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Original Message
old style motormounts used the expansion tank.
By Dave Shoe - 03/16/2004 6:51:28 PM; IP 216.243.176.34
The old FE motormounts which required only 2 bolts forced the engine to sit up a little higher in the engine bay.

In 1965 the full-sized Ford was completely redesigned, and one of the changes was an all new style motor mount that was flat and allowed the engine to sit lower in the engine bay than the old mount, thus lowering the hood near the windshield and flattening it.

This flatter motor mount required an extra bolt to fasten to the block, since it wasn't as rigid as the earlier design. This change forced the 1965 FE block casting to grow some extra motor mount bosses, and all 1965-later FE/FT blocks have four motor mount holes machined into each side, instead of two.

The T-Bird was not redesigned until 1967, so it retained the old 2-bolt motor mount for a couple years, as well as the sloping hood styling, and so it kept the expansion tank, too.

The Fairlane never used the 2-bolt FE motor mount, so it never got the expansion tank.

Note a related change involved the thermostat diameter. The expansion tank used a larger diameter thermostat and T-stat housing to offer a little extra support for all the hanging weight. When the expansion tank disappeared, the thermostat soon shrank, reducing the size of the thermostat hole cast into the manifold. The bolts were the same, but the small thermostat falls completely inside a large-hole intake, and the large T-stat just plain don't fit the small hole intake.

To make matters worse, either large or small hole intakes can be found randomly on some cars without expansion tanks, so it's sometimes a crapshoot which size of T-stat you need. You either have to calibrate your eye to recognize which type of thermostat housing you have, or you have to buy both sizes and return the one you don't need.

The T-stat issue is a mid-60s era thing only, but is nice to know, since it can be a temporary nuisance if you buy a used intake and don't have both types of t-stat housings on hand to complete the assembly. Fortunately, both types of housings remain cheap and easy to get ahold of.

JMO,
Shoe.
This thread, so far...
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Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=20709&Reply=20709><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor20709" onclick="return false;">What is the expansion tank for on the old 390's?</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>Steve M, <i>03/16/2004</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=20709', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor20709') }); </script>  What is the expansion tank for on the old 390's? -- Steve M, 03/16/2004
Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=20711&Reply=20709><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor20711" onclick="return false;">RE: What is the expansion tank for on the old 390's?</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>Gerry Proctor, <i>03/16/2004</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=20711', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor20711') }); </script>  RE: What is the expansion tank for on the old 390's? -- Gerry Proctor, 03/16/2004
Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=20714&Reply=20709><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor20714" onclick="return false;">Could that be why my radiator spits all the time?</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>Steve M, <i>03/16/2004</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=20714', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor20714') }); </script>  Could that be why my radiator spits all the time? -- Steve M, 03/16/2004
Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=20716&Reply=20709><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor20716" onclick="return false;">It could be the wrong type of cap.</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>Dave Shoe, <i>03/16/2004</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=20716', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor20716') }); </script>  It could be the wrong type of cap. -- Dave Shoe, 03/16/2004
 RE: It could be the wrong type of cap. -- Steve M, 03/17/2004
Collapse <b>old style motormounts used the expansion tank.</b>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>Dave Shoe, <i>03/16/2004</i></font>old style motormounts used the expansion tank. -- Dave Shoe, 03/16/2004
 RE: old style motormounts used the expansion tank. -- giacamo, 03/16/2004
Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=20718&Reply=20709><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor20718" onclick="return false;">RE: old style motormounts used the expansion tank.</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>Travis Miller, <i>03/16/2004</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=20718', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor20718') }); </script>  RE: old style motormounts used the expansion tank. -- Travis Miller, 03/16/2004
Collapse <a href=../ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=20720&Reply=20709><img src=../images/reply.png width=30 height=10></a>&nbsp;<a href="#" id="anchor20720" onclick="return false;">Thanks for the update.</a>&nbsp;-- <font color=#0000ff>Dave Shoe, <i>03/16/2004</i></font><script type="text/javascript"> new HelpBalloon({ dataURL: 'replyb.aspx?ID=20720', contentMargin: 60, icon: $('anchor20720') }); </script>  Thanks for the update. -- Dave Shoe, 03/16/2004
 RE: Thanks for the update. -- Travis Miller, 03/17/2004
 RE: What is the expansion tank for on the old 390's? -- jeff, 03/17/2004
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