My relationship with MELinda the 67 462 story

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Or another name for this thread would be the forensic study of ... ""It ran when I got it!

The story of MELinda starts with a post by TonyC and his engine woes. I decided if the unknown was a replacement engine that should not be too hard to find for Tony. RIGHT?
I mean, it seems every day some dude is making a restOmod out of a slabside. So by reasoning there should be some MEL engines that have been yanked.
So I did a quick search and found a '67 462 in Seligman about 170 miles away listed on the book of faces market place. The listing was 20+ weeks old and the Listing stated,
"1967 Lincoln continental 462 motor and transmission. Motor ran fine when I pulled it. Trans leaks through the front seal. $10 and 5 min fix since they are out and apart. Text nine 2 8 eight 5 three 81 six zero. I don’t have Facebook messenger. Make me an offer." followed by a phone number. The list price was for $500

Tony took a hard pass. I got to thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking. I took the bait as it was just too good to pass.

Two days ago (7-31-2021) I rented a trailer and did a road trip. When I pulled into the address there was a 67 4 door that was looking rather rusted. It was the gold color and the vinyl roof was gone with lots of surface rust. I proceed to picked up what was there. An engine, transmission, air cleaner, radiator w/ condenser with some half a dozen other odds and ends all from a 1967 Lincoln. BTW the engine was very complete except for the carb, which had been snatched.

Got the mass of cast iron home and inspected and tore into it. (Remind you the only stated issue was a leaking front seal in the C6.) Upon initial look see, it was covered with dirt. And that dirt had been attracted by a massive fluid leak in the front and everywhere. Then I saw the rear coolant fitting on the intake that goes to or from the heater core. The end was mostly rusted off. OK so the PO neglected to change out the coolant. In moving the transmission I had to drain it or fluid was going every where. And it was in OK condition. Kind of red and did not smell too bad.
Alright one out of two for fluids.
But there have been leaks every where as the front of the engine had dirt caked everywhere. I wonder what secret that MELinda has to tell?

I started into the engine. Most of the engine wiring was shot. It was brittle and much of the insulation had broken, but it gets hot in AZ and it had been yanked. The seller said he did the removal and for the most part did a rather nice job. Only cut one radiator hose and one wire. (Oil pressure sender wire) I was grateful for that. The spark plug wires were labeled with making tape. Kind of a nice touch that found it's way into the trash can. Distributor cap, rotor, points and condenser were very new. I yanked the distributor and left the cap on to protect the insides. BTW the distributor turned freely so it had been adjusted from time to time. It was a lil sticky coming out but hey that rubber distributor seal is getting close to drawing social security.

Some loose pieces I discovered right away were rather odd. The cooling fan and spacer were just not right. It had 7 blades, no fan clutch and the spacer or spacers were in two pieces. I looked up the engineering number of the fan which was D0OE A versus a stock fan. The stock fan has 6 blades. The one on MELinda has 7 blades and fits ...... wait for it ..... 1970 to 1972 Ford Torino & Mustang with 429 CJ or SCJ. OH MY that is a gold mine!!!! I can only imagine the owner having over heating issues in the desert so brings it to the dealership to get it fixed. After several repairs the tech takes out that stock fan and says, GIMME a fan that is about 20" in diameter and has the most blades Ford ever made. TA DA a rare find that will be sold on flee bay for big bucks as those Mustang guys will pay any kind of money for the real deal. (BTW there is a look alike fan listed for $400 + shipping and handling. CJ Pony has reproductions for close to $300) If only they would have changed the coolant more often!

Popped the right head this morning and not much news there. No broken bolts. But the rear most bolt was not as tight as the others. (Could it be that the head was removed before?) The cylinders have a little ridge and the sides are rather smooth and shiny. Removed the left valve cover this evening and some more of the story comes out. Oh MELinda you dirty rotten girl. You have been holding out on me! Number 7 intake push rod is bent like a pretzel. It has some shiny spots on the side of the push rod so it was run that way for at least a little bit.

This got to be so interesting I just had to create a new thread. (Instead of adding posts to Tony's thread) There will be more of the forensic study of MELinda. Plus a recap of income and out go. My bet is MELinda pays me rather hansomly and I get to keep some things like the 3 port Carter fuel pump.

More to come!!!!

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Not much today. (And no pics today.)
MELinda lost her other head, the PS pump reservoir, the alternator and her berth on the trailer.

