Ford MEL engines????

Ok, I'll step up and admit I'm an idiot. I'd never heard of a "MEL" engine before but they seem to be coming up a lot on here lately.......

now I know....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_MEL_engine

 

There big and have lots of torque. I beleve my 430 ways around 850lbs? Uncle Scooby is starting to make performance parts for them besides him there isnt to many companies that did or do make parts.

 

I didn't know either...and I'm glad I know now...'cause I still would rather have a CHEVY!!

 

I could be full of shit but I think MEL stands for Merc, Edsel, Lincoln. If that's been posted here already, sorry, didn't see it. I also think that was the forerunner of the venerable FE.


Sorry to hurt anyones feelings here but I scrapped one in the mid 70's. DST put one in a custom 62 Ford unibody shortbed, black tuck n roll, Tbird dash and column. Had a 4.30 locker to go with the 430cid motor. Story was that old bitch held a record at Det Dragway in a "truck class?", but I never got on about it. Dad had a 67 longbed with a 429 Caddy that used a qt of oil every week. He repeatedly whipped the shit outta that truck (the 62) to the point where my uncle (owner at the time) was spending mucho $ to beat dad. We were taking some broken concrete to a job site for fill one day and here comes the uncle...wanting to race. Dad figgers fuck it and races him. Well with 1/2 ton of concrete in the back we got beat. But not by as much as I'd thought then. He followed us to unload talkin big about his new 780 Holley.

Once unloaded we raced him again on Hubbard drive in Dearborn. In a cloud of blue white smoke the 62 once again ate shit...by several truck lengths. Dad just smiled and said I told you what to do... That afternoon we found a forgotten 63 Sedan DeVille. It ran real good but was eaten up with rust. Turned out to have a 390 in it and a Turbo Hydro. By the following weekend the 62 was full of Cad power and just fuckin rocked. We couldn't beat it anymore.

I remember feeling that there was life somewhere in that 430. I mean in my youth I felt it wasn't far off from a tunnel port. Nobody wanted it so under orders and protest I scrapped it for the uncle.

Sorry to ramble just sharin a MEL story.

 

I'm new here, been reading the forum for a while but just joined. Anyway, I always liked the MEL because it's (correct me if I'm wrong) one of the first big blocks, and I've always been into big block Fords. I'm only 16, so I don't know anything about them from personal experience (yet), but I always thought an MEL could be greatly improved by boring out that taper that forms the combustion chamber, using the extra space to increase valve surface, do a little mild porting, and use dished pistons to form the combustion chamber (similar to a diesel). Also I noticed somewhere that they share the same 4.9" bore spacing with the 429/460, so would it be possible to swap a 429/460 manifold on and port match the heads for better flow?

 

There's a real good discussion thread going on in Engine section of The Lincoln Forum/Lincoln Continental Owners Club www.thelincolnforum.com on the history/design of the MEL-series engine, especially related to combustion chamber/piston design. There's also a dedicated web site to everything MEL at www.ford-mel-engine.com that I like to visit once in a while. Very similar in concept to the 348-409 Chevy W-series engine, but cut short performance-wise in part because of Ford's honoring the AMA racing ban in '58-'60 and shifting performance emphasis to the FE-series.

The MEL is VERY different from the 429-460: NOTHING swaps between them.

 

Well I guessed as much that nothing would swap between the two, although I was thinking more along the lines of chopping off the flanges and welding on MEL flanges so it'll bolt on. I'd also want to use aftermarket aluminum manifolds for that.. no desire to deal with welding cast iron.

 

I wonder how if a M.E.L. motor doesn't make any power , a 58 Mercury M 400 put out 400 H.P. out of 383 C.I. The first production motor to make over 1 H.P. per C.I.

 

Wow, had no idea they were so powerful.. although I assumed the tri power version (not sure what it was called) made plenty.

 

Although part of your statement is true, the last part is incorrect. In 1956 the Chrysler 300-B had a 354 ci Hemi motor that produced 355 horsepower, which made it the first production car to have an engine that produced slightly more than one horsepower per cubic inch. One year before fuel injected Corvette and 2 years before Mercury.

 

Thats why your dueces cost you so damned much to build larry. Those GM V-8 flatties are as scarce as hens teeth and when you do find one its higher than a cats back.

I stillcan't believe you would stuff a Chevy in a Ford.

OK a little closer to the topic the MEL also came in a 383 cubic inch. I have owned two of the bgger MEL engines in Mercury Turnpike Cruisers. pretty good old engines, had real long legs.

Yea GM didn't make more than one pony per cube until '58 with the small block 290 HP fro 283 inches. In '57 they advertised 283 from the 283.

Back to the MEL they were a power house, a lot of them got used beiieve it or not blown in the early '60s. They were not ever as famous as the hemi bit they were another way to smoke 'em with a blown dragster.

