401cid Ford w/tri-power

[John Lang]

Any Ford people out here that have knowledge of Ford factory tri-carb set ups ? I just had a guy drop off a 3-2bbl setup (Holley's) manifold and carbs for me to setup linkage, and freshen up the carbs ! Did these carbs come from the factory with accelerator pump's on all three carbs, unlike a Mopar setup ? This setup is off of 61 or 62 401 he said, and I was also wondering if anyone had the correct factory numbers that these are supposed to be? Also are they supposed to be facing the rear like the 2/4bbl's? Any help is appreciated !...... John

[Rory McNeil]

It sounds like it is from a 390 FE, which carried a 401 HP rating. Yes, the carbs do sit backwwards, and all 3 carbs did use accelerator pumps. The carb linkage was all mechanical. I can try to find the carb list #s later, but similar setupw were also used on M code Thunderbirds, as well as 62-3 406s.

[Rich Biebel]

What year was the 406 engine in....? A high school buddy had a 1960 Ford with the big engine and 3-2's.....4 speed. I thought it was a 406.

[rawhide]

the 406 came out in 62 and was replaced by the 427 during 63. single four was rated at 385 hp and the tripower was 405. the most powerful 1960 engine was a 352 rated at 360 and had a single four barrell

[Chuck Norton]

The 406 appeared in both '62 and '63, bookended by the 390/ 401 hp motor at the beginning of '62 and the 427/425 hp combination in late '63. I had a '62 Galaxie XL 406/405. Looked and sounded nasty but it had its hands full with both the '62, 409/409 Chevy and the '62 413" Mopars. The car was a little too heavy to be a serious player.

[Rory McNeil]

Originally Posted by rawhide

the 406 came out in 62 and was replaced by the 427 during 63. single four was rated at 385 hp and the tripower was 405. the most powerful 1960 engine was a 352 rated at 360 and had a single four barrell

Also the first year that Ford offered a 4 speed was 1962. A 1960 would have a 3 speed on the column, with an overdrive optional.

[Paul Precht]

Originally Posted by Rory McNeil

Also the first year that Ford offered a 4 speed was 1962. A 1960 would have a 3 speed on the column, with an overdrive optional.

Back in 72 I bought a 60 Galaxy 500 390 4spd for parts, I wanted the Crager SS wheels off of it, I paid 20 dollars for the car delivered and sold it for 100 or junked it, {can't remember for sure, too many years and cars ago}, I always assumed it was a factory 4 spd car, who knew.

[Dwight Southerland]

1961 Ford 390/401 carbs: Center: pn C1AE-AV, Holley# R-2436A
Front and rear: pn C1AE-AU, Holley# R-2437A

[Rory McNeil]

Originally Posted by Paul Precht

Back in 72 I bought a 60 Galaxy 500 390 4spd for parts, I wanted the Crager SS wheels off of it, I paid 20 dollars for the car delivered and sold it for 100 or junked it, {can't remember for sure, too many years and cars ago}, I always assumed it was a factory 4 spd car, who knew.

Had to have been swapped, if it was a 1960. The 390 came out in 61, and the 4 speed in 62 (BW T10, Ford Toploader came out partway thru 64 production.)

[RJ Sledge]

4 speed was an "over the parts counter" deal in `1961 along with the complete 3 duce setup. I believe that you could get the 390/401 from the factory but only with a 3 speed or a O/D unit. They were all column shift. The 4 speed T-10 BW trans set up was complete with shifter and boot and install instructions. All was NHRA Legal for Stock.

4 speed option from factory was only from 1962 on with Top Loader coming out in late 1963. I worked in the parts department of Hemphill-McCombs Ford taking care of warranty claims in 1964 and they were a ton of broken T10 imputs and cluster gears that were "1863'd" back to Ford. We had to keep them for Ford Rep to look at them. We had quite a collection of busted parts. Most were just thrown away after a month whether the Ford Rep looked or not.

RJ

RJ