292 HD 4Bbl Intake Gaskets

[YellowRose]

From a CTC newsletter article.
Gil’s Garage (check the CTC website)

"Paint burn off at the intake center cross over has always been a problem on Ford Y block engines. This can be held to a minimum if heavy duty 292 truck intake gaskets are use. The trucks were never factory equipped with 312 engines, but starting in 1958 they did produce a heavy duty four barrel 292 engine, that used a similar four barrel intake manifold. Most truck four barrel intake manifolds were not drilled for a choke heat tube. A picture of the Heavy duty truck 292 intake manifold can be seen on page 277 of the restoration manual. The 292 heavy duty four barrel truck intake gaskets are no longer available from FoMoCo, but they are available after market. They can be purchased at most automotive parts stores that sell Victor gaskets, P/N MS15116. The Truck gaskets have smaller holes that restrict heat transfer through the center of the intake manifold. The attached picture shows a truck gasket (top) and a standard 312 gasket with large hole (bottom). The use of the truck gaskets coupled with good quality high temp engine paint can significantly reduce paint burn off. Gil Baumgartner"

Here are two pix from the article.

[simplyconnected]

First off, these crossover holes are there to heat up the bottom of the carb plenum for better and faster engine heat-up in very cold Chicago winters.

If you close off this port, it affects the heat riser valve, causing it to open before it should.

For us'uns that only run our classic cars in good weather or in warm climates, we really don't need a heat riser valve (the 430 has none). I gutted mine with a cutting torch but left the outside looking like it's still intact.

I also used shim stock to block off my crossover ports. I didn't do it to keep paint looking pretty, I made this change to get rid of heat and make it exit the exhaust manifolds asap. That way, the cooling system doesn't deal with it.

BTW, I get my Y-block gaskets from Rockauto.com. - Dave