Ford MEL engine family
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- Опубликовано: 10 авг 2023
- Ford introduced 3 engine families in 1958 the FE ( ford edsel ) MEL ( Mercury edsel Lincoln and the SD (super duty)
The MEL could be had in four displacements 383 410 430 462
Was produced from 1958-1968and was replaced by the ford 385 engine family
Enjoy this episode really cool ads =) 
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bleed American/Jimmy eat world
You must be a Jimmy Eat World fan I didn’t know about that song until there was a story about that song but that’s neither here nor there congratulations you got it =)
Awesome job !
Well done 👏👏👏
4:40 The reason the 430 dropped to 315hp was Robert McNamara. As president of FoMoCo, he proclaimed that anything more than a 2-barrel carburetor was excessive and wasteful. That 430ci engine had a 2-barrel on it! The guy was out there. He's remembered more for his role in sending American boys to die in Vietnam than for Ford, but he was a bad dude everywhere it seems...
Shame they didn't trade him to North Vietnam 😉
I doubt that Vietnam had any use for someone that destructive. They would have just sent him back, so that he could continue weakening the nation after weakening Ford's Lincoln Division@@johnboydTx
He hated performance. His new baby was the 1960 Falcoln, with only a tiny 144 6 cyl at first.
"Bad dude" has a positive connotation in American slang. It would be more fitting to say, that Robert McNamara was an evil, anal retentive asshole!
He is known as a douchebag and a Mama's boy
Imagine had the 58 Mercury Marauder had the 430 MEL V8 add more upgrades like a cam as well as ported heads and tubular headers it would've made over 450 HP in 1958 and it would've even created the muscle car franchise as well.
Totally agree
Factory parts aren't "upgrades" and those "upgrades" are the least available, practical, possible, useful and effective in Ford "big-blocks" that ALL HAD/HAVE SMALLER COMBUSTION CHAMBERS AND THEREFORE LESS ROOM FOR FUEL AND AIR THAN "SMOG-ERA" 350 CHEVY "TRUCK MOTORS".
CHAMBER VOLUME IS THE "DISPLACEMENT" THAT REALLY MATTERS AS EVIDENCED BY THE FACT THAT SMALL-BLOCK CHEVY CHAMBERS "RANGE" FROM AROUND 56 CC TO 76 CC AND NO CHEVY BIG-BLOCK HAS EVER HAD A CHAMBER SMALLER THAN ABOUT 105 CC EVEN THOUGH THE SMALLEST BIG-BLOCK CHEVY IS SMALLER BY 50+ CUBIC INCHES THAN THE LARGEST SMALL-BLOCK CHEVY.
I had a 58 mercury with a 430 Lincoln engine, this was in 1967. As a kid I put chrome reverse rims, removed the heavy front bumper. Heavy duty ford 3 speed with a Hurst shifter. Street racing was fun when your 20yrs old.
Your car sounds awesome =)
And your's had a stick? Bet it was fantastic fun!
I'd like a 58 Tbird with a 462 V8 and 3x2 carbs. Add the column shifter three speed manual with a 3.55 Trak Lok diff. Nice street cruiser.
the Connie. I've got a Connie in my garage. I've had 62 and 70. wonderful cars
Sweet =)
A friend’s family kept a ragged old black 2 door Merc for the kids, and they lent it to me a few times. They called it the “Roachmobile”.
A strippo black two door with automatic, no power steering and the MEL 383….hmmm.
I never learned the history of it, I suspect it had something to do with law enforcement. It ran pretty darn good despite 2nd being gone. The speedometer did not work. I clocked it with my car on I-65 at my car’s top speed of 92 and he said it “had more”. On dry rotted bias ply 14” tires it could be thrown around pretty well also.
RIP Roachmobile wherever you are.
Awesome story thank you so much for sharing those memories =)
I'm a Ford guy, so while I have great respect for the Chrysler 300, I LOVE the Super Marauder 400 hp formula.
The Super Marauder V8 air filter cover is utterly cool!
