Ford developed the MEL ("Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln") engine series as the replacement for the Lincoln Y-block V8 engine for use in large passenger car applications. These engines were produced in Lima, Ohio at Ford's Lima Engine plant. They were in turn replaced by the 385 series engines.
All MEL engines had wedge-shaped combustion chambers 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 arms like the FE model Ford engines which were introduced at the same time. As with the previous generation V8's, an open runner intake manifold was used, requiring the use of a stamped steel lifter valley cover similar to that of the Pontiac V8 engines. Also, the intake manifold provided no exhaust crossover passage to warm the air/fuel mixture. Further MEL engines employed two individual thermostats, aimed to improve the regulation of the engine's coolant temperature.
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 =)
published: 12 Aug 2023
Worst Engines of All Time: Ford
Checkout this video highlighting my opinion of Ford's worst engines. They made a lot of good ones, but a few bad ones snuck into the mix.
published: 25 Feb 2022
410 Edsel MEL engine firing for the first time in 30 years.
published: 24 Sep 2022
Why Lincoln MEL motors are amazing!
Mud in the oil and piss in the gas tank and these cars will still run like Champs.
published: 30 Jul 2017
Ford's Shortest-Lived (and Smoothest) V8 Engine: The 1966-67 Mercury Only 410 V8
Learn more about this engine, offered for only 2 model years on Mercurys...the 410 V8.
published: 09 Feb 2024
1964 Lincoln Continental 430 MEL engine & trans
Running and driving, located in San Leandro, CA. Engine & trans for sale best offer, come get it.
published: 07 Feb 2018
462 MEL engine
Don’t get to see one of these everyday. This is for a 1966 Cadillac. MEL stands for Mercury, Edsel and Lincoln.
published: 14 Jan 2020
5 Most Significant Ford Engines
For more than a century the Ford Motor Company has produced many great engines. Here's a list of the 5 most significant engines it has produced.
published: 23 Jun 2020
65 MEL 430
Gary warming up the freshly built 65 MEL 430 with FiTech EFI.
published: 20 Jan 2021
1958 430 C.I. 400-HP Lincoln Mercury 3x2 Super Marauder MEL V8 engine #1
Just a short clip of my early 1958 430 C.I. Tri Power MEL series V8 engine. It has been freshly rebuildt to stock specs. This engine is out of a 58 model Lincoln buildt in October 1957. The differences between the 6-bbl and the standard 4-bbl engine are the aluminum intake manifold, 3 2-barrel carbs, fuel pump, chrome valve covers and the large aluminum air cleaner (not shown in this video). This engine, as a factory option (J-code), was only available in Mercurys, but you could also get it in a Lincoln as an over the counter power kit. Despite the fact that it was only available for 1 year, and Ford never changed its rating, there are a few differences between early and late 1958 engines, and the early ones are actually more powerful. Some specs:
cast iron, Y-block, big block V8 engine,
...
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...
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 =)
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 =)
Just a short clip of my early 1958 430 C.I. Tri Power MEL series V8 engine. It has been freshly rebuildt to stock specs. This engine is out of a 58 model Lincol...
Just a short clip of my early 1958 430 C.I. Tri Power MEL series V8 engine. It has been freshly rebuildt to stock specs. This engine is out of a 58 model Lincoln buildt in October 1957. The differences between the 6-bbl and the standard 4-bbl engine are the aluminum intake manifold, 3 2-barrel carbs, fuel pump, chrome valve covers and the large aluminum air cleaner (not shown in this video). This engine, as a factory option (J-code), was only available in Mercurys, but you could also get it in a Lincoln as an over the counter power kit. Despite the fact that it was only available for 1 year, and Ford never changed its rating, there are a few differences between early and late 1958 engines, and the early ones are actually more powerful. Some specs:
cast iron, Y-block, big block V8 engine,
4.90" bore spacing, 10.462" deck height, 2009.5 C.I. block volume
(later 58 engines have 10.482" deck height and 2013.4 C.I. volume),
4.30" bore, 3.70" stroke 429.9 C.I. / 7044 cm³ displacement,
2.80" x 1.30" intake port size (later 58 engines have smaller ones at 2.70" x 1.30"),
1.90" x 1.23" exhaust port size,
2.15" intake valve diameter (later 58 engines have smaller 2.09" intake valves),
1.78" exhaust valve diameter,
10.5 : 1 compression ratio (later 58 engines only have 10.0 : 1),
3 2-barrel Holley 2300 carburetors for a combined 1050 cfm flow,
camshaft has 276°/276° duration, 54° overlap, 0.441"/0.441" valve lift
(later 58 engines only have 270°/270°, 49°, 0.408"/0.408"),
low-rise aluminum intake manifold, cast iron overhead log exhaust manifolds with 2.5" outlets,
forged steel rods, cast iron crank, cast aluminum pistons, 2-bolt mains,
hydraulic lifters, machined combustion chambers.
