Figured the HAMB would be the natural place to ask if this was indeed true... Was the 430 Lincoln-Mercury engine available as an "unadvertised" option in the '59 Ford? I know it was available in the T-bird, but what about the regular Fords?
I don't think they had them on regular fords regular fords had 223 l6 292 Y block 352FE as far as I know
As far as I know the 430 was not offered as an option in '59. Advertised or not advertised I suppose it would fit okay but that is just a guess.
The 352 was the ford's big dog that year. Restoring a 59 ranchero right now, and I keep day dreaming about cop cars with 430's and other what if's.
I saw a 59 Ford in a junk yard years ago with a 430 in it and there was so much missing it was hard to tell if it was stock but I remember thinking it was.
Would ford have ran the 430 in their stock cars? If it was available that is where I would expect to see a public display of ford speed and power. Racing might explain an option that you had to know a secret handshake to otherwise get.
They were not available in Fords but I know guys put them in 57 - 58 - 59 Fords. They were available in Edsels, and the Edsel Ranger and Pacer used the Ford body. I just checked my 1958 Cars Fact Book. Ford offered a 223 six, 292 V8, 332 V8 and 352 V8. Edsel offered a 361 V8 in Ranger and Pacer, 410 in Corsair and Citation. I believe the 361 was derived from the 410 - 430 family which means if the 361 fit the Ford chassis so would the 430. I don't know what changes they made but knowing the auto industry and their penchant for sharing parts, if Ford and Edsel shared bodies they probably shared frames, and the frame would fit any engine from 223 six to 430 V8. There is a certain amount of educated guesswork involved. But I do remember a couple of Fords with Lincoln or Thunderbird engines and if it took major engineering to fit them in, the guys I know could not have done the job. Hope the real gone Ford guys can clear this up. It is an interesting question.
I remember 2 Fords with 410 or 430 engines. One was a dirt track, hillbilly stock car racer, a 58 or 59 Ford with a Thunderbird engine. The other was a notorious car killer who bought an Edsel, wrecked it within a couple of weeks and put the engine into a 57 Ford hardtop. I seem to recall he swapped the engine within a week or maybe over a weekend. It did not take long. Knowing him, if it took a lot of skill or talent he could not have done it.
There was some litrerature out at the dealers that showed the 430 but if you read farther it was only under T birds the 361 was an over bored 352 Some were used in Canadian Meteors in 1960 also they were suposed to have been available to the police in 58Fords.
I've had a few '60 'Birds in the past that were factory equipped with 430 engines, but no other Fords. I did install a 430 into a '56 Ford sedan delivery years ago, that a friend in Sacramento now owns. Plenty of torque in those! ---John
The MEL series engine wasn't offered in the junior series Edsels (Ranger/Pacer/Wagon). However, it was the only engine available for the senior series (Corsair/Citation). The senior series were based off of a Mercury chassis. The Edsel didn't offer an MEL series engine in 1959 or 1960. The 361 is an FE series and the 410/430/383/462 are MEL series. I'm not sure how much work it would actually take to fit one in a Ford frame... I wouldn't think it would be super hard (I could be wrong). I don't think it was ever an option in a 1959 Ford though.
So, it sounds like the 430 was never used in Fords except Thunderbirds. If it was a special order, not advertised deal there would be no records. But it sounds like it was too far off stock for a bolt in. Which means it would be too hard to put in on the assembly line. It seems the FE based Edsel 400 (361 cu in) would fit, and was offered as a Police Interceptor. Ford had a habit of offering special police engines in those days. So there was one Edsel engine offered in a Ford, which was not a regular catalog option.
That's pretty much what I thought. In a discussion on another forum one of the members said he remembered reading in an '80s "Collectible Automobile" magazine that the 430 was available in the standard Fords in addition to the T-birds. So today I looked it up, since I have that mag, but didn't remember that. The article, by Tim Howley appeared in the Oct. '86 issue. Here's what it says... "Not generally known is the fact that you could get the 350-bhp Lincoln Mercury 430 V-8 on the standard Fords as well as the Thunderbird this year, though it wasn't listed for the passenger models and was thus rarely ordered." Very interesting! Wonder where Mr. Howley got that info?
FWIW, a 350 horse engine is shown to be available in full size 1959 Ford cars in my old 1969 NHRA Stock Car Classification Guide. I believe they used factory info and/or AMA info when they made up those old listings.
You can bet if the 430" MEL was even a back-door 1959 Ford option, it would have been running in NASCAR. Didn't happen. Anyone, including Tim Howley, who says it was available, prove it. jack vines
froghawk--- my cousin bob (burnham ford danville ar) was all over performance fords in that era he had a baby blue custom with a 352 (isky cam ) 3speed , 410 equalok---if that 430 could have been had he would have had it... DID NOT MEAN TO UNDERLINE ANYTHING sorry we did look long and hard about ordering a bird 430 to run at daytona but two of our partners could not raise the funds---so i know he was well aware of the 430 option...
This is just a guess, but perhaps the 430 MEL in a 59 Ford was legal in NHRA stock class, in the same way that the 4 speed Hydramatic transmission was legal in 55 - 57 Chevy sedan deliveries??? The legalilty of the Hydros was a loophole in the way that the rules were written.
Interesting suff ! My Dad owned a 1958 Lincoln coupe with 430/375 hp engine. outstanding car ans suprisinly quick. first vehicle that weighed over 5000# that would do 0-60 in less than 10 sec.and that was with like a 2:80-3:00 range rear ratio. in 58-60 several 430 powered drag cars, altereds , dragsters , etc. held 1/4 mile records a friend bought a brand new 59 galaxie, with the 352 . his dealer pal had a 430 powered t-bird in stock. they swapped motors and although done illegally , he had a hot 59 ford with 3 speed overdrive that kicked many chevy asses.
I find it unlikely the 430 was offered outside of M-E-L other than the relatively few T-birds it found its way to. It was plagued with detonation issues from introduction in mid-57 throughout 1958, requiring numerous cam and valve revisions and a compression ratio change into 1959. It required premium octane which the petroleum industry had promised MEL's engine designers would be in place by 1958 but was delayed and thought to be the issue behind the detonation. These engines were only offered with 2.91 or 2.69 axle ratios due to fuel economy concerns, and the Super Marauder tripower option was dropped for 1959. Don Francisco covered all this in the June '58 Motor Trend and would have probably hinted if the engine could be had in a Ford. I've read most of his coverage on the 430 MEL engine and super marauder but have never read that.
I am sure you could pay them to put in anything you wanted as long as it fit, but I do remember I have seen an ad for a 59 Skyliner with the 430 option.
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