-In 2003 I took my '85 Porsche 928S2 5 speed to Michigan for pilot training at Kalitta Air in Ypsilanti. While I was up there, I decided one Saturday on my day off to drive my 928 down to Temperance, Michigan where I grew up. While I was driving down I-275 near Metro Airport, I was challenged by a late model Mercury Marauder. I think these were basically Crown Victorias with the 32 valve 300 hp Mustang engine? Anyway, no cops around so I took the challenge and passed him around 130 mph. My 928S2 has been clocked at Bithlo Speedway in Orlando at 105 mph in the quarter mile, and it went around him, but I was surprised how fast the big American barge actually was. And it was cool looking!
After I got back to Romulus where I was staying, someone had a Panther platform 1980 station wagon LTD in the parking lot; I remember feeling pissed off that the same pedestrian chassis had put up such a fight against what has been called the best handling GT car in the world~
Dammit!
1 & 2: Lincoln Continental.
The suicide doors are just too cool to pass up.
The "Y block" engine continued well past 1958. It was offered in trucks as
the V-8 option over the I-6 up to the early 1960s.
And they were heavy, main-leaking, stacked-port, low-RPM, rocker-squeaking, cam-flattening pieces of junk.
@@daryllect6659 How sweet of you to note this. with the external oiling mod to the rockers they were OK engines but no better than that. I can't figure for the life of me why Ford continued them, into the FE era...
@@daryllect6659 The rocker-squeaking cam-flattening problems weer easily fixed. Then you had a really good engine. Very durable, and durability is more important than feathery weight to the average motorist.
Yep, our 1964 F 100 had the 292. I still remember that funky crossover pipe. What a cool truck.
A lot of traditional Hot Rodders look at the 1st gen Hemi's as the pinnacle of power back in the day, but for me it has always been the MEL's. How I wish that FoMoCo would've pushed this one more, because this was one heck of an engine. Dump that "slush-box" automatic and slap it up to a Top-Loader 4 speed manual, set of home-made headers, a modern carburetor, and these things COME ALIVE! The downfall of the MEL though, was it was too much for those early automatic transmissions. Also with that high of compression, they were fuel sensitive and prone to "dieseling" when people would get "bad gas" at a mom-and-pop gas station.
I wish they would have used the 410 in more cars that’s an underrated engine..
there were lots of 430ci mel engines in 60 tbirds with a 3 spd on the column , nascar even ran these for a while. that big heavy bird with a 456 gear and big carb and a little tuning on the distributor was a killer on the street.
.....thanks for the vid......I pick the '58 Continental and the '59 T-Bird.....the T-Bird at this time was built on the same line as Lincoln at the new Wixom assembly plant, Ford's best quality plant.....the T-bird was more Lincoln than Ford, and got the 430 MEL as a seldomly ordered option for 1959....love all those models.....
Not many people know this, but Lincoln was furious that the 4 seat Bird became a Ford rather than a Lincoln. Lincoln kind of got even though, as the 61 Lincoln was originally going to be a 2 door car and a Ford Thunderbird!
Interesting and certainly overlooked engines. Good research and period documents 👍👍👍. The horsepower race in the 50’s was a golden time in America. The torque produced by the engines was impressive. I noticed you had a clip of a Ford Muscle Parts catalog. There were 3 stages of improving power, Intimidator, ? and Dominator. I can’t remember what stage 2 was called, but it specified which parts to buy for each engine and each stage. Chevy performance parts were everywhere but Ford parts were less prolific and cost more. Most Ford dealers didn’t carry nor push performance parts. Chevy did. I also noticed your picture of the 385 engine family was a Boss 429.
had a january Continental with the 462. i rebuilt in while i was in the Air Force and loved that car. i wish i still had it
Awesome car what did you like the most about it what did you like the least about it
i had a 58 turnpike cruiser in 61 with the big hp 430, looked like a real cruiser but was the real deal from light to light on the street.
