Ford MEL engine
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
developed the MEL ("Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln") engine series as the replacement for the
Lincoln Y-block V8 engine The Lincoln Y-block V8 engine was Ford's earliest OHV V8 engine, introduced by Lincoln in the 1952 model year. Like the later and better-known but even more short-lived Ford Y-block engine, its block's deep skirts gave the block the appearance of ...
for use in large passenger car applications. These engines were produced in
Lima, Ohio Lima ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwest Ohio along Interstate 75 in Ohio, Interstate 75 approximately north of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, southwest of Toledo, Ohio, T ...
at Ford's
Lima Engine Lima Engine is a Ford Motor Company automobile engine plant located in Lima, Ohio, United States. The factory was opened in 1957 as the site of production of Ford's '' MEL'' V8 for the Edsel car. It subsequently produced six-cylinder engines (the ...
plant. They were in turn replaced by the 385 series engines. All MEL engines had wedge-shaped
combustion chamber A combustion chamber is part of an internal combustion engine in which the fuel/air mix is burned. For steam engines, the term has also been used for an extension of the firebox which is used to allow a more complete combustion process. Interna ...
s formed between a flat head surface and an angle milled block deck (10 degrees off square with the bore axis), with the piston top determining the compression ratio and combustion chamber shape, similar to the Chevrolet Big-Block 348 combustion chamber, also introduced in 1958, and the later 409 and 427. Unlike the Chevrolet, which had staggered valves and scalloped or M shaped valve covers, the MEL valves were inline with shaft mounted
rocker arm In the context of an internal combustion engine, a rocker arm is a valvetrain component that typically transfers the motion of a pushrod to the corresponding intake/exhaust valve. Rocker arms in automobiles are typically made from stamped steel ...
s like the FE model Ford engines which were introduced at the same time. As with the previous generation V8s, an open runner
intake manifold In automotive engineering, an inlet manifold or intake manifold (in American English) is the part of an engine that supplies the fuel/air mixture to the cylinders. The word ''manifold'' comes from the Old English word ''manigfeald'' (from the ...
was used, requiring the use of a stamped steel lifter valley cover similar to that of the
Pontiac V8 engine The Pontiac V8 engine is a family of overhead valve 90° V8 engines manufactured by the Pontiac Division of General Motors Corporation between 1955 and 1981. The engines feature a cast-iron block and head and two valves per cylinder. Engine bloc ...
s. Also, the intake manifold provided no exhaust crossover passage to warm the air-fuel mixture. Further MEL engines employed two individual
thermostat A thermostat is a regulating device component which senses the temperature of a physical system and performs actions so that the system's temperature is maintained near a desired setpoint. Thermostats are used in any device or system tha ...
s, aimed to improve the regulation of the engine's coolant temperature. It was introduced the same year Chrysler phased out the Hemi V8 for the
Chrysler B engine The Chrysler B and RB engines are a series of V8 engine#American, big-block V8 gasoline engines introduced in 1958 to replace the Chrysler Hemi engine#First_Generation: FirePower, Chrysler FirePower (first generation Hemi) engines. The B and RB ...
which was also a wedge-shaped combustion chamber. The MEL bore some mechanical similarities with the Ford FE, utilizing similar components such as the oiling system, bolt patterns, and
valve stem A valve stem is a self-contained valve which opens to admit gas to a chamber (such as air to inflate a tire), and is then automatically closed and kept sealed by the pressure in the chamber, or a spring, or both, to prevent the gas from escaping ...
s; however, the MEL was a Lincoln-specific engine and was even larger in displacement capacity. The
main bearing Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries ...
s were , while the rod bearings were . The
connecting rod A connecting rod, also called a 'con rod', is the part of a piston engine which connects the piston to the crankshaft. Together with the crank, the connecting rod converts the reciprocating motion of the piston into the rotation of the cranksh ...
beam had a unique triangular shape with the shoulders for the bolts sitting low toward the cap mating surface . There was one major difference between the MEL and FE engines besides their size and weight; the valves on MEL engines were arranged in alternating fashion (I-E-I-E-I-E-I-E) and not in the manner of the FE (E-I-E-I-I-E-I-E) where the ''I'' indicates an intake valve and the ''E'' indicates an exhaust valve. The MEL was one of three new engine families introduced by Lincoln and Ford in 1958. The others were the FE (Ford Edsel) and SD (super duty), the latter being large and extra powerful, slow-revving engines engineered for heavy-duty work trucks. The FE engine saw its use in the Edsel, a model which was introduced to the vehicle lineup by Ford, described as a car which blended design features of the Ford and Mercury lines combining them with its own individual styling. Further several new
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...
vehicles, such as the Continental luxury sedan and coupe, as well as the all-new four-seat Thunderbird of the same year, which were brought to market utilizing the new engines.


