Y Block Question

I am having a '63 Y block 292 right hand rotation,(185 Interceptor),machined for rebuild and a question has come up about the camshaft assembly. Should there be a separate spacer between the cam gear and the face of the block like the standard rotation version? It appears that the cam gear on the RH version has a spacer that is part of the gear itself. The separate spacer was in place when I disassembled the block and I found 2 lifters were broken with noticeable wear on the sides of the lobes of the cam, like the lifters had been hitting them. I'm just guessing that it was assembled improperly when the short block was replaced with a remanufatured one sometime in it's life. The Interceptor manual that I have does not go into much detail on the RH versions and I have yet to find any diagrams on it. Any insight on this would be welcomed.

Jeff

Thanks for the reply, I will be checking the endplay for sure. Should have the block back next week so I can start the reassembly. I plan on using the Alpine green for color, noticed some posts saying that is the easy way out, and others that say it is the correct color. Any thoughts?

Thanks for the info and link Riley, I had seen The Engine Room info from searching the archives and plan on giving him a call about this and the manifold I need.

Jeff

Here a pic of alpine green on our 6 as compared to Reid's custom match. I think Reid's color is much better, too.




Pete, I can't find my pic of Hilpsih's engine, but it looks like baby blue and not green. I've been told the early Intercepors were that light blue color. Ever seen one?

I do not think your YH Carters were painted from Intercepter, rather zinc chromate for corrosion resistance. I have several engines and a bucket full of spares acquired over time , and none were painted. JMHO tho.
Steve has supplied me with several sets of decals for my resto,s and tho pricey, well worth the cost. The paint chip he supplied was a very close match to the Alpine Green, tho not exact.
I do not think there is any OEM left to match, only 40 year old examples, not sure which is correct? I have not been called out on my engine color, the judges did not mention it at Mt Dora
Some here tend to anal about some resto,s and the miss the "big" picture" enjoy your boat. I tend to err more towards safety and combining this with more boating time than finding the exact color of the engine.....But what do I know?????????????/

I think I agree about the "color over internet" issue. Here is a pic of the YH Carbs that I started with, it looks like they were painted on the tops but were zinc chromate on the bottom. I know for sure they had never been broken into per Wolf Enterprises,(rebuilder), so I assumed they were 100% original, but I guess they could have been freshened with a top coat at some time. I will probably proceed with the Alpine Green since it is readily available and a "pretty close" match. Thanks for all the info everyone is posting!

Jeff

Pete , one set came off a Grey the center section is painted RED, copper fuel lines,the throttle body and bowls are still ZC, and the set off my 312 that were also coated. One of those carb bases is on my motor now...JMO.....But I must be mistaken.........Boat dr

This is the original color of the 312 Interceptor from Dad's 63 Nautique. It has been in my family since it came from the manufacturers rep. Shows some wear and you do have the digitilization, camera influence and lighting that are going to vary the shade, but I can vouch that it has never been repainted. Also notice that the flame arrestors received paint but not the carbs, hmmm odd.

Also notice it did not get the "interceptor by Correct Craft" stickets on the valve covers. Finally the "215 HP" decal used to be on the intake at the top of the picture (have to get a new one of those). Oh, and I have also noticed that red background with yellow text for the inspection decal on the lower side of the manifold is also different then what others have shown. Just variations in manufacturing process for no rhyme or reason that probably wouldn't be tolerated today...

Wow! I sure like all the pics and input on the old Y Blocks. I am saving all this info so I can get the build correct. I'm sure there were variations through the years on paint and other things as well. I appreciate all the comments and pictures and will take it all into consideration when reassembling mine. Still looking for a replacement manifold that I see in some of those pics, will give Jim a call over at the engine room tomorrow, thanks again.

Jeff

Another Y block with original paint and painted valve covers:

boat dr wrote: Skutch, those decals were not OEM. Those were a special order....Roger [uk1979] and I have them on our 312s

Billy - thats interesting, I thought I had seen some other engines with an "interceptor by correct craft" tag on the valve covers.

here is the link:

Of course that picture is a 427, not a 312, so maybe they put that sticker on the big blocks... And it doesn't have manifolds with "interceptor" cast into them, so maybe that is the difference. I love trying to figure out what these old companies were thinking!

Bruce, thanks for compliments. The boat is my Dad's pride an joy, it was a work horse, but we also were required to spend the time taking care of it too.

So were all the original Interceptor valve covers painted? Mine appear to have been painted silver at one time and still has the chrome oil fill cap but I do not see any sign of them ever being completely chrome. I have been looking for a new set of chrome ones with the oil fill but no luck yet so I was thinking of having mine restored and plated.

Valve covers were painted.

8122pbrainard wrote: As with all marinizers of engines, very little would be masked off and the completed engine got a overall coat of paint - including hoses!!

All the old engines that I've seen have had painted valve covers, but one of my manuals has an option page that I think listed chrome valve covers as an option.

J. Williams, I don't know how you made out with Jim, but one of my manuals shows all the parts for the cam shaft assembly and briefly states where they go. Send me your email address through the site and I can scan those pages for you, if you want them.

I had my manuals confused. Chrome valve covers are listed for the FE engines. My Y block manual does not list any valve covers for the Engine Block and Head section, so the page maybe missing. Interestingly, they list the same set of heads for all the Y blocks, 256 through 312. I think you can buy new chrome valve covers on ebay for $30-$40.