Dealing with warranty issues associated with a high-strung engine, especially in the hands of someone who did not know how to maintain it, was also a concern with Ford management. required to keep the engine running problem-free and in tune.

He in turn recommended ordering the 430 if more power was wanted in a 'Bird.įry pointed out in one response that the higher idle speed, use of mechanical lifters and adjustable rocker arms did not lend themselves to people who weren't accustomed to the higher horsepower and resultant need for more maintenance, adjustments, etc. The Cruise-O-Matic was not offered behind the 360 hp 352 because Ford's engineers did not want to beef it up to handle the additional power, and its vacuum output was less than a 300 hp 352 due to a higher-lift/longer duration cam. People wrote in asking if they could order the 360 hp engine in a '60 'Bird - responses were authored by Chief Engineer Donald Fry stating in essence the 360 hp engine was too wild of an engine for the typical 'Bird owner to offer as an option. Why? I found a few letters/memos in the Ford Industrial Archives back in '94 when researching 'Thunderbird 1955-1966' that addressed this issue. Ford offered a hi-po 352 that was advertised at 360 hp in 1960 that was used in full-size Fords, but not offered for T-birds. Oh, great, I have to debunk another myth or stop one from starting.again. I bet you the one person who knows about this is Alan Tast! It will be interesting to see what he has to say about this when he gets on the next time. None of the Optional Equipment lists say anything about a 360HP Engine being available as an option. The 430MEL is listed as an available engine for the '59. Here are the links.ĪMP does say that there were only two engines for the '58, although they tested a 430 in a convertible to see what they had to do to make it fit in the engine well for the 1959. However, Automotive Mile Posts does not list anything about it. I have never seen anything about that engine for the Squarebird before, but then I am pretty new to Squarebirds.

1960 ford tbird