There are several items that will interchange between the FE and the MEL. BlownsOlds listed most of them. Yes, the FE flywheel fits perfect. No the oil filter plate deal won't. The FE is on the side of the block and the MEL is on the front and have and have different hole alignments. What will is: Rockers arms will (not the shafts or the stands, both too short) Lifters will (not the pushrods) Flywheel and complete clutch set up will Bellhousing will, FE onto a MEL 59-60 only Oil pump will (not the drive shaft) Timing gears & chain will not to my knowledge Fuel pump will not to my knowledge Distributor (not the drive gear) Oil and freeze plugs will (MEL takes more than an FE) To get 508 CI,,,turn the crank rod journals down to fit early Pony and when you do, offset the grinding process and you get about 3/8 stroker. Bore 125 over = 508 CI with solid safe motor.
Fe's are very interchangeable in and of themselves. Think of it this way the FE and MEL engine families have about as much interchangeability as the sbc and 348- 409 W motors. That'll give it some perspective.
I had the pleasure of being present to see that shootout with my own eyes. It was at The Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags at Stanton MI, and that 'ol Merc just plain hauled! Being as it had to be 100% pure stock, he was handicapped by the old "three-on-the-tree" shifter, but man, in spite of that it ran like a real "Muscle Car", a term which is usually reserved for '60s & '70s supercars, many of which that 'ol Mercury could really put a serious hurt on! The car was only recently completed and it certainly appears that with more testing, tuning and tweaking, its going to be getting even faster and more consistent.
So, did you ever find a distributor gear to work w/ the roller cam? -bill ___ Count me in on that question too.....it's my understanding that the FE distributor/mag (of choice)will work if the gear is changed. Where do we get the smaller, MEL specific, cam gear? I'm sure someone used to make these gears....maybe even out of bronze. Rocky
Beep, The guy I got my 6x2 for the 368 from this week has several MEL's including a Latham supercharged 430, and two 500 plus inch Nitro motors with Hilborns. I guess it's a museum in Oklahoma. I'm obviously going to have to go there. It sounds like he has a ridiculous amount of cool Ford stuff. Super nice guy too.
Hey Beep, You said You got 1.5 ratio rockers from a dead Lincoln MEL. Later You posted FE rockers will fit. If so why didnt You go with the FE rockers as they are 1.73 for the hyd and 1.76 ratio for the adjustables. That would give You alot more lift at the valve and I think the Blower would like it at the higher RPMs. Just a thought. FEDER
I am using an old set of 1.5 rockers made by Isky to match the NOS Isky 5 Cycle cam I am using. I can't use the 1.76 rockers. Yes it will increase the lift, but the old cams (58 to about 63) cannot use the larger rockers due to roller lift speed and some other valve train issues. Back in the 50's to around 62 the cam grinders did not have the technology to grind cams for 1.76 or so rocker arms. Thats why they made their own 1.5's for many engines. Isky, then others discovered in about 62 how to it and started grindeing cams for them. In fact, the old 62 Isky catalouge shows cams for both rockers and "highly recommend" that you do not mix them up. I discussed this with crane and Lunati, Isky ( the boy ***hole) wouldn't reply, and they both aggreed. Mixing these old cams ground for 1.5 rockers will cause big time valve train issues at high rpm if tou use higher ratio rockers. Both even said that today you should not mix the rockers as some do. They grind cams today for 1.5, 1.6, 1.65 etc (sbc's). Both told me that even today if you take a cam for a 1.5 and install 1.6, you are asking for issues above 7,000 rpm. It gets worse with larger rockers.
This isn't mine however... I "had" one of these in a 57 Ford Ranchero and I couldn't keep any tires on it...! I made a copy of of this aircleaner in shop cl*** and ended up selling the copy and the original fairly cheap...! I saw just the aircleaner sell for a bit over $6,700 on the bay last year! __________________
This is a bad night .... First Question is What Gear box will bolt up to 63 430 I was wanting to shift second is there another timing cover that wit out the mech fuel pump on the top? I'm running a electric fuel pump, and last when i permenetly remove the power stearing pump is there any modifications that need to be done to the crank area?
I'll share, I got a L600 edelbrock tri-power intake for my 430, still trying to decide which carbs to use, it has the 3 bolt pattern but square bosses.
No Respect...the 58-60 year models will take an FE bell but they changed in 61. As far as I know, there isn't anyway to put a standard behind a 61 or later 430. When the 462 rolled around , supposedly some of those had a dual pattern on the back that would allow a 429/460 bell on the back. Rocky
Modified the bellhousing. I would like to see how it was done. The rocker covers are OEM LINC with breather tubes welded in it appaers. Then had chromed I would guess. Brite rocker covers were available OEM.
Below is a discussion on having made some bronze driven gears- http://www.network54.com/Forum/257364/thread/1175142718/Distributor+gear-
Let me see if I can answer a few things; This is a correct 1958 MERC SUPER MARAUDER 3X2 Option (pictured in an early pickup-CORRECTION: Shown in 1958 MERC). The OEM ***embly supposedly came with matching cast aluminum rocker covers and the over-the-counter package did not. The rocker covers are very rare. Notice the fuel pump. The front covers are all the same. Just use a block-off plate for the fuel pump. All 61/ LINC 430/462 were crank driven P/S. 58-60 had a mix of crank driven and belt driven pumps. The belt driven ***emblies had a crank spacer to hold the balancer at a pre-determined distance from the cover. MERCS also used a stamped water pump pulley, and will give a better appearance than the cast LINCOLN pulley (IMO). Hope I didn't upset anyone by thieving the MEL patch for my avatar.
DAMN! CRS again... The air cleaner shown (closed) drew fresh cold air from an outside inlet. It also had a flapper valve in the snout that would draw pre-heated air from the stove right below it in cold air temperatures as there was no heat riser (exhaust gas cross-over) used in a MEL. It used the same element as the later FE open 3X2 and many 4X2 air cleaners (EDJ 9601-A).
I appreciate the hell out of this explanation. This has been bothering me for some time. I had a cam regrinder tell me the 1.5 lift was for event measurement only and I keep seeing references to old ISKY 1.5 rockers.
KULTULZ, I don't recall if it's in this thread, or a different one, but I asked Beep about it...he said that he simply cut out the starter boss on the FE bell & welded a curved steel plate in place of it, to match the existing bell shape. In effect, there are no provisions for a starter in any location on the bell. Given that it's in a FED, he can either push start it, or use the drive on the front of the blower snout to spin it. Beep may chime in here & add more detail, but he's currently in Kuwait, I believe. First thing I asked him!!...I was all fired up thinking there was a new way to use FE bells on the '61-up blocks, get more trans options AND still enjoy having a starter.
Good luck with your build. You have nuts. I have everything to put a stroked, blown, injected, rollered early olds together but I'm having a problem getting up the nerve to possibly blow up some one of a kind speed parts that should go into a museum. I guess I'll just have to drink more beer sooner or later I'll say **** it and do it. Keep us updated on the out come, if your drive is old isky 2" gilmer give me a pm if you need different pulleys I have a few around.
The Jalopy Journal
