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Difference between 312/300 HP Semi Collapsable V8 and 312/245 V8?

victorialynn2

By victorialynn2
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misterc9 1,000+ Points

misterc9

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The 57 ford had a bunch of engine options. there was a supercharger option , there also was two four barrels as well as a hipo single four barrel. Most Fairlanes came with 292 V8. Four barrels said Thunderbird on the valve cover. The 312 is less common. The high horse power 312  is even more rare and valuable.

Edited by misterc9 (see edit history)
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Rusty_OToole 25,000+ Points

Rusty_OToole

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All are 312 cubic inch V8s. The one most commonly found has a single 4 barrel carburetor and puts out 245 horsepower. There was an optional high performance model with two 4 barrel carburetors and 270 horsepower. The 300 horsepower model was racing only, although the racing rules of the time said it had to be available to any customer only a handful were made and sold to racing teams. The supercharger was made by the McCulloch company. McCulloch also made an accessory supercharger that could be added to any Ford. This was a completely different supercharger to the one they sold the Ford company. The accessory model was fairly common at one time, they sold hundreds of them especially in California where the McCulloch factory was located. You could drive in with any kind of car and drive out a few hours later with a supercharger and 40% more horsepower.

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padgett 25,000+ Points

padgett

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And on this coast Norm Latham's shop was about 10 miles from my home and Brigg's shop was a little farther. Addco was up in Jupiter. I had an interesting yout (how I got infested with Jaguars...).

 

Were the  McCulloch and Paxton superchargers related ? Almost took a job at Airresearch but just never have cared for the left coast.

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NTX5467 25,000+ Points

NTX5467

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Studebaker seemed to be the OEM supercharger leader in the middle 1950s up until the earlier 1960s R-series Avantis.  Paxton and McCullough were very similar, I believe.  Seems like there was a variable ratio supercharger pulley on some years?  Paxton units were also on some 1965-era Mustang Shelby models, complete with a pressurized box around the carburetor.

 

Latham was an axial compressor rather than a centrifugal supercharger.  Seems like the lower hood lines of the day resulted in many Latham units having side-draft carburetors?  Somebody resurrected them about 5 years back?  Same power with less boost needed, compared to other superchargers.  The Latham units didn't heat the air nearly as much, under boost, as some other types of superchargers usually did, so no intercooler needed.

 

NTX5467

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poci1957 10,000+ Points

poci1957

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20 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said:

All are 312 cubic inch V8s. The one most commonly found has a single 4 barrel carburetor and puts out 245 horsepower. There was an optional high performance model with two 4 barrel carburetors and 270 horsepower. The 300 horsepower model was racing only, although the racing rules of the time said it had to be available to any customer only a handful were made and sold to racing teams.

 

Rusty is correct on all of the above.  Note this applies to 1957 Thunderbirds, and in the car VIN there is a D for the 245hp 312 (used in most T-Birds) and the rare high performance models had an E or F code.  That high performance E or F engine (and "matching number" in the VIN) is why that car is worth 50-80% more than a similar-looking D car, Todd C

 

PS--hey Victoria notice that word "rare" just appeared again?  In this case the "rare" is a high performance option on a popular car which adds value for higher end collectors looking for the most special model of this car line.     

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Digger914 5,000+ Points

Digger914

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The original question was how do you tell the difference and the second question was, is it made of gold. When it comes to spotting a supercharged motors it's real easy to see the extra thing attached to the top. My first endeavor into collectible was a 59 Ford Ranchero, the 312 motor wasn't made out of gold, it didn't have anything extra attached to it, but the motor was gold colored. The motor with the blower might not be made of gold, but the people who have them think they are. As for me, I still haven't figured out why adding the name of a jewelry company or a clothing designer, or any other name printed in gold, or frivolous label added to a car makes it worth ridiculous money when it's old and some day I will be laughing hysterically when people pay extra to collect the "Northland" edition Ford truck.

 

This is the first time I've heard the term "Semi Collapsible V8" and my best guess is that this was the odd ball name Ford used to describe the hemispherical head. The way I heard the story is that Ford invented the "Hemi" then dropped the ball and Chrysler picked it up and ran it in for a touchdown. After Chrysler trademarked the term no one using the hemispherical head design could call it what it was.

 

On the other hand, "Semi Collapsible" could be a technical term to describe what happened to the motor after you stepped on the gas and the supercharger kicked in. 1957 was not one of Fords better years and so many cars came from the factory reassembly required that the delivery drivers took to dropping off their cars in the middle of the night and dad put the store on COD so he could see what he was getting before he owned it. That any of these 57's lasted six years, much less sixty is a tribute to the dealer service departments that finished the job the factory started.

 

 

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