Why dont we see more FE fords being used? it is arguably the best engine ford ever built. IT was the basis for all the lemas victories, was the bottom end for the SOHC motor... And it came out in 58, same year as the 371 olds that everyone seems to love. Parts are a bit spendy, but only if your after the sought after 427 stuff. Hell even Mickey Thompson loved this engine so much, he developed a Hemi Head for it... i have a 361 in my Edsel, it now has a 390 Rotating assemply in it, and a .030 over bore, good heads, and comp cams 268h cam. Its a monster. The 361 in factory trim in 58 was 303 HP and 400 ft lbs of torque. so what gives? i know its not a SBC, but it was prodiced longer than any of the caddy mills, and olds mills, so there are more of them, so availability cant be the issue. so answer the question, Why not FE ford?
There should be more FE love! Yeah, I love my 1961 390. Enough torque to pull a tree out of the ground. Arn't they pretty heavy engines?
They were heavy. Back in the day, if you bought a new one, put on some traction masters, better valve springs and a hot ignition, they would eat any Chev for breakfast. The trouble is, most guys didnt do the mods, and the Chevs ate them.
This is a good question. At the annual SuperFord event at National Trails Raceway here in Ohio, they have a special competition called the "Y-Block Shoot Out". It is just for the older Ford V-8's. That is my favorite part of the whole SuperFord event. There is something unique about the sound of the old Ford V-8's that is unlike any other V-8. Love that sound! A Buddy runs a 390 in his Galaxy 500 and it's a MONSTER.
I like them too, I have one in my '59 Ford Wagon,(332 c.i.), and have a disassembled 390 sitting in my garage, along with a freshened up C6. HOWEVER, they are not the best breathers in the world,for a driver,in a stock chassis, with some economical heads and exhaust system,(read: driver= minimal maintenance),in my book. Yes ,they got some BALLS, and can make gobs of torque. But, as a rule, they will pass everything but a GAS STATION. Sumbitches are heavy too! Unless you ditch the stock intake,(instant hernia),and switch to some aluminum heads,(breathing upgrade). I gots other drivetrain options sitting around, one of which will prolly' piss off the "Mopar in a Mopar" dis-cussers. I do like them,have a PEDIGREED lineage. In my mind,to have one like I wanted, would take a WHEELBARROW full of bucks to build. I am a cheap bastard, ask my buddies!
BAD ROD: Arn't they pretty heavy engines? Depends on what you compare it to, and how you equip the FE. An iron intake for one of these will give you a hernia if you let it, but with an aluminum intake and headers the motor isn't too bad (I think my old reference book quoted 640 lb), especially when compared to other engines of that era. When compared to some later motors with better parts availability, almost as much cubic inch potential, lighter weight, and less bulk (i.e., the 351W), it probably doesn't compete as well. Also keep in mind that the parts availability thing is driven in part by the fact that the FE was last used in a production vehicle in 1976. Having said all that, I had one in my coupe (years ago) and would consider another for a hot rod in the future.
FE Fords are very good hard running motors. I have a 390 in my 1962 Thunderbird and it would run all day at 80 mph with broken rings and drinking oil. My buddies with thier small block chevys did not even with want to run with me and it was not because of a little oil coming out of the pipes.
As noted, they're heavy as hell. They don't breathe well out of the exhaust side, at least on most common passenger car heads, and the intake side breathing is well below a big block Chevy unless you have the high riser or tunnel port heads. Some of the blocks have suspect oiling systems as well. That said, if you were just going to run one on the street, maybe occasional bracket stuff, why not? When they had the 427 wedge style valve covers on them, they look very badass. When I was at the Holman Automotive shop in NC this year, they had four 427's sitting in a row, and I'd have loved to have any of them in one of my cars. Hint - with all the exotic and high dollar heads out there, Lee Holman uses the Edelbrock stuff on his engines. That's not to say I don't like the engines. I had a '67 Galaxie with a swapped in 428 Police Interceptor engine, and that was one fine car. If you do one, make sure you run some sort of anti-sieze on the exhaust manifold or header bolts. Headers with the Stage 8 locks on them, and anti-sieze so they don't become part of the head, was the best solution for me.
I forgot to mention, i have a 1960 360HP 352 factory aluminum intake on my FE, that helps alot... next upgrade i see in the future will be a set of edelbrock aluminum heads. i have been debating wether or not to upgrade my intake, ut the cool factor of the rare factory one keeps it on.. and carb height is an issue with my motor, i run the original aircleaner, and any higher and it wont clear the hood. Eventually i wanna find a 406 tripower setup and try it out.
