In 1962, Ford was getting blown away by Chevrolet, thanks in very large part due to the Chevy V8’s near dominance in all manner of sporting events as well as just their image, including the Corvair Monza. Lee Iaccoca saw the writing on the wall, organized an executive meeting, and launched what would become a massive campaign to establish a credible performance image for Ford, under the banner of “Total Performance”.
This led to the first of a pattern of new mid-year introductions. For 1962.5, that included the Fairlane 500 Sport Coupe with the new 260 V8 and the Ford Galaxie 500 in new XL trim, both with bucket seats and console. And for the big XL, there was also a new bigger top-dog engine available, the latest 406 cubic inch version of the hi-po FE V8 family and the last step in its evolution into the 427. CL tested one with the newly-available 4-speed manual transmission, and it did not disappoint.
It’s not like Ford didn’t have hot versions of the FE V8 before; that line started in 1960 when it was graced with some badly needed better-breathing heads plus the full-on hi-po massaging, to create a genuine powerhouse that acquitted itself very well on the NASCAR tracks and drag strips.
In 1961, the new 390 cubic inch version of the FE got the same treatment, and was rated at 375 hp with a four barrel carb, and 401 hp with the dealer-installed tri-power induction system. And the B/W T-10 four speed manual was available too, but only as a dealer-installed option, meaning it arrived in the trunk from the factory. Literally.
At the beginning of the 1962 MY, these two 390 “Super Thunderbird” V8s were the top power option, until mid-year, when the larger 406 became available. It too came in two versions: 385 hp for the 4V, and 405 hp for the 6V (triple-two barrels).
CL claimed that their tested Galaxie had the 405 hp version, but their photo of the engine clearly shows it to be the four-barrel 385 hp version. They either got that wrong, or took pictures of a different version. This is what the 405 hp version looked like.
In case it’s not obvious, this whole lineage of 352-390-406-427 hi-po FE V8s were very substantially different from their “normal” relations; they were essentially limited-production racing engines suitable for street use, with special blocks, heads and internal organs. The exhaust headers seen here are just one example. Power steering was not available, but wisely Ford required that HD suspension and brakes were mandatory when ordering the 406.
Once again CL points out that with such a powerful engine, it hardly matters which gear one selects to drive in.
“Of course at w.o.t. the engine turns from a lamb into a tiger…one might think that speeds in the gears of nearly 60, 80 and 100 mph would give a feeling of magnificent acceleration accompanied by a thrilling sensation of rapidly rising speed. Actually, it isn’t like that at all. Each shift point comes up so suddenly that the driver, at least, is too busy trying to avoid over-revving to enjoy the acceleration.”
Top speed was estimated to be “over 150 mph“, depending on the rear axle ratio.Acceleration was brisk, although the 0-60 time of 7.0 seconds could have been lower if they had let the engine rev past 6000 rpm and not shifted at 58 mph. 0-100 took 18.6 seconds, and the 1/4 mile was done in 15.3 sec. @93 mph.
As a point of comparison, the 425 hp 427 1965 Galaxie that Car Life tested was significantly faster, with a scorching 0-60 time of 4.8; 0-100 in 15.8, and the 1/4 mile in 14.9 @97 mph. Both cars had very similar rear axle ratios (62: 3.56:1; ’65: 3.50:1).
The mandatory HD suspension was appreciated for its control at higher speeds, despite being a bit firm at lower speeds. It was money well spent.
But the significant cost ($188; $1890 adjusted) of the optional 4-speed was seriously questioned. The standard three-speed had close ratios, and with an engine this powerful, the additional expensive gear would not likely be missed. For a more reasonable $108, overdrive was available for the three-speed, which came with lower 4.11:1 gears.
As mentioned before, neither power steering or brakes were available with the 406, so this was a serious driver’s car. An optional steering linkage to make the effective ratio quicker was also available, reducing turns from 5.0 to just under 4.
Related CC reading:
It looks like you cropped the specs table from the final page — was that intentional?
I’m somewhat surprised that overdrive was available with these engines (given how it ended up being limited to the least-powerful engines, I wondered about its torque capacity), but the Hot Rod examination of the 406 also says it was available with OD as well as the regular three-speed and optional four-speed.
The text is wrong in one point: With OD, the three-speed had different internal ratios (2.49/1.59/1.00 with the bigger V-8s compared to 2.37/1.51/1.00 without overdrive). For racing with the higher numerical axle ratios, the slightly closer non-OD ratios might be preferable; this engine definitely didn’t need the extra dig off the line in first!
Oops; attached now.
The three-speed transmission with O/D was not the Ford unit; it was the B/W T-85/87 unit, which was very stout. Also used in other brands and trucks, including Pontiac, Olds, Buick, Dodge, Plymouth, and others, behind their biggest V8s typically.
As for the basic car, this test repeats things I have read before that praised these early 60s big Fords as good handling cars even with standard suspensions. The HD suspension, of course, made this even better.
