Thanks...I'll be back in the area in a few weeks and will take a better look. I know about the valve cover rail on the intake manifold on the FE, but for the life of me I would have sworn it was that way on the old car. It had a LOT of crap under the hood, though, looked like there had been some kind of animal living there for a LONG time. I'll take a rake or something equally effective at removing the rubble the next time so I can get a better look.
As long as this thread is still active, I have a couple of other questions.
Does anyone know how long the "MEL" series engines were used in the Lincolns? I ask b/c my home area of Kansas is very remote and almost every farmer has an old equipment line out behind the barn, usually with various cars in it as well as unusable farming equipment. One never knows what he might find if he pokes around a bit. Recently I found a 1965 Galaxy with a 289 and a 3 speed manual, too. If that one has the original engine in it, I might approach the landowner....a '65 dated block might well be useful in the future.
How "close" to the FE was the "MEL" series? It sounds like the intake section and heads were different, but did other things, like crankshaft, rods, pistons, cam, water pump, transmission mounting pattern, that sort of thing match up between the two engine series?
Thanks, guys. I'm intrigued by Roush #1's comment....I've long been a fan of the Ford 335 series engines and I was quite surprised to see an M400 engine do so well in the Engine Masters competition last year. We've always been told they were useless except as boat anchors, I'm glad to hear that SOMEONE didn't believe that (I'm assuming Roush #1 referred to the M351/M400 series engines as "Y-block" b/c of the skirted design, and wasn't talking about the old 272/292/312 "Y-blocks" from the 50's and early 60's).
Thanks, guys!
Cheers, Dugly
