Just gotta have the most power.

[NeonLX]

If you were buying a new domestic car in '58 and you wanted to get the one with the highest advertised horsepower, what would you get? Hint: In this case, we're talking about an optional engine.

[ocnblu]

Chrysler 300 Hemi?

[Drew Dowdell]

Edsel

[razoredge]

Chrysler hemi/poly (1951-1958) [Chrysler/Imperial]

c.i. . . . . bore . . . . stroke . . . hp. . . .

392. . . . 4.00 . . . . 3.90625 . .340 . . . 1957-1958

works for me

Edited January 31, 2006 by razoredge

[NeonLX]

This one may surprise you--Mercury!!

Top (optional) engine in the '58 Mercury was a 400 horsepower (!), 430 cube V8 with 3X2 carbs and a high compression ratio (IIRC, it was 10.75:1). The engine was referred to as the "Super Marauder". It was the same basic mill as the Lincoln 430. These engines were new for '58 and featured a wedge combustion chamber built into the block, a lot like the 348/409 Chevy V8s. The shape of the piston determined the size of the combusion chamber and therefore the compression ratio, just like the Chevy "W" engines.

A slightly less potent version of the Marauder 430 with a single 4V carb was rated at 360 HP. This engine was standard on the top of the line Park Lane series for '58.

Edited January 31, 2006 by NeonLX

[Drew Dowdell]

This one may surprise you--Mercury!!

Top (optional) engine in the '58 Mercury was a 400 horsepower (!), 430 cube V8 with 3X2 carbs and a high compression ratio (IIRC, it was 10.75:1).  The engine was referred to as the "Super Marauder".  It was the same basic mill as the Lincoln 430.  a slightly less potent version of the Marauder 430 with a single 4V carb was rated at 360 HP. This engine was standard on the top of the line Park Lane series for '58.

58 Edsel had 400hp also.... or are we counting more than that.

[NeonLX]

58 Edsel had 400hp also.... or are we counting more than that.

Ummm...I'm showing an Edsel "400" V8 that displaces 361 CID and has 400 lbs/ft of torque. This engine was rated at 303 horsepower and was essentially a slighty bored out version of Ford's 352 "FE" engine.

The Edsel 410 V8, standard on the "senior" models of Edsel in '58, displaced 410 cubic inches and had 345 horsepower (with 475 lbs./ft. of torque). The Edsel 410 V8 was a smaller-bore version of the Mercury/Lincoln 430 V8.

There may have been a higher performance version of this Edsel 410 V8 but I'm not finding any reference to it.

http://www.edsel.com/pages/edsel58.htm#Engines

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_MEL_engine

[balthazar]

Correct: no higher HP version of the '58 Edsel 410.

Merc wins for '58.