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Original Message
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| The FE shared numerous Y-Block traits. |
| By Dave Shoe - 01/20/2002 9:50:14 PM; IP 216.243.158.87 |
Since the FE was going to be built on the old Y-block production line, and budget constraints directed that much of the old Y-Block machinery would be converted to build the FE, there were numerous similarities between the Y-block and the FE.
I suspect there were multiple engine lines in the Dearborn Engine Plant, because the Y-Block would still be made in 292 guise for another five years after the FE was introduced, and I'm certain they'd be built on different lines.
The Y-Block did debut in 1954, Ford getting the 239 version, and the more spendy Merc necessarily getting an upgraded version with 256 cubes. Sadly, this first year was marked by a massive engine recall because the lifters weren't holding up. By the end of the year all was solved, but the Chevy Small Block of 1955 would take the hotrodding by storm, in part because of the Y-block recall, and in larger part because it was a cleverly inexpensive engine to manufacture.
Confusion with the Y-Block may arise from the fact that the Flathead ended up at 239 cubes in 1953.
If you wanna read about the development of the Y-Block from the team pespective of one of it's designers, you may wanna contact www.sae.org and request "technical paper" #540266 (266th paper of 1954). Expect to shell out $10.00 + maybe $3.50 postage. Within two weeks you'll be reading a xeroxed copy of the engine's paper, in the words of Ford Engineer Robert Stevenson. I'm guessing it'll be 18 pages long (maybe 12, maybe 36, who the hell really knows) and will have some fun and revealing info.
If the birth of the 429/460 Lima motor of 1968 is more your bag, try paper 680020 entitled A New Luxury Car V-8 Engine by Ford, by Albert Martin of Ford Motor Company. Same price, 25 pages. It talks manifolding, pistons, sand coring...you know, engineering stuff. Claims that the Lima engine is 2-1/8" narrower than the MEL, 7/16" shorter, 2-3/8" shallower (front to rear), and 59 pounds lighter than the MEL are also made. It goes on to briefly mention that 300 pilot-line engines were built in the Lima Engine Plant to establish that all objectives from the experimental engine were attained on the production line. I wonder if this was done in late 1967 model cars or early 1968 cars?
MEL, FE, super-duty truck V-8 (477?, 534, etc), small-block "Fairlane" V-8 engines are also written about by it's designers. SAE (Society of Automobile Engineers) was established in 1905 as a non-profit organization. They're pretty cool to purchase stuff from.
Shoe. |
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