61 430 ENGINE REBUILD

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underground
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61 430 ENGINE REBUILD

Post by underground » Mon 27. Dec 2010, 15:38

OWNER OF A 61 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL. REBUILDING 430 CI MOTOR.WANTING TO CHANGE TO 63 4V HEADS AND INTAKE(I HAVE READY FROM DONOR CAR).I KNOW THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN PISTON DESIGN FROM 61 AND 62 VS. 63 THRU 65 430.I AM GOING THRU THE ENGINE AND CAN REPLACE PISTONS WITH THE 63 THRU 65 DESIGN? QUESTION IS WHAT MFG. OF PISTONS? IF I USE EGGE PISTONS WHAT COMPRESSION RATIO WILL I HAVE? ANY RECOMMENDATIONS ON WHAT PRODUCTS TO USE FOR A ENGINE BUILD.LOOKING FOR A GOOD PERFORMANCE ENGINE."THE ONLY WAY TO BUILD A BARN IS TO ASK 10 PEOPLE HOW THEY BUILT THERE BARN FIRST"...THANKS FOR ANY HELP

Chris Craft crazy
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Re: 61 430 ENGINE REBUILD

Post by Chris Craft crazy » Tue 28. Dec 2010, 15:46

Well, this is a little complicated, but first things first. I don't believe there are any issues with valve clearances between years, although early heads have bigger runners, so you have to use a matching manifold.

As far as pistons go... herein lies the problem. I still get conflicting reports, but I checked just about every supplier I could find that make 430 MEL pistons, and all of them are flattops. This is partially because there were several compression ratios over the years, and a few extra piston styles thrown in for good luck. If you need oversize pistons, there are people who will cast them for you. I chose Wiseco and I'm happy with the quality of the pistons I got. The downside: This is about a 1200 to 1400 dollar touch, plus rings. On the Wiseco pistons, the rings were an additional $250 dollars. You get the gist of the situation :mrgreen:

I also investigated bearings, and Clevite/Mahl do not make oversize rod and main bearings any more. The only company that makes oversized sets is Sealed Power, and they aren't cheap. I should mention that Sealed Power is the only AMERICAN bearing maker with oversized bearings.... all the rest of the bearings out there are chinese. If I could avoid it, I didn't want offshore bearings. The rebuild I am doing is expensive enough that I didn't want poor bearing materials to blow up a $12,000 engine.

Here is the Sealed Power model numbers if you want them for future reference:

Main bearings: 4130M-10
Rod bearings: 2305CP-10
MEL Marine division... and if you thought MEL car parts were scarce....

Chris Craft crazy
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Re: 61 430 ENGINE REBUILD

Post by Chris Craft crazy » Tue 28. Dec 2010, 15:54

Some additional info:

FEL PRO still make an american made gasket kit. Easily available.
MELLING make a high volume (25% more) oil pump. easily available
MELLING also make a oil pump shaft, but a FE billet shaft can be used if it is ground off slightly.... and it's a MUCH stronger shaft for a part that has some history of failure.

MAKE SURE that your builder/machinist understands how to bore a 10 degree deck offset. You can really screw up the block if they don't know what they're doing. Someone who does vintage engines, like the Pontiac 409 will understand the issues immediately.

For the most part, if you carefully rebuild these engines to stock, you have a strong strong engine. If you want performance, parts are very hard to find, like the Tri power manifold you see on some of these pages.

One last thing: I am not unfamiliar to engines, but this place is the real deal. There are some seriously experienced people on this forum, and they really know this engine. Most other forums I have visited only partly know them. Research what has been preserved here, and don't hesitate to ask questions... someone will get back to you, maybe not right away, but they will get back to you. I learned more here in a month than in a previous 6 months of looking around the net and talking to machine shops.

All the best, cool ride. ;)

Peter
MEL Marine division... and if you thought MEL car parts were scarce....

underground
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Re: 61 430 ENGINE REBUILD

Post by underground » Tue 28. Dec 2010, 23:37

THANKS FOR THE GREAT INFO.I HAVE SPENT ALOT OF TIME TRYING TO RESEARCH ENGINE.THIS BY FAR IS A GREAT FORUM ON THIS ENGINE.MADE NOTES OF ALL NUMBERS AND PARTS.THANKS FOR YOUR TIME TO REPLY.

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Theo
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Re: 61 430 ENGINE REBUILD

Post by Theo » Wed 29. Dec 2010, 03:57

Chris, please drop in once in a while and let us know what you learned on your journey. There is always s.th. new on MEL parts sources or on other experiences associated w. engine rebuilding.
Good luck
Best regards
Theo
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KULTULZ
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Re: 61 430 ENGINE REBUILD

Post by KULTULZ » Sun 30. Jan 2011, 03:08

Instead of going to all of the expense of updating pistons, did you check the runner size ( to see if the later 4V intake runners are smaller than the 2V cyl head runners?

As long as they are smaller (and not larger) the small turbulence caused by that mis-match will not alter significantly the flow characteristics.

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