Here is something on a side note that gives me a chuckle most of the time. For whatever reason in my mind the engine family has always been Lincoln,Edsel,Mercury. That would be LEM and even though I knew that the engine family called MEL was that engine family I couldn't for the life of me figure out what MEL stood for. DOH

 

I love it when people talk about my favorite engine. Especially when they don't know shit about it.

 

My old man has a '65 Lincoln with a rebuilt 430 and I tell you that thing fly's!! Six people in the car or one, 120mph comes around very quickly. I also scored an Edelbrock 6x2 and one side of a Weiand 8x2 Drag Star manifold for one. Good motors!

 

Gee whiz...58 is WAY late to be making that claim...1955 Chrysler 300 had 355 hp out of 354 cu in, and the FI 283 engines in 57 Chev and Vette had 283, upped to 290 by 1960 or so.

MEL engines are sweet - had a 430 in a 58 Merc, toilet for a carburetor, but heck - 35-40¢ a gallon for gas, who cared? Buddy had a 430 in a 58 Bird...made some tracks down the open road.

 

That's OK, you'll reach puberty soon Just another member of "The Great Brainwashed"- Really intelligent and relevant post to the thread

MEL does indeed stand for Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln, as FE stands for Ford-Edsel- not a predecessor to the FE, a different engine family, meant as the luxo-barge engine, and a smooth, torquey beast- the 462 will make a Lincoln tank move out smartly. My buddy up the street has a pair of Lincoln suicide-door ragtops with 462's, and one has a flip-up cowling with a little windshield for the back seat passengers- pretty cool. I've been trying to talk him out of that critter for a couple years- must have 20 boxes of carpenter "stuff" sitting on it

 

Geezz, Seems like someone has been using the search function!!!

Dug up from the dead.

 

MELs were big for a few years in NASCAR especially in Grand National in the zipper top square birds then the FEs took over(427 Galaxies)

 

Got another buddy that has one of those old 430 T-Birds up in Washington

 

Great thread. Keep it going so I can learn something. I've been considering one of these wngines for quite some time but around here nobody knows anthing about them including me.

 

A handful were used in industrial applications, as well. My grandfather got a 'low hour' unit for his '67 Connie some years ago, it was in a farm irrigation pump. I've even seen one in a drag boat. Love this engine, even if most people just assume it's a modified FE.

 

I also had to learn about the M-E-L engines. I bought a '60 Merc Colony Park wagon with the big 430. Ran okay but in 1960 the ONLY intake manifold available was a 2bbl - true! So I found a salvage yard '58 Merc with a quad and put it on. These are big valve heads in '60 so I don't know what they were thinking. The motor had lots of grunt but that is a 5000 pound wagon and even with the addition of HD front and rear springs, rear sway bar and KYB shocks around it would not begin to have road manners so I put it up for sale. Coddington bought it from me and it became the Scobee drinks promo car. I still love the styling of ALL the '60 Mercs.

 

In 1958, FOMOCO introduced three new engine series, the FE (332-352-361), the MEL (383-410-430-and later 462) and the SUPER DUTY HT gasoline engines (401-477-534).

NOTE- The 410 which went to EDSEL in the 1958 production run was supposed to be released for the 57 MERC but because of foundry problems went to the early production MERC based EDSELS. The 57 MERC received the LINC Y-BLOCK (368CI) as its performance engine.

At that time, MERC-EDSEL-LINC were separate from FOMOCO and could do just anything that made them money.

Along with the 1958 AMA racing ban and a recession, MEL wasn't doing well and was incorporated back into FOMOCO (also EDSEL demise) 60/61.

HOLMAN-MOODY raced 59 430 BIRDS in Grand National but FORD returned to NASCAR in 1960 with the STARLINER and the 352CI 360HP. The 430 was redesigned in 1961 and powered the LINC line.

The MEL and 385 Series does have the same bore spacing and an adapter kit is available to accept a 429/460 intake.

Additionally, FORD used the early MEL cylinder head layout for the 427 LR (those big ports and valves mentioned). The FE valve train can be modified to fit the MEL.

There was much aftermarket speed equipment released for the series and it was big in gas and dragster classes.

The engine had to power some very heavy luxury cars of the period including MERC.

 

That was the 430" Super Marauder that made 400 HP in '58, the first US production engine to hit 400 HP.

Also, the '59 NHRA campion dragster was MEL powered.

 

The first Ford motor to make better than 1 hp per ci, was the 1960 360 hp 352 FE.

 

Naturally aspirated, maybe, but don't forget the blown '57 312" NASCAR engines rated at 340 HP, but were probably closer to 375 HP!

 

Thanks for letting me know, I had to wonder since they have the same bore spacing.

 

dig up some old drag racing stuff from the early '60's and look at how many MEL motors you see. you could get about 500cu in out of them with a stroke and bore. lots of FED's ran them, i remember a pic of one with a crank driven blower even. they were never bad motors, they simply were forgotten about after the larger ford fe's came out.