Building a mild kustom family ride out of a 1960 Merc 2dr ht. It has a fresh 300hp 2br 430 mel in it. The 430 mel runs very strong for only a 300hp 2br motor. I know alot about motors but have never played with the mels though. So I have been looking for some performance parts for the 430 mel like intakes, valve train and dress up stuff with little to no luck at all. So should I swap out the 430 mel to a 428 fe with tri power or a 472 cad with dual quads. Or should I stick with the 430 mel and hop it up by fabing up a low rise dual quad intake and installing a hotter cam
my buddy has one with a 351 W motor a small cam and its strong. we tryed to do a 460 and it was a nightmaire the starter hits the lower a arms and the 430 is a spendy mill to play with.
The 430 would be the koolest choice due to the fact you don't see many of the them. Of the 3 the FE motors probably have more aftermarket support than the other 2. If you go Cad go with the 500 ci. It's not the prettiest of motors but it's like that old saying. "There is no replacement for cubic displacement". Keep us posted.
Let me tell ya , I put a lot of hard miles on my '59 Merc with zero problems man. They're good on fuel, and I challenge anyone to find a better sounding set of pipes on anything! You're gonna love this car buddy! Trust me , I've owned the same one twice and I'd buy it back again in a minute if I could find it now!
Yea the 430 would be real kool. Do not know if they have over heating issues like some of the big fe's I have had though. I already have a mildly built 428fe med rise with tri power but they are getting to be worth to much money to put in a car of this low value and maybee some heating issues. Also have a real nice 472 caddy with a custom made dual quad intake ready to drop in.
I don't know what is ugly about a cleaned up 472/500 Caddy except for the faces your opponent makes after you smoke their ass, lol. I would say the 430 or the Caddy. Niether are common, and both would be a cool touch. Thats my .02
EXK...brother do what ever your big enough too! just do it your way, and then you'll be happy. the only person you have to please is YOU! can you dig it?...POP.
Mine came with the 312. I chucked it for a 390. I'm running it with an Edlebrock Performer RPM intake, MSD ignition, and Doug Thorley headers. It's backed up by an overly built C6. It may be common, but it all fits and works together. Any accessory is basically Galaxie stuff.
If the 430's all there, runs good and runs strong, why mess with it? You said you're building a mild custom, not a race car. I'm sure it will be plenty ballsy for a family ride, even with just the 2bbl. If not, I'm sure it won't be that hard to find a 4bbl to go on it. The Caddy has the potential to be an install headache, and the 428 you're just starting over from scratch. If the 430 was worn out or in bad shape, I could see a change. I've driven similar era big motor 2bbl cars before with no complaints about performance, either. Usually those big motors have more than enough torque to haul ass, you may not win any drag races with them, but they have no problem getting out of their own way.
I have been doing a little reasearch on the 430mel and it lookes like it can easily make 400hp at 5,000 rpm and over 500fbs tokq which is more than enough for a family ride. So I have decided to play with the 430 mel a little. I know there are 3 and 6 duce intakes avail that would be way cool to look at but I know the issues with them also. I have found that Weiand ? made a 671 ? blower intake for this motor that could be made into a dual quad intake way easiler than fabing one up if only I could find one. Also moon made some finned valve covers that would realy be kool or maybee the 1958 super muradure finned alum covers. Any one have or know of any for sale !!!! Also any sugestions of what brand cam and grind to use would be very helpfull. Planning on running 2 small holley 380cfm vacume secondary 4br carbs with the stock exaust manifolds and 2 2 1/2" exaust pipes with a cross over thru a set of Smittys
the MEL goodies will be hard to find - but its good (IMO) that you are staying with the original motor. Have fun, keep us posted?
The MEL would be the boss if you could round up one of the old Latham superchargers for it.They look cool and are streetable and powerful.
430 MEL all the way! I almost got one earlier before my job tanked, but been still looking, and see performance parts here in the classifieds now and then.
Oh, man....keep the MEL!. It runs good, it sure isn't common and it's already in there! If it were mine, I'd probably just stick a 4-BBL on it and some chrome and call it done. If your looking for a 4-bbl intake for it , most Merc 430's, all Lincoln 430 and 462's, and all Edsel 410s had 4-bbls. Also all 430 Interceptor and Dearborn marine engines too. When you're looking for MEL stuff, too, you might get lucky and find a factory 3-3bbl intake from a T-Bird or Merc Turnpike Cruiser and/or set of factory cast aluminum valve covers from the same too... They're scarce and usually pricey, but they're out there. Also, you might really luck out and run across an aftermarket aluminum single-4bbl or multiple-carb intake too. Again not common, but they do exist. Good luck and have fun......and post some pics as the build progresses. Mart3406 =========================
Newest update. Have all the body work finished and sealed ready for the custom paint work. Yes it will be a wild one as this 60 Merc cruiser is one of my personall rides so it will be done old school style with scallops and panels with lace and spider webing with candy fade aways. I plan to do the main color in a large white metal flake with a hint of pale orange flake lightly peppered in. The panels and fade aways will be done in shades of orange candy's. Wow I just realized I have not named this car. Going to have to come up with something very soon. Got a good name for it ? lets here it
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