Awesome
How did you like that car ive heard they were fast =)
The car I would like out of the first group would be the Edsel. From the second group, I would like the Turnpike Cruiser.
i figure the description of a yblock is the block skirt below the crank which covers a lot of Ford engine series. I never forgot the power of the 59 bird J model I had in early 70s. I'd have another one but they didn't have manual trans so settled for a 59 bird with a performance 390 T85OD, very comfy fun to run super cruiser. Torque is a kick in the ass. As example watch youtube 'Tom Kristensen 59 thunderbird at Goodwood' hilarious.
One of the reasons that the MEL engines were overlooked by hot rodders is their size. These engines are extremely long! They have 5" bore centers (a Chevy small block has 4.4"), because Ford thought that they might need engines of 450 cu. in. or more by the 60's. They are also heavy. That huge block of cast iron didn't benefit from thinwall casting.
I would take the 58 Continental and the 63 Continental. My grandfather had a new 59 Connie, and as a 4-5 yr old kid, I was absolutely in love with that car, while the 63 has some of the classiest styling on any car ever.
As my father was an EDSEL guy I to fall in that category, as he bought 3 EDSELS 2, 58s, a 4 drhtop Citation, a 4 drsedan Pacer, and a 1959 9 passenger Villager wagon, boy do (ALL) these Cars LOVE GAS, 😳😢🤯😵😱, GREAT INPUT ON THESE ENGINES 👌😁👍
Your dad had great taste I was to drive a citation or Corsair one day always wondered what that car is like to drive
Thank you as always - another home run! WYR is actually easy for me this time - Continental and Thunderbird. I’ve never owned a car with one of these engines, but I did rebuild a 65 Thunderbird with a 390 (why the T-Bird was an easy pick for me). ~ Chuck
I wanted to post this episode so bad last night it’s been recorded for the last three days I just haven’t had time to finish it
We do this craft show called Shaker Woods it’s like the Super Bowl of craft shows I thought maybe about posting something maybe tomorrow I don’t know and say hey if you guys are out in Columbiana Ohio and you wanna talk cars in the woods we could totally do that.. or whatever
65 Thunderbird the really cool bird flare bird I like the rear seat in that it wraps around.. 64 6566 those Thunderbirds are really nice because there’s enough room inside of them the issue with the 58 59 and 60 is the steering wheel is in your crotch. That’s the car that I designed the crotch test for it all goes back to that car. The steering wheel isn’t adjustable, and the seats don’t go up or down my favorite generation of Thunderbird so far is the bullet bird but I’m really intrigued about what comes after flare bird 67 68 I want to review a four-door I saw one at a car show but I didn’t see the owner and it was really busy Carson was there sometimes really hard to shoot cars because they’re parked in a parking lot and it’s just weird.
But great choices =)
Not my favorite engine but it was in one of my favorite cars … 1963 Lincoln Continental convertible. LOVED that car !!
Had a friend named Roger who had one of these Mercury Marauders. It was fast.
Awesome =)
The black Lincoln is the clear choice.
63 Lincoln Continental because my dad owned one and I got to drive it while I was in high school. That back seat was HUGE and great for those drive in dates. LOL
Edsel and then the Merc. I did not know that the old Thunderbird 430 was a MEL engine and not a FE . Good stuff . Thx.
It was only on offer for 59 maybe 60
After retirement my late father purchased a '65 Lincoln Continental 4dr. for one reason, traveling. It was a real land yacht. Could drive all day with ease. You also lost weight (through your wallet) not an economy car. Down side the power steering pump, directly mounted the crank shaft, behind the lower pulleys, ours did not seem to last. Thanks. Narragansett Bay
Thank you so much for sharing those memories =)
The 1958 Lincoln then the Edsel ☺️
I always liked the last year of Edsel 👍
They ran pretty good 🤔
Another great episode 👏👏👏😂
The black Lincoln, all the way...
The Lincoln's next to those others. Yeah, no contest. They're just clean designs. Not jumbled up with a bunch of extra nonsense
Had fe 390 , and 460 ford , nice engines , my 59 Edsel had a 223 6 cyl , and also a nice engine , well done Jay❤
Sweet how did you like your 59 edsel?
