At the engine rebuild shop & installing the rebuilt engine
Friday April 13th 2007,
I took some pictures at the mechanic's shop. He had finished disassembling the engine and told me it was a very tired old engine indeed. They main bearings were so far gone he was surprised the engine held oil pressure at all... Basically everything needs to be replaced except the block, heads, crankshaft, rods & valley pan.
As it turns out I have a Frankenstein engine: a '66 462 engine block + '63 430 intake + '66 462 heads. This is stupid because the runners in the '66 heads are smaller than the runners in the '63 intake manifold... resulting in an obstruction of the flow of the air-fuel mixture. I guess I need to find a replacement '66 intake.
Here's my shopping list so far:
- Pistons (set) .030
- Piston rings (set) .030
- Main bearings (set) .010
- Rod bearings (set) .010
- Camshaft bearings (set)
- Camshaft
- Hydraulic lifters (set)
- Timing chain & gears (set)
- Valve push rods (set)
- High volume oil pump
- Oil pump intermediate shaft
- Gasket set
- Neoprene rear main seal
- Front main oil seal
- Freeze plug set
- Fuel pump push rod
- Crankshaft woodruff key
- Crankshaft oil slinger
- Connecting rod nuts (set)
Things to be rebuilt or replaced:
- Intake manifold
- Oil pan
- Rebuilt water pump
- Rebuilt distributor
- Water pump bypass nipple
- Water junction block
- Recored radiator
- Rebuilt radiator expansion tank
- Radiator hoses (set)
- Rebuilt power steering pump
- PS pump insulators
- PS hose reservoir to pump
- PS reservoir filter
- Harmonic balancer
- Flywheel Flex Plate
- Starter motor
After the first cleaning blue paint can be seen (1961-1965 MEL 430 were black, 1966-1968 462 were Ford Blue). The cylinders will be bored .030 over. The block will also be decked and line honed.
Attention MEL 430 & MEL 462 owners!
Your engine was originally equipped with a cam timing gear that has nylon teeth and aluminium centre . They used these for quiet engine operation. The concern was quality off assembly, not longevity once out of warranty. It should have been replaced decades ago. If yours hasn't... do it now . All-metal replacements timing sets are readily available. Cloyes is the preferred brand.
Age alone will have caused the nylon teeth to become brittle and subject to breaking off, ending up in the oil pan and clogging the oil pickup screen, thereby choking off the oil pump (a fatal blow to any engine). This is what you'll find in your oil pan:
At worst you're looking at bent valves, bent push rods, damaged pistons. Here's what mine looked like. There are way more cracks than the photo shows. The engine rebuilder stated that if I had left my car idle for twenty or thirty or thirty minutes, things would have gone bad.
Another Dutch '64 owner was less lucky; he was test driving his recently acquired '64 after the car sat for almost 5 years. The oil pressure began to fall and then went away all together. Here's what he found in his oil pan:
I'm not certain the timing chain teeth fragments caused the snapped oil pump drive shaft by blocking the oil pickup screen and putting more strain on the pump than drive shaft could handle. But looking at that photo we could (should) assume they're related.At any rate; the cam timing gear had one tooth left:
Here's a tip that could prevent you a lot of trouble: whenever you get the chance, replace your original oil pump drive shaft with this billet drive shaft from Precision Oil Pumps in Ca, (559)325-3553. The original is literally as thin as a pencil and really isn't up to the job. This replacement works for the MEL engines. It is an FE drive that is +.0375" Longer for Main Girdle Applications. This shaft is about .075 too long, but the MEL guys get them and grind that amount off the bottom (pump end) to make them fit. Just use a bench grinder. The shafts are $20.00 plus shipping.
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Back to the rebuild:
The cylinder heads will be rebuilt too and will receive hardened valve seats (LPG conversion).
At some point one piston had been replaced. This new one was heavier than the original ones. Can you believe such stupidity?
The camshaft needs to be replaced. Several cams were too far gone.
The crankshaft will be reground & balanced. These marks suggest someone put a pipe wrench on it in order to turn the engine. This dumbass damaged the woodruff key the power steering pump attaches to.