383

The ''Marauder'' was the smallest member of the family. Produced from 1958 through 1960, it was only used in Mercury vehicles. It used a bore and stroke. Output began at , both with a four-barrel
carburetor A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meteri ...
. The was the only output for 1959, and power dropped to for the final year.


410

The MEL engine was the only engine offered in the 1958 Edsel Citation and Corsair models. It was rated at and . Bore and stroke were 4.20 and 3.70 inches respectively. It was not an option on the Pacer, Ranger or station wagon models, which exclusively used the FE 361 engine. There were no other Ford Motor Company applications for this engine such as in Ford and Mercury cars and Ford Trucks. The MEL engine range also included 383 (exclusive to Mercury), 430 (Thunderbird, Mercury, Lincoln, Continental, and Lincoln Continental) and a engine that was exclusive to Lincoln Continentals. In 1965, Ford produced a 410 version of the FE engine that was exclusive to Mercury. Other than displacement, there is no relation between the two engines.


430

The engine was produced from 1958 through 1965. It was the standard engine on all 1958 to 1960 Lincolns and Continentals. Power was in 1958, in 1959, in 1960, in 1961 and in 1964. It was an optional engine on all Mercurys from 1958 to 1960 but Mercury models had a little less horsepower than the Lincolns and Continentals. The 430 was also an optional engine in 1959 and 1960
Ford Thunderbird The Ford Thunderbird (colloquially called the T-Bird) is a personal luxury car produced by Ford from model years 1955 until 1997 and 2002 until 2005 across 11 distinct generations. Introduced as a two-seat convertible, the Thunderbird was pro ...
s. It was commonly referred to as the Thunderbird 430 Special. The 1958 ''Super Marauder'' version used 3 two-barrel carburetors to generate , the first American production car to reach this figure. It was an option on all 430 equipped 1958 Mercurys and all 1958 Lincolns and Continentals. This engine featured the tripower intake manifold, which was cast for Ford by Moon products. Three Holley 2300 carburetors were used. The 430 had a 4.30  bore (same as the 383) and shared the stroke of the 410. The compression ratio started at 10.5:1 for , , and , but was reduced to 10.0:1 the following year. These 1959 engines produced , but power was down to for 1960. Some 1958 Continental Mark IIIs came brand new with the Holley 4150 four-barrel carburetor. New pistons and a four-barrel carburetor were added for 1963; the 10.1:1 compression brought output back to . The 430 engine in particular had a limited but storied history in hot-rodding. The first Miami to Nassau race won by Bertram Yachts (which subsequently helped establish their name) featured a boat powered by twin 430 MEL engines. In the 1959 NASCAR season,
Holman Moody Holman-Moody is an American racecar manufacturer, marine engine manufacturer and former auto racing team. The company currently operates out of Charlotte, North Carolina, but is no longer a race team. Holman-Moody continues to manufacture racing ...
campaigned a number of Thunderbirds, at least some of which were powered by 430s. At least one car survives. The cars were ponderous handlers because of the heavy engine, but successful runners. The Holman Moody 430 Thunderbirds caught the attention of Ford after one of them, driven by
Johnny Beauchamp Johnny Beauchamp (March 23, 1923 – April 17, 1981) was an American NASCAR driver from Harlan, Iowa. He is best known for finishing second in the 1959 Daytona 500 in a photo finish after being declared the unofficial winner. In 23 starts, he ...
, finished a close second to
Lee Petty Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR and one of its first superstars. He was NASCAR's first three-time Cup ch ...
at the 1959
Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
. Houston's Rodney Singer and crew chief Karol Miller used a GMC supercharged Lincoln-powered dragster to win the 1959 NHRA Nationals Top Eliminator. Theirs was the first supercharged TE in NHRA history, starting a string which has continued through the presen