Glad you dig this episode
A great summary, Jay. I'll take the '68 Mercury Park Lane and the '68 Turnpike Cruiser.
You can blame the lack of advertising about the Tri-power 430 on Robert MacNamara. He did not believe in high performance, nor multiple carbs. He thought all of that was "wasteful" and "excessive". He didn't even like the 4 barrel carburetor. That might be why the 1960 - 62 Lincolns only had a 2 barrel carburetor, and why the 292 Y block, after hitting 212 horsepower in 57 with a 4 barrel, was steadily detuned - 205 in 58, 200 in 59 with a 2 barrel, 185 in 60, 175 in 61, and just 170 in 62, the last year it was used in US passenger cars. It was used in 63 and 64 in trucks, and all the way through the 70s in South America.
Awesome information thank you so much for sharing all of that I’m glad Ford got rid of McNamara/happy JFK took him away from Ford motor company things would’ve been drastically different if he stayed at ford
In 1994, I bought a '67 Continental 2DR hardtop, with the venerable 7.4L 462CI V8. I found it in Chehalis, WA. It had 104K on the clock, was in clean condition-a good 20 footer. I paid $1500 for it, plus another $400 for a complete engine tune up-belts, hoses, wires, plugs, fluids. I drove it back to Chicago in three legs. Ol' girl chewed up the highway at 80+ mph, even did a stretch thru Montana at triple digits for about an hour. Overall, I managed to get 15MPG. I miss that car every single day. Did I mention that it was Celery Green?
Thank you so much for sharing your car with us =) sounds like a super stellar ride
Just a little explaination on horsepower ratings during this time HP was tested it had no accessories attached. In the seventies HP was tested with installed accessories.
Jay, nice piece! I never had considered just how much power Ford had increased between 1953 and 1957. With a F-code 312, Ford had increased horsepower by 3 TIMES (340 hp) in just 4 years!
Yeah it’s crazy there is a mistake the 312 came in 56 not 57 but the Y block was detuned after 57 so peak horse power was 57 for this engine
Great video! I don't know much about engines past the early '30's so I certainly leaned a lot. As for, 'Would You Rather'- I'm takin' the continentals. I'm a sucker for slanted dual headlights and suicide doors.
Awesome Choices man =) those Lincoln were class
Спасибо за хорошее видео! Muchas gracias!
Glad you dig this video thank you much for watching =)
Hi Jay! ANOTHER great engine episode! It's a shame that these engines weren't advertised more, especially that Super Marauder! WYR #1 IS EASY! 1958 Edsel Citation with that E-475 engine! #2 WAS hard! They are all nice! But I always wanted one of those LIncolns! Could pass almost everything but a gas station!!
Awesome choices =)
My dad had a T Bird with the 430 when I could get to drive it he would set the time back so it would be slower . I would re- set the time and kick butt with it . Was a fast and great car .
1st choice, 58 Edsel, 2nd choice, 63 Lincoln Continental like I used to have. The 63 was a great performer and the only car in which I received a speeding ticket. The CHP Motorcycle Patrolman was so impressed with the car and its performance, that he downgraded the speed on the ticket and gave me specific instructions as to how to have the points removed from my license. P. S. The car was 25 years old at the time and unrestored.
Awesome story thank you so much for sharing those memories =)
Awesome choices =)
Love how you put the mel engine's one the channel good stuff😊
=) happy you dig this channel
I'll go with the Park Lane and the Turnpike Cruiser. To me, those are the most satisfying to look at.
Cool choices =)
My 1993 Mercury Grand Marquis still had MEL in the VIN sequence.