Rated at 400 HP @ 5200 rpm & 500 lbs-ft @ 3200 rpm.
Just a short clip of my early 1958 430 C.I. Tri Power MEL series V8 engine. It has been freshly rebuildt to stock specs. This engine is out of a 58 model Lincoln buildt in October 1957. The differences between the 6-bbl and the standard 4-bbl engine are the aluminum intake manifold, 3 2-barrel carbs, fuel pump, chrome valve covers and the large aluminum air cleaner (not shown in this video). This engine, as a factory option (J-code), was only available in Mercurys, but you could also get it in a Lincoln as an over the counter power kit. Despite the fact that it was only available for 1 year, and Ford never changed its rating, there are a few differences between early and late 1958 engines, and the early ones are actually more powerful. Some specs:
cast iron, Y-block, big block V8 engine,
4.90" bore spacing, 10.462" deck height, 2009.5 C.I. block volume
(later 58 engines have 10.482" deck height and 2013.4 C.I. volume),
4.30" bore, 3.70" stroke 429.9 C.I. / 7044 cm³ displacement,
2.80" x 1.30" intake port size (later 58 engines have smaller ones at 2.70" x 1.30"),
1.90" x 1.23" exhaust port size,
2.15" intake valve diameter (later 58 engines have smaller 2.09" intake valves),
1.78" exhaust valve diameter,
10.5 : 1 compression ratio (later 58 engines only have 10.0 : 1),
3 2-barrel Holley 2300 carburetors for a combined 1050 cfm flow,
camshaft has 276°/276° duration, 54° overlap, 0.441"/0.441" valve lift
(later 58 engines only have 270°/270°, 49°, 0.408"/0.408"),
low-rise aluminum intake manifold, cast iron overhead log exhaust manifolds with 2.5" outlets,
forged steel rods, cast iron crank, cast aluminum pistons, 2-bolt mains,
hydraulic lifters, machined combustion chambers.
Rated at 400 HP @ 5200 rpm & 500 lbs-ft @ 3200 rpm.
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 =)
Just a short clip of my early 1958 430 C.I. Tri Power MEL series V8 engine. It has been freshly rebuildt to stock specs. This engine is out of a 58 model Lincoln buildt in October 1957. The differences between the 6-bbl and the standard 4-bbl engine are the aluminum intake manifold, 3 2-barrel carbs, fuel pump, chrome valve covers and the large aluminum air cleaner (not shown in this video). This engine, as a factory option (J-code), was only available in Mercurys, but you could also get it in a Lincoln as an over the counter power kit. Despite the fact that it was only available for 1 year, and Ford never changed its rating, there are a few differences between early and late 1958 engines, and the early ones are actually more powerful. Some specs:
cast iron, Y-block, big block V8 engine,
4.90" bore spacing, 10.462" deck height, 2009.5 C.I. block volume
(later 58 engines have 10.482" deck height and 2013.4 C.I. volume),
4.30" bore, 3.70" stroke 429.9 C.I. / 7044 cm³ displacement,
2.80" x 1.30" intake port size (later 58 engines have smaller ones at 2.70" x 1.30"),
1.90" x 1.23" exhaust port size,
2.15" intake valve diameter (later 58 engines have smaller 2.09" intake valves),
1.78" exhaust valve diameter,
10.5 : 1 compression ratio (later 58 engines only have 10.0 : 1),
3 2-barrel Holley 2300 carburetors for a combined 1050 cfm flow,
camshaft has 276°/276° duration, 54° overlap, 0.441"/0.441" valve lift
(later 58 engines only have 270°/270°, 49°, 0.408"/0.408"),
low-rise aluminum intake manifold, cast iron overhead log exhaust manifolds with 2.5" outlets,
forged steel rods, cast iron crank, cast aluminum pistons, 2-bolt mains,
hydraulic lifters, machined combustion chambers.
Rated at 400 HP @ 5200 rpm & 500 lbs-ft @ 3200 rpm.
Ford developed the MEL ("Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln") engine series as the replacement for the Lincoln Y-block V8 engine for use in large passenger car applications. These engines were produced in Lima, Ohio at Ford's Lima Engine plant. They were in turn replaced by the 385 series engines.
All MEL engines had wedge-shaped combustion chambers 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 arms like the FE model Ford engines which were introduced at the same time. As with the previous generation V8's, an open runner intake manifold was used, requiring the use of a stamped steel lifter valley cover similar to that of the Pontiac V8 engines. Also, the intake manifold provided no exhaust crossover passage to warm the air/fuel mixture. Further MEL engines employed two individual thermostats, aimed to improve the regulation of the engine's coolant temperature.