Because of the changing nature of heads, intakes and piston designs, as well as a limited life span, not many aftermarket speed parts were made for the MEL line of engines.
Edelbrock Edelbrock, LLC is an American manufacturer of specialty automotive and motorcycle parts. The company is headquartered in Olive Branch, Mississippi, with a Southern California R&D Tech Center located in Cerritos, CA. The Edelbrock Sand Cast and ...
made a 6X2 intake manifold and a set of water-cooled marine exhaust manifolds (M4) and Weiand made a Drag Star 8X2 manifold as well. Oversize pistons for early drag racers or blown 430s were made, including sets by Jahns Pistons at 13:1 and over standard bore. Other speed parts have been rumored, but they are difficult to find.


462

The 430 was replaced by the engine in 1966. Bore and stroke were entirely different at and the 462 MEL engine produced and as much as of torque. This engine was fitted with hydraulic lifters and a four-barrel Carter AFB carburetor. This large torquey engine was used only in Lincoln Continentals, from 1966 until mid-year in 1968 when it was replaced by the 385-series 460. Production ended after 1968. The production facilities in Lima were converted to produce the new
Ford 385 engine The Ford 385 engine family (also code-named "Lima") is a series of big block V8 engines designed by Ford Motor Company. Produced from 1968 to 1998, the Lima engines replaced the MEL engine entirely, along with multiple engines of the medium-blo ...
family.


Applications

* 1958: all
Edsel Edsel is a discontinued division and brand of automobiles that was marketed by the Ford Motor Company from the 1958 to the 1960 model years. Deriving its name from Edsel Ford, son of company founder Henry Ford, Edsels were developed in an effort ...
Citation and Corsair models as standard equipment (410 only) * 1958–1960: all
Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' ( ...
models Marks III, IV, V as standard equipment (430 only) * 1958–1960: all
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...
models as standard equipment (430 only) * 1958–1960: all
Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...
models as standard or optional equipment (383 and 430 only) * 1959–1960: all
Ford Thunderbird The Ford Thunderbird (colloquially called the T-Bird) is a personal luxury car produced by Ford from model years 1955 until 1997 and 2002 until 2005 across 11 distinct generations. Introduced as a two-seat convertible, the Thunderbird was pro ...
models as optional equipment (430 only) * 1961–1965: all
Lincoln Continental The Lincoln Continental is a series of mid-sized and full-sized luxury cars produced by Lincoln, a division of the American automaker Ford Motor Company. The model line was introduced following the construction of a personal vehicle for Edse ...
models as standard equipment (430 only) * 1966–1968: all
Lincoln Continental The Lincoln Continental is a series of mid-sized and full-sized luxury cars produced by Lincoln, a division of the American automaker Ford Motor Company. The model line was introduced following the construction of a personal vehicle for Edse ...
models as standard equipment (462 only)


See also

*
List of Ford engines Ford engines are those used in Ford Motor Company vehicles and in aftermarket, sports and kit applications. Different engine ranges are used in various global markets. 3 cylinder A series of Ford DOHC 12-valve inline-three engines with Twin Ind ...


References

{{Ford_v8_engines
MEL Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...
V8 engines Gasoline engines by model