Awesome
Outstanding effort. I never knew there was a 383ci MEL block
I didn’t know that either until doing this episode, also finding out Ford had a lot of engine families.. Wednesday or Thursdays engine episode is going to be epic first generation AMC.. we are going to highlight one of the most underrated overlooked engines ever AMC’s 327 V8
An informative presentation on FOMO's MEL engines. Boy, those sure were powerful brutes, almost puts the Chrysler 300 to shame! As for WYR, these are two very easy choices for me. The first I will gladly take the 1958 Edsel Citation convertible but in turquoise, and the second I will gladly take the 1959 Ford Thunderbird but in Alaska White. I sure wish that those two beauties were sitting in my garage right now! I'd drive them everyday.
I’d second that 58 citation in teal or black and white..
The Chrysler 300 had 375hp at that point
@@What.its.like. That I didn't know. By 1960, so I just read, that car had increased to an even 400 hp, maybe they should have renamed it by then the Chrysler 400!
Excellent post !!
=)
If I could have gotten what I wanted, it would have been the Thunderbird, but with the Marauder 400. It would have been a true muscle car.
That would be a match made in heaven
Yes, I Got to drive one back in 75. Is mercury park lanes And it was a running God Dang motor I never did find the top end to it. She just wanted to move.
Always started no matter what.
And the fun is the fun car drive. Will motor the head balls like that and halfway decent mileage back there.
Excellent Vidya!
Another great vid!!! 👍👍
Chrysler 300. To hell with those lead sleds!
After Lincoln received the 462 V8, the 385 series was snuck in there with 460 c.i. Both engines could be in different Lincoln models at the same time. Often confusing the 462 could be identified because it had a gear-driven power steering pump, while the new 460 would have a belt-driven power steering pump. Ford and Mercury had to make do with the 429 V8 until 1975 when they got the de-tuned 460.
If that Mercury "Super Marauder" was 400 h.p., it had beat the Chryslers with the 392 hemis hands down.
Of note, the T-bird "Bullet Birds" also had a gear-driven power steering pump which also powered the windshield wipers.
With the Mercury Turnpike Cruisers, they used the 368 V8 which, I believe, was the largest of the Ford "Y" blocks.
368 "Y" Block is Lincoln/Mercury and ended in 57'.
Ford had completely different sizes of "Y" Blocks, all smaller than 368.
Starting in 58' Turnpike Crusiers featured MEL's, some being 430/400 Super Marauder's.
@@Johnnycdrums Hmmm. How come the 2 I overhauled in 1958 Turnpike Cruisers were 368's? I overhauled a 368 in a 1957 Continental MK II and it was identical to the 2 Mercs. I did do one 410 MEL engine. Years later, I did a 410 FE.
Oh, then there was the 368 that somebody had swapped into a 1957 T-bird. I wondered why that car had so much power, as I though it was a 312.
The 292 "Y" block was the last of the "Y" blocks which Ford used. It lasted into the 1960's in Ford full-size cars and Ford pick-ups.
@@automatedelectronics6062; Well, that's that then. The "Y" blocks lingered on apparently.
Swapping a 368 "Y" into a 57' T-Bird sounds like a classy and period correct move, that no one would notice.
I knew the Ford "Y" blocks lingered around for a while, like in South America, but thought for some reason than Mercury was done with their line of "Y" Blocks starting with the 1958 model year.
Not only that, it appears Mercury was sourcing 312 Ford "Y" blocks as late as 1958.
How bizarre was 58'?
Ford "Y" Blocks
Lincoln/Mercury "Y" Blocks
Lincoln/Mercury/Edsel/Thunderbird MEL.
Ford 332 and 352 FE.
The 368 Y Block is not part of Ford's 272/292/312 Y Block series of engines. Also, full size Ford's and Mercury's could get the 460 as an option starting in 1973.
@@briansearles4473 Sure was. That's why it was so easy to swap with a 312 in a '57 T-bird. Well, I've seen plenty of 429's in 1973-1974 Fords but never a 460. My parents special ordered a 1974 1/2 Ford Gran Torino Elite and wanted the 460 but only the 429 was available. Sure, that was a mid-size Ford but the 460 became available in 1975. That's California and we have our own emission standards. The 460's I guess couldn't pass emissions until 1975 when catalytic converters were required for most cars.
