Installing 1976 lincoln 460 engine into a 1958 thunderbird

[pinktbirdmike]

will it fit? Does it look possible? Anyone else done it

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[OneAmongOthers]

Anything will fit given enough time and work put in. 58 tbird is the 352 engine right? That’s the FE engine right? 460 is the 385 series engine so I’d assume you would have to fabricate new engine mounts and something for the transmission. The one that came with the 352 will probably not work as the 460 puts out much more torque. You would need at least a C6. So that’s means more fabricating. Trans mounts, new cooling lines for it and the linkage. Going to have to change the drive shaft as well. So pretty much the entire drive line.

 

[pinktbirdmike]

It looks like the original 352 engine mounts will fit on the engine and the tranny may have to have something done with its mount also. Currently the car has a 1967 mercury morador 410 with the same year tranny. That engine dropped in real nice with some gear shift levers modifications. No driveshaft changes. Is the 76 Lincoln tranny the same length. Fan clearance to radiator may be a problem, I don't know. Whats the 385 series your talking about. Do you think the oil pan will clear the crossmember? I heard there is a special oil pan and oil pump pickup that can be gotten. What about the rear end? Mines making noise and I hear that its the old ford 9 inch. Id like to replace the center section with the 76 Lincoln which is also the ford 9 inch I hear. Do you think those parts might swap over

 

[OneAmongOthers]

It looks like the original 352 engine mounts will fit on the engine and the tranny may have to have something done with its mount also. Currently the car has a 1967 mercury morador 410 with the same year tranny. That engine dropped in real nice with some gear shift levers modifications. No driveshaft changes. Is the 76 Lincoln tranny the same length. Fan clearance to radiator may be a problem, I don't know. Whats the 385 series your talking about. Do you think the oil pan will clear the crossmember? I heard there is a special oil pan and oil pump pickup that can be gotten. What about the rear end? Mines making noise and I hear that its the old ford 9 inch. Id like to replace the center section with the 76 Lincoln which is also the ford 9 inch I hear. Do you think those parts might swap over

385 series is the Ford big block 429 or 460 engine family. Also I would imagine the third member from your car should fit right into the other one. Ford 9” are pretty universal I’d imagine. Just got to make sure the differential side gears and your axle shafts have the right amount of splines.

 

[Norgale]

will it fit? Does it look possible? Anyone else done it

I have been a Lincoln fan for many years and that 460 is a bear to get into another Lincoln never mind a Tbird. I won't say it can't be done but the biggest problem as far as I can see is the tranny hump has to be re-engineered for the 460 and tranny to fit. The motor mounts aren't even close and the starter and the exhaust don't fit. The 460 doesn't even fit very well in the MK4 that it was made for. You have to loosen the exhaust pipes and the motor mounts and jack up the engine to change the starter. I call that complicated and expensive. Some Birds had the 430 engine so if you can find one with that engine you'll have a nice car with more power than it can handle. The Lincolns and big Fords and Mercs were very heavy cars. The Lincoln was 5900 pounds so the 430 was needed for the weight. Don't know what a Bird weighs but it's a lot less than a Lincoln so the 430 would be more than adequate for that car. Deep pockets makes everything possible but the 460 would not fit very well in a Tbird at all. Hope this helps a bit. let me add that my experience has been with 58,59,and 60 Lincolns but no experience with the Tbirds. Yet. I'l looking for one now.
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[pinktbirdmike]

385 series is the Ford big block 429 or 460 engine family. Also I would imagine the third member from your car should fit right into the other one. Ford 9” are pretty universal I’d imagine. Just got to make sure the differential side gears and your axle shafts have the right amount of splines.

 

[pinktbirdmike]

Well I started taking the Lincoln rear end apart. The axles are 28 splines and the pumpkin ratio is 2.75 It also has a tag on it. I think the original t bird ratio is 3.10 according to the owners manual anyway. Hopefully the t bird had 28 splines also and the Lincoln pumpkin will fit into the t bird rear end housing. Any comments on this? Think it will work? More to come