Projects Ford FT engine in a '59 Merc. Doable?

I picked up a (from what I can tell) 1973 Ford 330 FT heavy duty or medium duty engine for a couple hundred bucks, and I would like to put it in my 1959 Mercury Monterey. I would rather put a Y-block in it, but the engine was disassembled and left in the rain for a few years, and I live in the middle of nowhere and have constrained budget for this car so I rolled the dice on the FT. Is it doable? Will it mount to the merc-o-matic? The engine didn't come with a flexplate, distributor, or starter, so I'll have to find those. I see alot of posts about putting FE engines in these cars but nothing really about FT engines, which are a little different than an FE.

 

From I read it can be made to work but you need the flywheel and manifolds to match that specific engine. What part of the country do you live in?

 

I think I would have passed on that motor. I would have looked for a complete 60's-80's Ford product vehicle, car, small truck or van. Even if you had to pay a bit more. That way you would have a complete unit. Plus extra little bits you might need. Anything from a 302 - 460 could probably be made to work

 

I just learned something new. Google turns up a bunch of stuff.

 

Yeah I’m starting to have trouble already with this thing. Mostly with finding a flex plate. I’m in southern Arizona (Yuma) and have the exhaust and intake manifolds

 

According to what I read you can use an aftermarket Edelbrock intake for a regular fe. It's the exhaust that has to match the engine

 

FT was used in trucks . The crankshaft snout is longer than automotive use . I think the water pump sets further away from the block . So be sure there’s enough room for the added length

 

I had a '74 Seagrave fire engine that had a 534 ci Ford and an Allison automatic. Is that the engine you're talking about? Having only 11K miles, mine ran good, but got horrible gas mileage.

The water cannon on it was a lot of fun.

 

The FT can be made to work, but there are alot of truck specific items that are different from car based FE's. An FE would be a bolt-in into your '59 Merc with the right motor mounts and transmission bellhousing, but the FT's used a front and rear mount system, and I am not sure if your block was drilled for car motor mounts. The 330 is also the red headed step child of the FE/FT world, and parts such as pistons and gaskets will be much more difficult to find.

Tubman,
Your 534 was a SuperDuty V8. Ford produced that engine line starting in '58 just like the FE, but they were only used in Class 7 and larger trucks. 401, 477, and 534 ci. They have more in common from a design perspective with the MEL line of V8's than the FE/FT. The FT (330, 361, and 391 ci) was really just a modified version of the car based FE engine, but with enhancements to make it more durable in a medium duty truck application. Ford added things like a forged crank, sodium cooled exhaust valves, different exhaust manifolds, larger exhaust crossover in the heads, and front and rear mounts to the FE to make it truck specific.

 

Seems to me the FT also had an odd-ball distributor with different block machining that precludes using a FE distributor. And it's been a long time, but IIRC that distributor also has a built-in speed governor.

 

I was around some of those in the early 70's when Ford sold them as industrial engines. I remember the different front dress but I think the mounts and the rest were the same as the 428's that we were using for irrigation engines. But that was a few days ago so take it as such.

 

I’m reading that FT’s used a 5/16 distributor shaft instead of a 1/4”. I guess there’s a bushing you can put in there to make it work, but eBay is showing some rust supposedly drop in. My biggest hurdle now is finding a flex plate that fits and seeing what trans fits behind it. Supposedly the rear crank flange is different from a regular FE crank, so how do builders take the steel cranks out of those engines and make them work in passenger vehicles? It’s quite the rabbit hole. I think I’ll just tear this down with my son for funsies and keep an eye out for a y-block or FE

 

I see you’re a new member, and welcome. I’m sure your first choice would be a yblock, and those probably aren’t around much in Yuma. But even so, trying to make that odd truck motor work is likely to turn into a real money swamp. Yblock’s and FE’s are expensive enough doing simple driver rebuilds. Unless it’s known to be a running, tight engine, you should probably take a step back and rethink it.

Mercury has enough in common with Ford you can find some guidance in the later Ford Forums, or maybe a social group here. A running small block, with transmission is going to be the best route. Or even a sbc (I can’t believe I just wrote that). If it’s got the 2 speed transmission, this goes double.

edit. You beat me to it.

 

There may not be much help at the Ford forums... The '57 through '60 Mercurys were anomalies. With the impending arrival of the Edsel due in '58, Ford decided to upgrade/upscale the Mercs so that the Edsel would slot neatly between the Ford and Merc. They got an entirely new chassis, with different brakes, steering and suspensions (The 'senior' Edsel '58 Citation and Corsair were based on the Mercury chassis, while the lower-line Pacer and Ranger had to make do with Ford running gear). Different engine choices also, with the first appearance of the MEL V8 in '58. The Y-block was the base Mercury V8 but only used in the bottom-line models. And it wasn't a 292... While the 312 was gone at Ford after '57, it soldiered on at Mercury through '60 so if you have the original 312 Y-block, even rusty, somebody will probably want that. All other choices were MELs. Merc versions in '58; two 383 ci and two 430s, with the top of the line being a fire-breathing 400hp version. That one was dropped in '59 (along with hp ratings on the rest of them) and in '60 they dropped one of the 383s, leaving just three choices. No FEs found here, so OEM FE swap bits may be non-existent. Not to say that there isn't something that will work, but you won't find a catalog listing.

With the cancellation of the Edsel early in 1960, the reason for the divergence of the Merc from the Ford disappeared and Mercury was dragged back under the Ford umbrella for '61. The FE arrived and the MEL (and 312) was gone from Mercury, never to return.

Once place you might look; the '59-60 T-birds. To the best of my knowledge, that was the only time Ford installed both the FE and MEL in a common car chassis. I'd start cross-referencing motor mounts between these cars...