Ford MEL engines????

Way back in the day a buddy had an Edsel 410 powered '52 Ford.
Pretty freakin' sporty for the time!

 

If I can finagle that ragtop, if and when it needs a freshen, I'm thinking early heads on the 462 with custom pistons and offset-ground crank, and a short-duration, high-lift cam to wake up the sleeping beast

 

The two MEL powered FED's that I remember most were Ted Cyr's 'The Lincoln' and Kenz and Leslie's. We got to meet Ted at a CHRR Years ago, it was great to hear that 430 on fuel.

 

Rodney Singer won the Nationals with a 508 cubic inch, Ex 430, dragster. And MELs came out at the same time as FEs. They didn't become forgotten when the FE was introduced. FoMoCo chose to develop and promote the FE as it's performance big block. So the MEL just got left behind.

 

Gene not that this ads to the thread but it never pccured to me that FE stood for Ford Edsel. the simeple stuff always gets past me. DOh

And yes indeed the MEL and the FE are two entirely different animals. They only really share one little tid bit, they are both big and heavy.

 

Yes, the MEL is fairly heavy, but that's a myth as far as the FE is concerned, only about 620 lbs, considerably less than most other "big"-blocks- and you can easily lose another 50+ lbs with an aluminum intake

 

Well, It doesn't matter to me as to whether you go along or not. Your post shows your lack of knowledge regarding the MEL. And please explain to me how the valve arrangements are different between the two. I must notify THE ROTUNDA MUSEUM in Dearborn.

Oh...several instances have been shown using FE shafts on a MEL.

-SLOVERS PORTING SERVICE-

 

my daily is a 59 Corsair with a 361, which is an FE block, however my tag on the door jamb says MEL. so uh um uh.... what gives?

 

One of my favorite subjects.

When it comes to the MEL, listen to unclescooby, homespun91, Beep, and certainly KULTULZ...he's the man at the MEL forum. I'm sure there are others here, but these guys have been cool to me with info. I think blown473 has built some MEL engines. yblock292 put one in a '30 roadster. I've got a '29 roadster and a '60 MEL I plan to put in it. Just google "MEL" or search here and certainly the MEL forum.

Check out Beep's blown, fuel-burning 430-powered dragster: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPa2uRisnoA

Read Beep's thread on MEL particulars: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123920&highlight=mel+live

Here's a pic that Lou Mack sent me of his '60 MEL with an adapted trans that he put in his '34 Ford pickup.

 

Mercury - EDSEL -LINCOLN DIVISION of FORD MOTOR COMPANY

 

Well, I'm sure the Rotunda Museum jumps when you call- but when Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles called, they both said they could tell the difference between the orders of the valves in these two types of heads
I'll give you a hint- I-E-I-E-I-E-I-E, and E-I-E-I-I-E-I-E






Love to see how you'd make FE rocker shafts work on an engine with wider bore spacings- minor details like bolting them down, and the rockers actually lining up with the valves- everything I've ever seen from MOST MEL folks was just using FE adjustable rockers on MEL shafts. I guess I could make some FE shafts work on a wider-spaced bores , but it might take my TIG, lathe, and Bridgeport, and an extra set of shafts for lengthening materials- and a lot of spare time. Perhaps you could post some pictures of the FE shafts that you have personally installed on an MEL, with measurements? I always like to learn about new things.
And I stand by my statement, "Additionally, FORD used the early MEL cylinder head layout for the 427 LR (those big ports and valves mentioned)." is not correct- the heads have very little in common, other than having rectangular ports, shaft rockers, and being made by FoMoCo

 

I see MeanGene427's point there, but I'm not getting into that argument... I'm just a kid here to learn more about the MEL. So what exactly is the purpose of having the combustion chamber formed out of a taper in the wall instead of in the head? Is there any advantage? To me it seems that would only make machining the block more complicated.

 

You got me there....

I was thinking Y-BLOCK or SBC with the exhaust valves next to one another on the center bores but that is no excuse.

...but, the FE rocker shafts are usable on the MEL. That and the LR, believe it or not, it makes no difference to me.

 

Read Here-

http://www.thelincolnforum.net/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36860

 

The advantage is you end up with eight completely equal, fully machined combustion chambers. Another thing about the MEL is that those chambers are a 10 degree wedge if I'm not mistaken. That means that the centerline of the valves is at a 10 degree angle to the cylinder. All the hay in the world is made about the "rolled over" trick 18 degree sbc heads and the Mel is 10 degrees from the factory. For a frame of reference all the current NASCAR V8's place their valves at roughly 10 degrees to the cylinder. The purpose is to get the port to flow all the way around the valve.

 

When I was in high school I had a '58 Merc 2-door hardtop with a 383. It was a very smooth car but still a barge. Used a lot of gas. I got really tired of people telling me that a 383 was a mopar engine and not a "Ford". The Merc was at it's best cruising down the highway at 80 or so. Wish I still had it.

 

Thanks for all the info, that thead really helps a lot, especially the pictures. For some reason I imagined it being that the top of the bore had a taper in it that formed a combustion chamber, I didn't realize it was just that the top of each bank was machined at a 10 degree angle to the piston. That's a genius design! I think the MEL is becoming the favorite engine.

 

awesome read

 

x2

 

57 f- code blower cars were factory rated at 300 H.P.

 

I love learning more bout these engines what I don't love is finding a huge hole in the side of the block! No wonder the car was parked for 40 years. It's not gonna be easy finding a replacement here in Saskatchewan!

 

Cannot forget Earl Canavan's "President Lincoln" powered dragster that ran regularly at the Beach and San Gabe.

 

Archived Info @ -MEL ENGINE FORUM-

 

At least you didn't get told that it was a Chevy mill.

 

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No, that was the bane of the 327
Rambler guys!

Mart3406
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This is great info, but I am still a little confused.Which combustion chamber is more efficient, in the head or in the piston?Herb.

 

I would definately say in the piston if it incorporates the swirl design of this engine, because any diesel guy will tell you that swirl is the key to efficiency.

 

Many years ago one of my old buddy's had a '49 Ford Club Coupe with a 430 with T-85 o/d Absolutely unbelievable low-end torque. God do I wish I had that car now!

The thing that kept the MELs popularity down was that Ford never factory installed them in anything but their heaviest land-yachts.
I attended the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags a couple of years ago where a huge 'ol '58 Merc 2 dr sedan with a 430 and three-on-the-tree was knocking off 13 sec quarters.
I'd like to see how a well built 430 would run in say a '57 Fairlane 300.

 

My pastor always tells stories about how he would blow the doors off of anything on the road with his blown 350 powered '47 Ford Coupe.. Well I'd like to see how fast a '47 Ford would be with a blown 430 or 462! The '47s were pretty light, especially considering the weight of Ford's "heaviest land-yachts" as you put it, so they should outrun just about anything on the street with a 430/462 and a blower. Add a 5 or 6 speed manual and you'd have foreign sports car guys dropping their jaws when you outrun them on the highway. In fact a 4 speed with a well built 430 would probably do the same thing, and that is something I would love to see, especially on a totally factory appearing black '47.

 

Over on the Holman & Moody History thread, Genuine Jack posted, or had it posted (he's having trouble) this MEL pic of a 430 in a H&M T-Bird. Looks a lot like FE valve train to me rockin' away there, but then again, after over 45 years as a mechanic I'm receiving one hell of an education from some of these old timers here. Kind of like my early days starting all over again.
Now I've got a question or 2 myself to follow; Tom S. in Tn.