Both WYRs were hard for me lol, they all look great to me, based on styling alone. In the first I'd go with the Edsel, the second it be a total tug of war between the Continental and the Turnpike Cruiser, both are extremely desirable to me, although black wouldn't be my desired choice for any of these. 😎
Yeah citation converts are rare 930 made great choices
*I would have to go with the Continental both times. I had a 59' Buick Electra 225 Convertible white with red leather interior and a black top sporting the Wildcat 401 making 325hp and 444 Ft-lbs of torque, mated to the Dyna-flow 2 speed slush glide (LOL) I could punch it burn rubber and at 55mph when it shifted to its Only second gear it would chirp the tires. Electric everything, what a monster had to sell for college, what a shame.*
Awesome choices. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with the 59 Electra that’s a car that I really love. I don’t know if I’d like the 59 or 60 better I definitely like the 59 dash better.
not ford guy but I love few fords and 59 T bird is one of them
I had toy car 59 T bird in early 60's when I was a little kid
These choices are impossible to pick from.
I've got a 55 Ford in my driveway right this minute it has the 272 engine it's an F700 big job
I would go for the Turnpike Cruiser!
Awesome choice that’s a car. I’ve been looking forward to feature on the channel. There’s so hard to find now.
Oh boy. Just as you got to the third mention of “Edsel”, I’m altering my message - was going to be about how to pronounce “Edsel”. Glad you fixed it. 😂
I don’t say it right I never have and finding out everyone says it different depending on location
Someone corrected me so I said it that way in the beginning then went back to how I say it
Ed zel haha
@@What.its.like. Nah. There’s only one way to say it and you got it right from the third time onward.
If it has to be 1958 none of the above, but a 1958 T-Bird for me. In a T-Bird the MEL (430) was only an option in 1959 and 1960 though. But of the 3 choices the 1958 Continental MK III for me.
Turnpike Cruiser with the 410 Super.
410 was edsel only engine but would be cool
You know, you're asking a Chevy guy would you rather have which Ford product..... Ok, I'd take the Edsel for the "over the top styling cues, and the T-bird because of the of the aircraft
styled interior.
1958 Thunderbird I have always likes the thunderbird
58 Edsel and 63 Conti - no clue on the song, We're Ford FE fans here....
Sweet we are definitely going to cover the FE as well as Windsor small block eventually..
I think I’m going to put a poll up for the next engine episode be sure to vote =)
I always wondered why the 1960 models were detuned from the ‘59s. It seems like FoMoCo were the only ones who did that.
In both WYR scenarios I would pick the Lincoln. To me it is a no brainer.
Sweet choices
You know, I know you have to make a video and all you have to work with are gross horsepower ratings, but these numbers are literally irrelevant since they actually say nothing. The most accurate ratio that I have heard is to take gross horsepower and reduce it by 25% to produce what I call "calibrated horsepower", or CHP for older engines. A 380 gross BHP old engine would rate about 295 calibrated horsepower in my world. That means that the net BHP at the crankshaft should be in the region of 295, but not actually measured.
I highly recommend you use this in your videos; Show rated gross BHP and in parentheses show CBHP as a way to compare it to modern engines.
Great video!
Hi Justin, outstanding video! Very informative! Please reply. Dave...
Hey Dave glad you dig this video I gotta do more research on your other comment about Packard Pricing I wanted to dive in a little bit deeper and come to a conclusion
First pick, 58 Park lane, 2nd, 63 Continental.
Sweet choices =)
For the first scenario, I'll take the Lincoln. The second would be the Thunderbird.
Sweet =)
I would take the 58 Mark III, and the 63 Continental.
We had a '63 Lincoln, probably the fanciest car my family ever owned, dad got a good deal on it. Power accessories were a disaster after awhile, almost nothing worked right. Don't remember problems with the 430 but dad didn't like having to buy premium fuel.
Thank you for sharing your experience with the car =)
Turnpike Cruiser all day everyday and twice on Sunday.
=)
Give me that Continental convertible!
these were luxury car engines.
