1963 mystery Motor, Junior Johnson

[rstreet]

Were the 482 built on the MEL platform?

No they were FE design type but I’m not sure if were on stock iron blocks
Robert

 

[427John]

The Max Wedge stage III was available in 63.Ihad a friend who had one that I raced and tuned on when in high school as a Pure Stocker.As to engines,Ford was trying to get a very large 482 incher past Nascar well before they came out with the

One of the cammer cars was given by Ford to an astronaugt,I belive that was a 63 car.

SOHC.

The 482 they tested at bonneville in the 62 Starlifter was an engine they developed in the event Nascar didn't go with the 7 liter limit at that time it was still up in the air.The astronaut was Gordon Cooper and it was a 66 Galaxie painted gold,it was quite a car and supposedly Cooper remarked it was probably the fastest car he had ever driven.On a side note I was watching that show on TV about the Mercury 7 and there was a scene where one of them was looking at cars at Rathman Chevrolet down there and Rathman offered him a what looked to me like a new 62 Corvette for almost free,he went back and told the other astronauts and and next thing you know they were all driving Vettes.They had a sweetheart deal on Vettes clear up into the Apollo program.

 

[427John]

No they were FE design type but I’m not sure if were on stock iron blocks
Robert

They used a cast iron 427 type crossbolt block,the late 406 engine blocks used very thick cylinder wall blocks in addition to provision for the crossbolt mains ,there is speculation that they were testing the thick walls in preparation for the production of the 427.The 482 may have used an even larger bore block,I've heard it was a larger bore than the 427 which would mean a siamese bore block since the 427 had a bore that was at the max.they could still fit with a water jacket. They could get to 482 with a 427's 4.23 bore and a 4.25 stroke but I've heard it was a larger bore with somewhere between a 4 and 4.25 stroke.The FE was limited by it's bore centers something Ford fixed on the 429/460.

 

[427John]

Robert, when was the first SOHC engine used, for some reason I always thought it was in 63'. this would be great if it was clarified.
cheers

The earliest pictures of SOHC engines are shown with narrow bolt pattern bellhousings and transmissions so that dates them back to at least 1964 and some of the casting numbers are 64 numbers,I would guess late 63, 64 model year production began in August of 63.

 

[region rat]

Were the 482 built on the MEL platform?

That motor was a stone.