430 CI - INTAKE MANIFOLD - 1960

[sbjatti@gmail.com]

Hello. I am from India and restoring a 1960 Thunderbird with 430 CI engine. My mechanic tells me that the manifold has some hairline crack in the manifold which is not visible and taking in some air and hence it has an erratic idling speed. Wanted to check if the new aluminium intake manifolds will fit this engine. I am prepared to do some modifications if required. I will greatly appreciate any help and advise. Thanks in advance !!

[sbjatti@gmail.com]

Attached is the VIN plate of the car and the details as per the decoder.

[Alan H. Tast]

Photos of your intake manifold would be appreciated. Your best bet is to source an original cast iron intake. I'm not aware of any aftermarket 430 intakes that are readily available. Furthermore, please post pictures of the engine to verify if it is a MEL-series engine or a FE-series 352.

[sbjatti@gmail.com]

Thank you so much for your reply. As desired attached are some photographs of the engine for your reference.

[Alan H. Tast]

OK, let's clear up what you have: it's NOT - I repeat NOT - a MEL-series 430 cu.in. engine. It's a low-compression FE-series 352 cu.in.-4-barrel engine. 1960 T-birds designated for export often had the low-compression "G"-series 352 engine installed, meaning that it had different cylinder heads (and possibly pistons), along with some other internal parts like your crankshaft. If I recall the statistics correctly, it's estimated that 1% or so of 1960 T-bird production had the low-compression 352. The fact that it's a convertible is even more of a rarity.

Typically, the early 352s from 1958-1960 were given a 3-letter engineering code of 'EDC' for the 300-hp 4v 352; your pictures show 'EDD' for the engineering number prefix, and quite frankly this is the first time I've seen photos of a low-compression 352 in an export car. The connecting rods for the pistons are marked 'EDC' so those are the same as in the 300-hp 352. It would be interesting to see photos of a piston out of the car to see if has an engineering number starting 'EDD', 'EDC' or otherwise.

I really would appreciate it if you could please post photos of the cylinder head casting numbers (which should be in the area between the center pair of spark plugs/exhaust outlets), along with the casting dates which should be centered between the pair of valves (they would be hidden by the valve cover when it's installed). Similar photos of the casting numbers and casting dates on the intake manifold (which would be on the top of the manifold and forward of where the carburetor sits) would also help to document what you have. Same with the exhaust manifolds (which are on the sides of the manifolds) and engine block - look for casting numbers on the sides of the block and post them, too. Locations for these can be found in VTCI's 1958-1960 Original Factory Specifications (OFS) manual, available to members-in-good-standing through the VTCI Country Store https://www.vintagethunderbirdclub.net/ ... _store.htm

That it's a FE-series engine (332-352-361-390-410-427-428) and a 352 is better for you in terms of getting parts. If you're determined to not keep the original cast iron intake manifold, yes - there are aftermarket aluminum intakes out there, but most of them do not have the hole for the oil filler spout, meaning you'd also have to get 1965-newer valve covers that have provision for oil fill, and then you have to decide if you want to set it up for a PCV system as the replacement manifolds don't have provision to retain the original draft tube that comes out of the back of the intake. If you can find a 1960-1964 style aluminum 4-barrel intake, like those used on the 1960 360-hp 352 or '61-'64 390 hi-po/police interceptor, '62-'63 406-4v or '63-'64 427-4v engines, those would allow you to keep your old valve covers, and install a road draft tube or PCV system that runs through the base plate/spacer for the carburetor like the '62-'64 T-birds.

In my person opinion, the simplest thing for you to do is source a used '60 352-4v cast iron intake manifold in good condition - they're not uncommon, T-bird parts vendors typically have them if they deal in used parts, and they can also be found for sale online or in places like the For Sale-Wanted section of the VTCI Forum. Not knowing what the quality of petrol is in Mumbai, Calcutta or other places in India, going the route of shiny, all-new high-compression aluminum cylinder heads, chrome-plated or cast aluminum aftermarket valve covers and a 'trick' aluminum intake manifold may get you into more problems than you'll be bargaining for, like needing to constantly dump high-octane additives into your gas tank, and more-frequent changing out of coolant due to galvanic reaction between the aluminum and cast iron components in the engine (you can slow that down by installing a sacrificial anode in place of one of the freeze plugs or use a radiator cap that has an anode attached to it which is immersed into the surge tank).