Henry.  As far as I know, there are at least two MEL engines being entered in this years’ EMC.  It’s too bad the SBC engines have been excluded from the class as with the current oem head rule as I believe an iron headed Y would be in a position to best that particular family of engines.  Beyond that, the Y would have a tough time being top dog with some of the other entered engine families with the current iron head rules so that had me looking at some other options.
 
I’m doing a M-E-L entry this year for the EMC simply due to having a bunch of MEL parts laying loose.  I didn’t see much use in going backwards with a Y using iron heads as I had a 640-650HP Y combination in the works for this years’ entry had the aluminum heads still being eligible.  I had also considered doing a Mopar Poly engine as there is one of those as well as some exotic parts laying loose here for that engine family but no way to repurpose that engine after the competition so that engine was not a choice.  I do have a plan for the MEL engine after the competition which was the driving force in building one of those.
 
The question now is whether to build the engine as a period correct engine or to step outside the box and do something more exotic in the intake manifold area.  I’m sure that Jon Kaase is not going to be holding back and it will be interesting to see what he does on the heads to improve the flow with the rules limitations that are in place.  With Jon’s affinity for tunnel ram intakes, I’m guessing his MEL entry will also have one.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Is variable lenght or dual plenum intake manifolds legal?


Hyvinkää, FI

Hey Ted, thanks for the input. (BTW I'm the guy that bought the heads for my Lincoln Y block project from you recently).

Interesting you are doing an MEL. The gentleman that did the MEL last year did a great job and in my opinion there is lots of potential in that engine.

My good friend used to tell me store about his 410" '58 Edsel. I'm pretty sure the valvecovers never came off but was modded with a floor shift, traction bars, opened exhaust, stickey rear tires and a few other tricks to the carb and ignition.

Anyhow he swore that nothing could beat him except for the fuel injected Corvette at the time. First they would laugh then their faces would drop when they got whooped by an Edsel.

Jack said it was a torque monster. I hope the gobs of torque play into your favor.

Good luck to you friend.

In 2002 John Mummert freshened-up the motor in my '56 T-Bird drag car. 340CI, 113 reworked heads developed 451 HP on the dyno.
With a little tweaking 500 plus hp should be possible with iron heads. The iron heads are still on the car.
Tbirddragracer

I am the proud owner of a Y Block in my 56 Ford, and someday hope to build, or have built, a bigger, more powerful Y Block engine for the car.
Several years ago, I was present in John Beck's shop in Chico, CA, when a Hemi, that was built by Danny Miller (RIP) & Gene Adams,
was doing dyno duty. I was very impressed, as with iron heads it made over 600 HP, and with aluminum heads was over 650. I believe the displacement was around 360 CI. I don't know if the final configuration was EMC legal at the time.
Many configurations were tried, including a locally cast, very goofy looking 2 X 4 manifold.

In 1958, I was 15 years old and was asked to drive a new 1958 Edsel in the Homecoming parade for the 1958 graduating class.
It was a Corsair convertible. I'm telling you that it would melt the tires without problem.
Jim

It's been awful quiet out there.

The EMC event is October 2 - 6 this year.

Is everyone that is scheduled to participate in the 'Vintage' category still on board after the recent weather events that came ashore in Texas and Florida?




NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York

There have been a couple of drop outs in the Vintage Engine Class.  As far as I know, those drop outs are not related to the storms here in Texas.  I’m the second engine running on the Monday schedule so I’ll need to be in Lima that previous Saturday night so the engine can be loaded on a dyno cart on Sunday.
 
My own M-E-L (Mercury 383) entry is going to take right up to the last minute to get it completed though.  Parts for the MEL engines are just about non-existent so I’ve been having to make a bunch of them.  Engine is expected to be a power monster though.  Here’s a picture of the pistons before and after adding the various coatings.  Finished pistons have also had 145 grams removed from their insides.
 

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Ted, Where'd the rocker arms come from?



Frank/Rebop

Bristol, In ( by Elkhart) 

Well guys I'd like to put my 2 cents in, and that's about what it's worth. Lol!

With the EMC 2017 competition about a week away I'd like to wish Ted and and all the competitors the best of luck.

We on the sidelines appreciate and look forward to seeing what the fruits of your effort produce.

As a Ford enthusiast I have really enjoyed the Vintage class the past couple years. I am very proud of how well the Ford Y block stood up to the competition and how grateful we Ford fans are to have excellent minds working on our Ford stuff.

To tell you a little about me and why I hold the points of view I hold, I am an avid fan of the early cars. Specifically the Flathead era Fords. Throughout my life I have been disappointed that so many of those cars have been bastardized with brand X,Y or Z engines. Seemingly anything but Ford engines.

I understand some of the reasons I guess though I've always been skeptical about what the "magazines" have told us over the years.

So in the first two years of a dyno competition that features 1950's engines (the type that would be candidates for hot rod repowers) the magazine maligned Y block comes out on top.

The Ford Y block which got so little respect from so many managed to impress and even outshine even more modern engine designs.

The naysayers will spout that it was the aluminum head. I find it very funny that with all the Cad and Olds racing going on in the early days that there wasn't a fully flushed out aftermarket for either of those two engines.

I understand that the Olds has an aluminum head available for it but curiously there were no early Olds entries in the first two years.

This year with the factory block and head castings rule it looks like we're going to see some of Ford's big guns come out to play.

I think the Lincoln Y and the MEL will have a lot to say in this year's competition.

I wish the FE, the sbc and the early hemis were in because I'd like to see exactly how Ford's deepest breathers actually hold up against the engines that were chosen 10:1 for repowering Flathead Ford cars.


I didn't come about till 1961 so I missed the golden era of hot rodding. It would be nice to see after a lifetime of suffering through the sbc guys bragging "about the only way to make a Ford run is to put a scruby in it", how they were wrong and that a smorgasbord of power was waiting for them right at the Ford parts counter.

So good luck guys. Win lose or draw we are proud of you!

Greetings to all:  Like the Ford Y-block, the M E L engine is of special interest dating back to my early days. I purchased a rag-tag 62 Galaxie with a 292  and 2 speed automatic from the lady next door.  Some time later I salvaged a 383 from a 58 Merc that eventually went in the Galaxie. Also installed a 3 speed manual trans. The only modification I did to the 383 was installed a set of solid lifters and adjustable rocker arms from a 427FE so I could play with valve timing in a limited way. The son of the lady who sold me the 62 Galaxie had a 65 scrubrolet 327  with a 4 speed. I could never ever race anyone from a stand still without shearing every tooth from 1st gear and the cluster. However, from a 40 roll it was a different story. If I can remember, the Galaxie had a 3:1 rear gear and the 383 had a huge window of extreme torque. From a 40 roll the 383 Galaxy beat the 327 scrubrolet. Imagine getting beat by your Mother's old rag-tag Galaxy. It was all in fun as we were very good friends in the old neighborhood.  I know this is a Ford Y-block forum but I hope Ted can keeps us informed of how he takes advantage of the very unique features of the M E L engine.    The best to all, JEFF.................


64F100 57FAIRLANE500