She was full of engine oil and very little PS fluid which I thought was interesting. Of the PS fluid that was there, it was pretty clean. Not so much for the engine oil. The engine oil was very black. I fully discovered how black when I tipped her on end to move her off of the trailer and all of the oil poured out on the asphault. Oh well, a 25 pound bag of cat litter with clay will suck that up. And the oil is definitely past it's prime! I guess that fits with the air filter which was pretty much beyond used up.

I want to get to the timing chain as some point. (and some other pieces too) However that means getting past the PS pump. I have never done a crank mounted pump. Couldn't be too difficult and if it is hey it is not like MELinda is going into my ride tomorrow.

One other sign of the life that MELinda lived. Both engine mounts were still attached to the block. There was not a lick of rubber left on either mount.
She may have been running just before she got yanked. And I bet she was run hard.

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[LithiumCobalt]

Not too bad to pull the power steering pump as long as nothing got warped from overheating, etc. Don’t forget to pop out the woodruff key. Hopefully it will slide right off. The harmonic balancer definitely requires a puller.

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My plan was to borrower a puller from a parts store that loans then out. The puller I have I am sure won't cut it.

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[LithiumCobalt]

Same thing I did. Worked like a dream. Kinda fidgety to get the bolt broke loose as the whole assembly wants to spin. I used a big pry bar in one of the slots to keep it from moving.

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When I said there was not any rubber material on the engine mounts I lied.

If you look close ...

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Ain;t much left to remove

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An interesting picture of the right side 0of the engine block.
The block is vertical with the front pointing up
There is a fluid leak (I assume oil) around a threaded hole. That hole is covered by the alternator when it was mounted there.
The threaded hole had something there after the engine stopped running and before I picked it up.
I don;t think it is an oil passage with plug as most of the oiling is done on the other side of the block
Could be coolant. And the amount of wet dirt around it doesn't seem like it would be coolant. Especially that low on the block.
There is a coolant plug higher up on the block in the engine mount area just below a core plug

What was in the lower threaded hole?

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[LithiumCobalt]

Engine main ground.

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Is that a blind hole or does ot go through to the crankcase?
There is a lot of oil around it. But there is a lot of oil everywhere

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[Mike]

It looks like the oil was from higher up and running along there.

[frasern]

On my block, it's a blind hole, but if someone were to put a long bolt in and reef on it, maybe it could crack through?

[LithiumCobalt]

Here is a photo of the main ground attached. Sorry for the weird orientation of the photo.

[TonyC]

Wow, nice thread, Action! I'll be keeping watch on it.

Yes, if the center sleeve of the P-S pump isn't warped, it should slide right off when the two bolts are taken off. If it is warped, then you need a puller to get it off...and that also means the pump will have issues (which I can elaborate on from recent experience). Sucks that one pushrod got the pretzel treatment, but at least it's only the one; and if there's no evidence of time-ram, that's good news.

The ground-wire hole shouldn't have oil leaking through it because it doesn't go through the block, unless a stress crack formed in the hole. I don't doubt that MELinda went through enough abuse in her life that would put a half-dozen other engines in the scrap heap. To me, that's testament that MELs are tougher than Ford enthusiasts want to give them credit for.

---Tony

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I confirmed this AM the hole is blind.

In general MELinda was a leaker. Big Time! Everything is a mess.
I have confirmed it is a '67 engine. I had some doubts at some point.
As near as I can tell the block is solid with no cracks or major damage
The rocker arm tips are in better condition than I expected given the condition of the engine oil
The water diffusers - one is gone. The other has some of it left
No small thermostats

Modifications made by PO
Non stock engine fan - currently in an auction with the price over $200. This fan has very limited 429 CJ and SCJ applications. (I scored big on this)
Which goes to the aftermarket fan spacer which is almost worthless
The alternator is from the 1970s
The heads have been removed at least once.
The valve covers had no gaskets. Just a liquid gasket from a tube. Like glue
An after market main thermostat

Things that are original
The distributor
The water pump
Three port fuel pump
PS reservoir
The engine mounts which have been pitched due to condition

I have already sold about half the cost to get MELinda.
Not sure exactly what I am keeping beyond the pumps, and what I am selling.
It will be interesting to take off the front cover to see what the timing chain looks like

More to the story when MELinda reveals more

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