I wonder if Iacocca’s “Total Performance” push is why I have a 62 Ford Galaxie 500 hardtop in the form of an HO gauge slot car. It was part of a cousin’s set, and I traded something to get it because I liked the idea of a normal looking car for my own track. Unfortunately, mine seemed to be equipped with Aurora’s mini version of a 2 bbl 352, because I recall it as the slowest car of any I had.
A manual steering box of under 4 turns lock to lock without power assist? All I can say after driving Jason Shafer’s manual steering 63 Galaxie is – wow! I guess it would save money by letting me skip the gym membership.
I wonder if it’s just the power steering ratio without the hydraulic assist.
Wait a minute…..the 4sp trans only came in the trunk?
Sounds kind of dumb.
That was only for the 1961’s, which was a late year option. Only some 100 units were shipped that way, strictly for serious racers, who undoubtedly were going to take their engines apart and blueprint them anyway. Ford couldn’t be bothered to change their assembly lines for that few.
Certainly not an expert on performance issues. But 59 through late 60s, Ford Certainly was well ahead of Chevrolet in styling. 59 through 61 Chevys were so ugly, while Ford was understated and beautiful. My 72 LTD convert had plenty of power and a beauty I wish I still had. 🏆
One of the guys in our town had a 62 406 3speed O/D Galaxie. Fast car, gold paint color.
The 5.83 rear axle ratio would be insane.
A guy I went to vo-tech school had a GTO, 3 deuce’s on a 389 with a 5 something rear gear. Traction was very sketchy, horrible gas mileage and top speed was limited. Put the slicks on at the 1/8th mile dragstrip and the car was a winner.
Odd comment that the cost of the 4-speed transmission was ridiculous. Ford was sourcing the transmission from Borg-Warner. Its not like they just put another gear inside the 3 speed transmission. A low volume option is going to cost more and what additional items were required. Cost would have been lower if it was the only manual transmission offered.
The picture of the engine in the magazine article is of an ordinary 390FE and not a 406 with a single 4V carburetor. The giveaway are the the exhaust manifolds which are the common “log” type and not the cast iron header type on the 406HP.
The 406 in 1962 was nothing compared to the 430 Super Marauder in the article you revisited yesterday on the MEL V8. I was present at the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags to see the ’58 Mercury Monterey Super Marauder featured in the article linked below. It did the 1/4 mile in 14.07 seconds at 100.4 MPH besting the Ford and equaling the ’62 Grand Prix tested in the same issue of Car Life.
https://www.throttlextreme.com/biggest-m-1958-mercury-monterey-super-marauder-muscle-car-muscle-cars/
Good catch on the engine picture. I’ve noticed that these mismatches between the tested car and the one that was photographed.
As to the 430 Super Marauder Mercury’s 1/4 mile time, it’s not really quite fair to compare the results of a single modern car that was undoubtedly prepped as best as possible and had modern tires to a press car tested back then.
That’s not to question the fact that that 430 Mercury package wasn’t a very fast car.
I wonder if any magazines ever tested one like that.
The 430 in Thunderbirds was a popular NASCAR racer in its time, but the heavy engine didn’t exactly help with the handling.
Yup, Motor Trend, September 1958, “Super Marauder” by Don Francisco.
They got the following times:
Cruising range:
0-45: 5.8 sec.
0-60: 8.7 sec.
Quarter mile: 16.9 sec. @ 87.5 mph
Max. perf. range:
0-45: 5.1 sec.
0-60: 7.8 sec.
Quarter mile: 16.4 sec. @ 88.7 mph
They also put it on a chassis dyno and recorded 195 hp @ 4,400 rpm at the rear wheels, compare to 173 hp @ 4,400 rpm for a four-barrel Park Lane tested previously.
I’m guessing this is the article Aaron65 remembers.
As I suspected, it was slower than this 406 Galaxie. The MEL’s valves and ports were not designed for high performance; I’m a bit dubious of those advertised hp numbers.
So what’s the difference between “Cruising range” and “Max. perf. range”?
I think low-gear versus second-gear start with Multi-Drive Merc-O-Matic.
What the text of the article said was that they tried using the “Cruise mode” with second-gear start because getting a good launch with a first-gear start was very difficult. Starting with the automatic in second wasn’t ultimately that much slower because it made it much easier to get moving without spinning the rear wheels.
I watched that ’58 Mercury at Pure Stock Drags as well. One of the most impressive things about that car was that it had a three-speed on the column. A floor shifter would probably have cut a quarter second from that time, as I recall the owner had a bit of a hard time power shifting that behemoth.
Still, I read an old magazine article that showed the result of a rear-wheel dyno test on a 400-horsepower ’58 Mercury, and the results were extremely disappointing, under 200 horsepower if I’m remembering correctly. A lot of things can affect dyno numbers, of course, but still…400 horsepower was a long, long way off.
Here’s the engine from that car.
The interior…
And the exterior…
Mercurys had such fabulous dashboards in the Fifties, particularly the fan-shaped ones in the middle of the decade; but this one works very well, too. And the white steering wheel, sigh.
