312 Y Block Build, 3 Deuce Intake Setup, and another Visit to Hanford Auto & Machine!

Hanford Auto Supply & Machine is much like a time warp to yesteryear!

Hanford Auto Supply

Late last month I again had the opportunity to visit the Y Block Guy, Tim McMaster, up in Hanford, California for an assessment on the ECZ-G heads and to review work on the C2AE block. During my time with Tim, we toured more of the shop, talked through the engines that he had just completed, and spent quite a bit of time with the machine that accomplishes work on cylinder heads. We even had some time at the milling machine as my C2AE block was addressed.

Tim McMaster's skills were on display during a recent visit to his shop in Hanford.

From that visit, three videos emerged: a two-part series on “Building a Poor Man’s G Head” and “Another Shop Tour with the Y Block Guy.” Those video links are listed below. I am amazed at the interest shown in the Poor Man’s G Head. You can tell by the view count and the comments on the YouTube channel that Tim’s instructions have helped many of us when it comes to improving a standard Y Block cylinder head.

3 Deuce Intake and Carburetors

Earlier this month I put out the second video in the Y Block 3 Deuce Setup series.

Some have asked, "What is wrong with the Holley 4000 and converted air cleaner you just installed?" and to that I say, "Nothing, it's all running just fine." While I wait for the 342 c.i. Y Block V8 engine build to come together, tinkering and tuning on the 292 currently in the 1955 Ford Fairlane is a real treat. A single carburetor is one thing, but getting three carburetors to work together and make decent power - now that is a challenge!

As of this writing, the intake I am using is an Offenhauser model – known more for its availability and appearance than its performance. Flow bench testing and dyno results have proven the fact that the Offenhauser three deuce intake is the worst flowing of all other designs. Ted Eaton has a couple of excellent articles on this topic. One writeup concerns the Offenhauser intake itself, while the other is an apples-to-apples comparison of other intake manifolds with the Offenhauser thrown into the mix.

Why use an Offenhauser? The answer is quite simple – availability. I could not find the best flowing three deuce intake, an Edelbrock 573. Also, this is just a temporary setup for the 1955 Ford Fairlane. The real work is on the modification of three Holley 94 carburetors. I have two of the late 1956/early 1957 F100 Holley 94’s. They are the ECW models that have 1 1/16 bores. I also have an ECG6 from a 1956 Ford passenger car (also 1 1/16 bores). The ECW and ECG6 are the best cfm Holley 94 variant from the era. A separate blog article here on the website will highlight the details of the modifications, linkage, tuning, etc once I get all of it together and on the road. I am documenting all the steps I am taking, from disassembly to inspection to modification to parts acquisition. As always, there will be plenty of photos to lend clarity to explanations and procedures.

Small details like polishing the accelerator pump bore with steel wool really add up!

For now, you can watch the two videos that cover the basics and all the progress thus far. Even if you are not the three deuce kind of guy, the extra tips on the Holley 94 series of carburetors are sure to be a help to you.

312 Ford Y Block V8 Build Update

Over the last couple of years, I have written various articles concerning the buildup of a C2AE 292 c.i. block. The original plan was to build a 312 c.i. (well, .030 over bore) with standard Ford parts. Roughly a decade ago I had the block cleaned, inspected, and bored to 3.830 by a reputable machine shop.

The C2AE block was originally machined way back in 2014 by Felt's Machine in Suffolk, Virginia.

However, after the initial visit to the Y Block Guy’s shop back in April, I made the decision to follow his advice and build a 342 c.i. out of the C2AE block. This is all new for me but certainly not for Tim McMaster. On the most recent visit to Hanford Auto Supply and Machine, Tim inspected the ECZ-G heads and liked what he saw. I did leave the heads with him just to machine the deck surfaces since it did appear that someone had taken a scotch-brite disk to both heads before I had acquired them.

The matched set of ECZ-G heads lie on the workbench awaiting inspection by the Y Block Guy.

Tim also began the work on the block by milling to true the decks to the crankshaft centerline at 90 degrees (this only needed about .005 on either side) and by boring each cylinder out to 3.875. That final bore size and a stroke of 3.625 will yield 342 c.i. All that is left to do with the block is to hone the cylinders to the custom order piston size and to align hone the mains. The pistons will come from RaceTech and the rods from John Mummert. The crank pins are being offset ground to 2.000.

Tim surfaced the block to bring the decks to 90 degrees on the crankshaft centerline.

During the next visit, we plan to visit the crankshaft grinding machine. At this time my ECZ 312 crank has been completed, but there may be other Y Block crankshafts on the grinder that Tim can use for explanation. Of course, all of the rotating assembly needs to be balanced before assembly. It does appear that by the end of summer we will be into the assembly process at home, putting it all back together in the garage. Very soon I will be going through my engine run stand to make preparations for breaking in the camshaft and lifters. We will plan for a separate article concerning the engine stand and the engine run stand I have used for quite some time.

On the Horizon

The summer is keeping us busy, and both the website and the YouTube channel continue to grow. I will keep pushing through this summer to share various projects that are ongoing, be it Y Block related, car shows, other work on the 1955 Ford Fairlane, and even coverage of vehicles that belong to friends and acquaintenances. Let me encourage you to share the website and point people to the subscription page where their email address can be entered. Also, you can join us at the YouTube channel, @HotRodReverend, for more great content on DIY garage work and all things 50's Fords and Y Blocks!

The Hot Rod Reverend

aka Daniel Jessup