Are the MEL engines externally bigger than Fe? I wanted to put a 462 Mel in my 68 mustang
That would be awesome, I always thought it was a wide engine like the w series Chevy not sure if it would fit in a 68 mustang also would have to worry about chassis bending on mustang with it being unit body
FE had 4.63" bore spacing. MEL/385 had 4.90".
58 Lincoln,59 Thunderbird 430
Sweet choices =)
The Merc and T-Bird.
Very informative video with great pictures. Did the 383 not have 5 main bearings?
I do believe they all have five main bearings
It did.
I'm a true blue ford guy and never a fan of mercury or Lincoln of those years how ever ford should have put those engines in the Galaxies still they were awesome motors.
Totally agree =)
Lincoln ❤
Mercury and Lincoln for me.
Sweet choices =)
Never heard of MEL. Never saw one. FE yes.
Lincoln all day everyday!
Sweet =)
Oooo purple engine block🤣🤣🤣
I'll take the '58 Edsel Citation, because i already own a '58 Edsel Corsair two-door hardtop. So yeah, I'm a proud owner of one of these MEL engines. The worst part about the MEL engine is that the diaphragm-type fuel pump that sits on top of the engine is very prone to failure, especially if the car has sat for a while without running. And, if you have to ask what the gas mileage is with one of these MEL-powered cars, then you can't afford to drive it. (My Edsel gets about 11 MPG highway, and somewhere in the single digits in town.)
What do you think of your corsair that 410 is definitely an engine that I would really want to experience in a car which could only be experienced in the citation or corsair it’s crazy that they only offered that engine for one year in two different models. Thank you so much for sharing all the information and insight greatly appreciate it.
@@What.its.like. Well, to begin with, it's definitely not a performance car, despite the 345 horsepower rating. The senior-series Edsels were very heavy cars, weighing in at over two tons. All senior Edsels came with the performance-robbing Ford-o-Matic transmissions, which made them very slow from a standing start. (I learned that the one and only time I tried to do a traffic light race in it. I got completely smoked by the '65 Chevy Impala that had pulled up beside me.) On the other hand, the low-end torque is quite good. In the early '80s, I drove it with a car load of people through the Sierra Madre mountains in Mexico. The transmission never downshifted once, regardless of how steep the climb.
As for its flaws, I already told you about the failure-prone fuel pump that the MELs use. (It was prone to failure even before the introduction of ethanol-laced gasoline.) Another major flaw was its use of the Bendix Tredlevac power brake system. If you plan to let a Tredlevac car set for any length of time, you need to disconnect the brake light and set a weight on the brake pedal to hold it down. Otherwise, a valve inside the master cylinder will stick, causing the brakes to not work correctly the next time you drive the car. Also, the seal at the back end of the master cylinder is prone to leakage, which will allow brake fluid to seep into the vacuum booster. Pulling the whole assembly apart to rebuild it is interesting, to say the least. Professional mechanics won't touch it, so I had to learn how to do it myself.
And of course, the other major flaw with the Edsel was with the Teletouch shifting system for the transmission. Each shift button operates a set of contacts that look something like ignition points. Every once in a while the contacts need to be adjusted, and the only way to do it is to remove the steering wheel and pull the whole push button assembly out of the steering column. (Don't ask how many times I've had to do it.)
I should also note that you're not quite accurate when you say that the Edsel 410 only lasted for one year. Actually, it only lasted for a few months of the '58 model year, because someone at Ford, probably McNamara, decided to shut down production of the senior Edsels on the first of January, 1958. So, the senior Edsels, along with their unique 410 V-8, were only produced for a few months during the fall of 1957. After January 1, 1958, Ford only produced the junior Edsels with the 361 FE V-8. And of course, for the '59 model year, the Edsel just became a slightly fancier version of the Ford Fairlane, and mainly used the normal Ford engines. (The one exception was that they still offered the 361 as an option for the '59 model year.)
Finally, if you want to see my Edsel, look up my "BeginLinux Guru" channel here on RUclips. About a year ago, I used my Edsel as a background prop for one of my videos.