The mechanic made these two water diverters out of old pieces of steel tubing. They fit into the block behind the water pump and divert the flow of coolant to the cylinder heads.
Up to 1964 the MEL 430 was equiped with two bronze block thermostats (next to the water diverters). If yours are still there: remove and do not replace.
I found this replacement part for the flywheel flex plate & ring gear assembly on eBay for only $30. It's not the original part but it fits properly.
Info about this replacement part:
Saturday May 19th 2007,
I found a replacement 462 intake & a very nice oil pan not more than 4 miles from home. What are the odds? You can find next to nothing for the 430/462 engines in The Netherlands - trust me - and there they were... just gathering dust. Anyway, the oil pan is very nice - no dents, no rust, no previous welding repairs.
My incorrect '63 430 intake next to a '66 462 intake:
Saturday May 26th 2007,
Today I dropped off the replacement intake and oil pan only to find my engine sitting in the (align) bore machine. The mechanic said it went well (the block hadn't shifted/warped/distorted much) and he found no new nasty surprises such as cracks.
Tuesday June 12th 2007,
The final parts needed arrived today: a new camshaft to OEM design by Falcon Global (on eBay) and a set of .030 pistons from Egge. The pistons are very close to OEM design. This is a step design (not to be confused with a pop-up design. 100% correct replacement pistons are available but expensive. You can special order them from WISECO.
MEL Engine Series Combustion Chamber Design
Each cylinder features an angle wedge combustion chamber at the top of the cylinder bores. The combustion chambers-in-block are formed by casting the top of each cylinder bank on a ten degree angle to the piston. Since the two surfaces of the combustion chamber (cylinder wall and bottom of head) are precision machined, and the third surface (top of piston) is smoothly cast, closer tolerances are maintained, resulting in better regulation of compression ratio. Also, the straight surfaces of the combustion chamber walls eliminate deposit forming pockets. The head surface may be flat or have actual chambers depending on year and design series of the engine).
The turbulence-top swirls the fuel mixture in a controlled direction at high speed assuring virtually complete combustion for finer performance of the engine. As the piston reaches the top of the compression stroke, the turbulence-top step drives into the narrowing wedge of the combustion chamber. The forced pressure jets the fuel-air mixture at a high velocity across the spark plug electrode, giving optimum combustion (source: 1958 Mercury Maintenance Manual).
That's why replacement piston design is very important to the proper operation of this engine design. Simply put, the generic replacement pistons (flat tops) offered by parts suppliers will negate the design of the engine, resulting in nothing more than an air pump as the actual combustion chamber is defined by the dome of the piston. Flat top design pistons will result in lower compression.
The source for these three paragraphs is thelincolnforum.net & The (MEL) Engine Forum member KULTULZ
The Lincoln Forum.Net A Forum for Classic Lincoln Owners. If you don't sign up you're nuts!
The (MEL) Engine Forum 383, 410, 430, 462 cid. This is the place for all those who want to shed some light on one of the most ignored and underestimated engines. Have fun Ladies & gentlemen
Saturday July 14th 2007,
Things are coming along; the valve covers, oil pan and intake manifold have been powder coated. The cylinders have been bored & honed .030 The block has been align bored & honed .010, it has been decked, and has been painted. The crankshaft has been ground .010 I did have to order a set of connecting rod nuts because the previous mechanic had rounded these off...
Assembly has begun!!!
Saturday August 11th 2007,
Engine assembly is well on it's way. The crankshaft, camshaft, pistons & oil pump are in. Timing gears and chain are fitted. The crankshaft has been balanced. The pistons & rods have also been balanced to within 1 gramme.
Saturday August 18th 2007,
Almost there...
Tuesday August 28th 2007,
The engine rebuild has finally been completed. Now it's only a case of re-installing it, breaking it in and going for a drive. In reality that's quite a lot of work but well worth it.
Slaving away....
Monday October 22nd 2007,
The engine is done and purs like a kitten. Pictures of the finished item will follow soon (after I put on the underhood decal set).
A few thoroughly impressed Lincoln aficionados:
Page 05. Re-arcing & strengthening the rear leaf springs & front end work
