Interceptor 312 vs 292

"Hi,

I'm a complete new

"Hi,

I'm a complete newbie to inboards. Always had boats with outboards, but now are looking into buying a boat that has a Ford Interceptor 312-so the seller says. It has dual carbs, velvet drive.
The sticker on the block says it's 150 hp. Could that make it a 292 instead of a 312? The boat is a 1960 and the engine is original to the boat.

Is it true that parts are hard to find for these engines?

What should the minimum compression be? Anyone else have any advise on what to look for during the test drive?

Thanks! pic of engine

"I'm not an expert on the

"I'm not an expert on the old Y block motors at all, except for the notion they were work horses. I believe the 292 and 312 are essentially the same engine. Since marine engines are vastly detuned, fitted with low compression pistons (probably 8.0:1 on your motor) for longevity, and low rpm "torque cams" (essentially a truck or RV cam), there won't be much or any real usable difference in power between a 292 and a 312 marine motor.

If there was a difference in power in the automotive version, it was probably due to a bit more compression and cam, and that power could actually be felt or seen by a side by side race with another car with "the other" motor. In a boat, however, because all marine engines are detuned from the automotive stage of tune, I doubt if there would be much gained from 20 cubic inches.

What would I look for? I'd check the dipstick to be sure it was oil, and not loaded with "motor honey" to make things quiet. See how she runs up and down the throttle range. Check compression in all cylinders after the motor is hot, with throttles wide open, and with the wire removed from the coil. The reading is not as important as the relative deviation across the board. Even engines with a fairly big deviation can be made to run very nicely.

The actual operating time of a motor like this is not going to be excessive anyway. They sit around most of the time.

Interesting vintage power, for sure ! Good luck, I can't even remember the last time I even saw one of these! It's worth restoring to original condition, for sure, simply because very few other people have one, or have seen one!

regards, DS"

"In street drag races, the 292

"In street drag races, the 292s were about equal to the 312s, so...

Have NEVER seen one in a boat, and not heard one run in a car for decades! Please retain that engine and not fall prey to the "repower it" with a new motor urge. She's a real keeper!

Jeff"

The 272s were rated at 150hp.

The 272s were rated at 150hp. I have twin 292s in '52 Chris. The 292s are rated at 185hp. I am having one rebuilt here in Seattle.
Joe

Ran a 312 in a 63 Ski Nautique

Ran a 312 in a 63 Ski Nautique for years. This is one heavy piece of iron. I replaced the sidedraft Carters with a 4 barrel Holley. Required some replumbing of the cooling system as I recall. These "Y" blocks sometimes had trouble lubricating the rocker arms. They are slow turning engines. Mine was alwyas hard to start hot; we never really figured it out.

I disagree that marine engines have a "torque" cam. Marine cams are optimized for mid and high RPM because a marine engine cannot really be loaded below 2000 or so. This means a cam with more duration and overlap than a nonperformance automotive setting. We tried an automotive cam in a 312 once and it was weak.

On the 312 beware of head cracks between the exhaust valves in the center two cylinders. If you pull 312 heads about 25% have cracks or incipient cracks. This is a high heat area evidently.

message to Joe Bolero:

Is o

message to Joe Bolero:

Is one of the 292's LHR and the other RHR.
What kind of distrubutor is installed?
Do you still run with the mechanical fuel pump?

I have a RHR 1961 292 Interceptor which I hope to have running this summer.

Thanks.
phillk

"Note this link from another p

"Note this link from another post (here in the Ford Interceptor section of this site) shows the hp's for the corresponding Y blocks. I don't think the one you're looking at, if it's 150HP, as it says, is a 312 but one of the smaller c.i. engines listed. I have a 312 in a Dunphy X-55 and it "looks" just like that, but the marine 312's, to my knowledge, were all 215 HP.
http://www.marineengine.com/discus/messages/12513/engine_number_id_small-17064.p df"

"Greetings,

I pulled what

"Greetings,

I pulled what I believe is a 312 Ford marine engine and transmission from a 1956 Century race boat. I completely disassembled it because there was a "stress crack" on the bell housing side of the block. It appears to be rebuildable; crack, if it is one, is on the surface only.

I have everything from the pan to the side draft carbs, including the exhaust things and transmissions.

I was going to put it on ebay, but if you know someone that might be interested, that's OK too. (I can send pics if you want.)

Thanks,
Victor"

Update...I used 64x55's pd

Update...I used 64x55's pdf reference and identified it as a 272-170ph interceptor. Sorry for the confusion.
Victor