Quicksilver Magazine which is the official publication of the International Mercury Owners Association, had an article recently about the Super Marauder. Jon Guenther was the Development Engineer that worked with Bill Stroppe on the Super Marauder. When the project was completed Guenther was allowed by Ford to purchase the development car which was a Montclair 4 door sedan. The Guenthers used it as their family car with his wife using it for grocery shopping and his sons learning to drive in it. They drove it regularly until 1980 when Guenther parked it in his garage with 170,000 miles on it. Mr an Mrs. Guenther, both in their nineties sold the car a couple of years ago and it is still running and in original condition.
Stroppe would install the Super Marauder intake at his facility in California and ship them to dealers. Stroppe installed 115 setups with 75 going on Mercurys and 40 on Lincolns and T-Birds. Thirty of the Mercurys were Monterey two door sedans for the California Highway Patrol. All of these were returned and converted back to 4Vs due to excessive fuel consumption. None survived as Super Marauders.
Stroppe did other work for Ford. He prepared the 53 and 54 Lincolns for the Carrera Panamericana, he developed a dual quad intake for the Lincoln 368 CID V8 called the M335 for Mercury to use in NASCAR (sold but never used due to the 57 AMA racing ban) and the Baja Bronco.
… a reminder as to what a 430 equipped car is on a race track. Not for mortals but then Tom Kristensen won Le Mans 9 times.
In early 1963, I accompanied my father into a small-town Ford dealership on two occasions. My dad was car shopping and ordered his first new car there, a 1963.5 Galaxie.
Sitting in that Ford dealership’s small showroom was a new leftover 1962 Galaxie 2 dr. The hood was open and proudly exhibited it’s 406 engine. It was identical to the one shown in this feature. Black with red interior. It made quite an impression on my 11 year old mind. I’ve never completely forgotten that car. 7 or 8 years later I owned dad’s ‘63.5 Galaxie but that was a 4 dr. with an early 289. It did have Ford’s locker rear differential.
1962 also saw a few galixie star lift make it to the streets, a classmate in Elyria ohio had one it had all the performance extras it was quite a machine .they must be one of the rarest fords to find .
In the August 1958 issue of Road and Track, they tested a Lincoln Continental Mark III convertible with a test weight of 5560 pounds. It had the 375 HP 4V 430 CID MEL. It did 0-60 in 8.7 seconds and the 1/4 mile in 16.3 seconds at 81 MPH.
R&T states in the article that their “Tech Ed estimates that the true ‘as installed’ bhp is about 200 at 4000 rpm and may go to a peak of 240 at 4800 rpm. If the axle ratio was 3.31, for example, the top speed would undoubtedly be increased, allowing the full 240hp potential to be released and giving a top peed of about 121 mph at 4800 rpm. Such a change would also improve acceleration all along the line, but fuel economy would suffer.”
The Motor Trend test of the Super Marauder and R&T’s test of a Lincoln that probably weighed more than a Mercury reinforces my belief that I’ve come to in a lifetime that car magazine tests should be viewed for reasons too many to be named with a jaundiced eye.
My other post referring to an article in Quicksilver magazine about Jon Guenther and the 1958 Mercury Montclair that was used as the development prototype has some photos of the extensive documentation Guenther kept. Among the records is a documented top speed of 136.7 mph. That would require significantly more horsepower than what Motor Trend found.
FWIW, the Motor Trend article notes that they had a lot of problems getting a decent launch, and the quarter mile trap speeds are consistent with a much better power-to-weight ratio. The difficulty of dragstrip starts with ’50s or early ’60s street tires was obviously significant. In this regard, the much heavier Mark III convertible may have had an advantage insofar as it put more weight over the rear axle, helping to keep the tires from spinning uselessly.
Also, the power figures Motor Trend recorded were chassis dyno figures at the rear wheels, not as-installed horsepower at the flywheel. To produce 195 hp at the wheels with automatic transmission would require at least 240 hp at the flywheel.
And 240(or 245) hp at the flywheel (net) is what Chevy’s 283 (gross) hp 283 made. Which tends to confirm my feeling that this engine did not make 400 hp (gross). That’s way too big of a disparity between net and gross. Probably closer to 300-340 gross hp.
My understanding of the MEL is that its valves and porting were substantially limited. That’s in contrast to the Chevy 348-409, which used a similar canted deck top with the combustion chamber in the cylinder, but Chevy’s valves and ports took better advantage of that arrangement.
Most likely, yeah.
With the Super Marauder engine, I suspect that its advertised power advantage over the four-barrel MEL was about right (it was clearly more powerful than the four-barrel engine, probably even 25 hp worth), but that either the four-barrel was significantly overrated or, like the later Cadillac 472/500, there was a greater-than-usual margin between its gross and net output, so adding 25 hp on top of that that pushed it well into “Oh, boss, come now” territory.
Thanx Paul ! nice to see the beautiful 1962 Ford full size get some love .
In the early 1970’s I had several customers who raced out at the Saugus, Ca. oval track, at least three of them ran ’62s .
I have loved the lines of these since, well forever .
In 1972 I had a ’65 Ranch Wagon with 289 and Ford-O-Matic slush box, not fast but a great driving and handling car I miss .
I had no idea about these featured cars, thanx again for the detailed article .
-Nate