSD distributor.

John also has facts and information about which heads you have along

with other cool stuff on what many of us feel is one of the most durable

V8 engines ever made.

thanks and I hope the information helps get another Y back on the road,

PaceRecer50

jbosdad

Pace is right. I forget the numbers for the 57 and later 4bbl intake, but the last letter is the key. If it ends with an A, it is the small square 4bbl; if it ends with B, it is for the larger or current 4bbl carbs. There are always 4 or 5 on ebay. I bought mine for $75 and it is just like new. If you are going to keep your 292 stock, you might want to look at the Holley 390cfm carb. These motors don't suck much air and the larger carbs do no good and will cost you MPG.

The exhaust are there also from $125 up.

Good luck,

Scott

Daves55Courier

I do know that the 54 intake does have smaller ports than the 55, 272 y-block intake. I do not know if the Merc 256 intake and 292 intake are interchangeable, but if you have the 292 heads installed, try to fit your 256 intake on it and see if the ports line up.

I have a 55 car with a 292 and a 55 Courier wagon with a 223. They both have the original Load-O-Matic distributors in them. If the vacuum advance is good and your carburator is clean and working properly, you should be fine. I dont know of any particular problems with these distributors and have been using them all my life (from age 16 to present date age 52).

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