Anyway, I enjoy your content, so keep up the good work.
Ciao,
Donnie
Just curious, where are you located? I would love to feature your corsair on the channel if you’re up for it thank you so much for all that added information and insight. I didn’t know that they only produced the senior adults for only a couple months that’s crazy.
@@What.its.like. I'm currently in the very southeast corner of Georgia, where I've been since 1989. But, I should probably tell you that at the moment, the car isn't a very good subject for a RUclips video. It's unrestored, and is in somewhat rough shape. It's also not currently running, because I once again need to change out the fuel pump and go over the brakes. I've been meaning to get it back on the road for the past several years, but right now writing books is taking up most of my time. I'll have my current book finished by sometime in the spring, and hope to take most of the rest of the year off in order to catch up with all of my personal business.
I had 2 1960 Tbirds and both had a factory 462 V8 so I'm confused, either both cars I had at the same time had the motors replaced, the breathers said 462-4bbl
Yeah they must’ve been swapped because the 462 didn’t come out until 1966
@@What.its.like.you can never go by an air cleaner on these old cars to identify the motor.
You must go by casting numbers on the block,heads & intake yo see what you really have.
I worked at the Classic Car dealership last year we got a 70 GTO judge in it it was advertising ram air four upon further examination it didn’t have the engine that it was advertising it had a 200 hp 400 in.³ displacement motor in it and it should’ve had a way more powerful engine than that they did a really good job of making it work factory with the big engine and everything else and it wasn’t what it was advertising people do it a lot with Mustangs they will put 289 on the side of it and have something completely different under the hood
58 Lincoln --58 Turnpike
Sweet choices =)
For WYR: 1958 Edsel
Awesome choice that is a super underrated engine and why they didn’t do it more than one year is beyond me
Mercurys for me!
Sweet =)
Should have included a 58 ford retractable.
It didn’t have a MEL engine
None of the above on the would you rather....I would have a 410 3x2 in a 63 Galaxie 500... yeah I know they didn't come that way from the factory but that's nice thing about finding Parts in a junkyard to build your dream... put Chevy Impala back in its place with that sort of setup
Awesome write in =)
That 410 was super underrated and it sucks that they only made it one year
i nearly confused the MEL with the MEG when replacing my 61 lincoln.
Haha =)
I have always liked Ford engines but I think they had too many different designs and some goofy stuff baked in like stacked intake ports and mushroom lifters in the Y blocks. Their inline Autolite 4bbl was the coolest looking carb(s) sitting on a Boss crossram intake.
Ford made so many different engine families it gets confusing
1963 Lincoln
=)
This is a really easy choice: I choose the Lincoln.
Sweet =)
If Ford Motor Company would have been honest with their acronym for this engine, they would have labeled it a M.E.L.T., given that Thunderbirds also were available with this engine option. I guess, calling it a "melt" would somehow have scared off potential customers.
What was disappointing about this engine not only had to do with Robert MacNamara's meddling with the M.E.L.'s carburetion. The heavy casting was also never adressed. Despite successes in drag racing and even in N.A.S.C.A.R. when a M.E.L.-engined Thunderbird won, this engine series was simply unnecessarilly too heavy for good handling. In fact, the casting was thick enough for substituting the iron with aluminum, if FoMoCo had wanted to. GM and Chrysler already had thin-cast engines in their line-up, by '58. Perhaps, because FoMoCo had their own foundry in Dearborn, they didn't need to concern themselves with material thrift?
I'll take the '58 Lincoln with Marauder option and '60 Lincoln seats. I love the instrument panels on the '58s and '9s
I failed to mention the Thunderbird only got the 430 either one year and 59 possibly in 1960 as well
Thank you so much for sharing that insight =)
gm has to blow there own horn(insecurity will do that) Ford lets the product speak for itself.
Very true..
Definitely the Lincoln.
I'll take the Merc and the bird.
GM made press for everything cuz they owned like 10 freaking divisions who made their own V8s
If they made press it was because they bought press.