The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 292 c.i. Engines, are they worth anything?

I visited a family farm this week. It has been around since 1905. I picked up a late model Ford flat head (8ba) for the fun of it. I then noticed there were a number of 'bread trucks' laying around. I looked at a couple and noticed they had the 292 c.i. motors in them. Understand these guys drove them to the grave then left them to rot. Question is...is it worth the trouble to dig these motors out of the trucks to save or should they go to the crusher as is?
There are also a couple of larger trucks with either 348 or 409 motors in them. What about these?
This place has everything from house drawn graders to buggies to you name it. Thanks.

Free motors, yes all good stuff if you have time a storage space.

Yes! 292's are about as rugged and powerful as they come- - - -only thing better I can think of is a Ford 300 cubic inch six. Get the bellhousings and transmissions also, if possible. The 348/409 engines are interesting, but unless somebody is building a restored vehicle, the later model big blocks with the straight valve covers are better engines. If those V8's are in trucks, they're probably 409's- - -I don't think the 348 was ever used in trucks. If you can spare one or more of those 292's, I'm interested.
Jerry

Sounds like you hit a gold mine. All of those engines have some value to the right person. The question is do you want invest the time for recovery and are you willing to hold them for the time needed to connect with guys that need them? Purely from the truck brotherhood, it is your duty to conserve a limited resource. Do it if you possibly can. If nothing else, it will be an interesting experience.

Jerry, the 348 was actually designed as a truck engine because Chev's biggest entry was the 322 Buick in the 80 series. But the 348 quickly found its way into automobiles as well. 348 as well as 409 engines fetch pretty good money to the right people. Not many loose ones around any more. A lot of them went into Chev car restorations and the larger trucks were run into the ground and eventually crushed.

When the supercharged Ford 312's started kicking Chevy's butt in 1957, Chevy engineers came up with a 3-2BBL intake and a solid lifter cam and rushed the 348 medium duty truck engine into production in the 58 Impala to try to catch up. They had a nasty habit of swallowing valves above 5500 RPM. The 409 wasn't much better. The guys who were used to winding the 283's to 7000+ hated the 348!
Jerry

Beltfed,

Sounds like a great adventure! Save what you can and offer the rest to others that can help save the old iron!

Chevrolet needed a big truck motor when they introduced the 9000 and 10000 Series BIG trucks in 1956 (they needed to keep up with Ford and Dodge). So while the engineers were developing a NEW truck motor (the 348) they borrowed the 322 from Buick for two years in trucks and four years in school buses. To bring the Buick 322 up to the task of being a truck motor Chevrolet had a double roller timing gear set added as well as a HD water pump. There is talk that they had better metal used to cast the block, but I can't comfirm that.

Mike B

On the horse drawn equipment ... the graders bring pretty good money in any plain community (Old Order Mennonite, some Amish, for example). Too bad you weren't closer ...

It's pretty amusing- - -watching a modern hay baler driven by a Wisconsin V-4 engine, chucking out square bales like there's no tomorrow- - - - -pulled by a couple of draft horses!

Jerry

.
got one in my 3104

sure uses gas though...........

Baker won the 1957 NASCAR Championship driving a 283 Chevy. Maybe not as fast as the supercharged 312 but the Chevy was more consistent and better on the shorter tracks. In 58 GM pulled out of NASCAR and their support was limited.
GM says the 348 was developed for trucks and the 58 cars that were were heavier. And both the Ford FE and Mopar B big blocks ready for 58...
The W engine had few wins in Nascar but the 409 dominated stock drag racing in 62-63.

There has been interest from others asking that I save what I can so....I am going to attempt to find out what motors are there, what they are, and numbers. I am not going to attempt to actually salvage anything till after the first frost due to 'critters' infestation.

Sounds like a fun mission. If I am not too far, I may be available to help you out. Send me a PM if interested.