I like 'em! I've had a few of them in Galaxies and consider them a strong, durable, and fairly low maintenance engine. Yes parts for them are higher than an SBC or SBF, but what do you expect? ...And yes, they like fuel, too - they ARE a big block, after-all. There is good aftermarket support - I'd have to argue any parts availability issues. Here's a video of one, before I pulled it out of my Galaxie. I put a cam in it and an Edelbrock intake - actually ran pretty strong! I know there are guys on here that don't like the Flowmaster exhaust sound... Oh, well... I thought it sounded good! Malcolm
I don't know anything about them. I do know that Andysdeuce is putting a go fast FE in his 63 boxtop Galaxie. Having first hand experience with his engine builder, his should be as good and fast as FE as can be built. I will wait and form any opinions after I go for a ride in his. (Don, the pressure is on buddy)
Malcolm - I like the Galaxie a lot! Your avatar is at Bonneville, right? Very, very nice. Driving one of those tanks reminds you of why Detroit built 'em so BIG back then. It's like driving a bank vault. BTW - a very common 390 block with a fairly common 428 crank yields a 410. A .030 overbore gets you 416. Not a legendary displacement like a 427, but a lot better street displacement. BTW - my 428 Galaxie (with 2.73 rear gears) got 16-17 MPG combined street and highway...
Thanks man... yep at B'ville Speedweek 2008. I love driving that car - 13k+ miles this year. Dakota, you were there, too werent' you? (photo courtesy Denise) Here's a good thread for anyone thinking about using an FE in a hot rod: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=291485&highlight=fe+model&showall=1
390 good in a ford custom they run good and look good dressed up but most ford guy,s i know seem to like sbf as ford go i like the y-block just a cool looking engine but that,s my 2 cents
FE Fords, you gotta love em from the begining. In my family thats all there was. We started with y blocks at langhorne, but when cousin Jake showed up with his 60 Starliner Hi Po 352, that was it. Yeah there heavy, but you can lighten them up. Lots of parts will change. Front oil sump oil pan gets in the way of cross members, so what. Exhaust manifolds to restrictive, and hi po's are heavy Dad's car ; 46 ford coupe, 361 edsel, B street, class winner at langhorne 1/8 mile, a lot of guys scratching and shook their heads. 427 cam etc. 430 linc carb. I still have the 361, plus 428, 427 M.R. , 69 Fairlane scj drag pac. Takes a little more work to get them to fit and run, but it's worth it.
I like em, had a new 1966 Ford with a 390 in it. Ran the crap out of it finally busted the transmission, cluster gear came out the side of the case. Always wanted a 427 or 428, finally found a 428 about 30 yrs. later and put it in my old Model A coupe. With aluminum heads and intake it's not near as heavy as it once was. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=264184&highlight=fe+ford
I built this supercharged 390 FE for my freinds 53 gasser.........Great running engine with tons of power.He's had it on the road now for two years and never had a problem.
Forget the well worn myth that FE's are heavy. Remember that this is a Big Block engine - Not a small block. They weigh 650lbs which is 35lbs LESS than a big block Chevy, 10lbs less than a big block Mopar and a whopping 70lbs less than a 460! Shedding the cast iron intake for aluminum will net a loss of 55lbs! BUT, here in lies part of the dilemma. They weren't overly large displacement motors for being big blocks - 428 was the biggest made. When you compare that to a 454 Chevy, 440 Mopar or 460 Ford that's giving away a bunch of inches. And 428's aren't very common so a 360 or 390 really gives up the displacement. On top of that the heads don't flow all that great - garden variety 390 heads flow 218 intake and 152 exhaust @.500 lift at 28". Basic Big Block Chevy heads flow 258 / 183 and that's a Huge difference. Once again it's easier and cheaper to go faster with a damn Chevy. Having said all that I really kind of like FE's. I built a 428 Cobra Jet for a friends 56 F100 that would scare the shit out of anyone that got in it and just recently had Shelby build a 511" all Aluminum FE, but that baby was $25,000.00. I think they look very cool and would Love to see more Rodders running them, just realize the limitations if you're going racing!
There is a whole message board dedicated to the Ford FE engine. They know pretty much anything and everything you could ever want to about an FE. Nice guys too. I needed a rear sump pan and oil pickup. One of the guys on there sent me an old one he had for free if I would pay the shipping. I cleaned my old front sump pan up and painted it and sent him it back for the favor. http://www.network54.com/Forum/74182/ http://www.feguys.com/
A FE is lighter than a 429/460 Ford. 390s are plentiful and can make 400+ h.p. very easy. The Edelbrock heads are easy to find and are a decent price. The FEs are heavy argument just doesn't fly. Are you guys saying an early Hemi is light???
That '53 is a cool car. I saw it at the Bob's Big Boy in Burbank when I was on the left coast with Steve Magnante. Nice ride. By the way my "heavy FE" runs 9.40s with a '63 centeroiler block....
Hay Guys, this is Not a good time to be telling me an FE is not a good choice. I've ran many of them over the years and currently building a 57 Fairlane with a 406-4 speed. I know it's old hat and the Breathing has always been a problem but only if you don't deal with it. I've been lucky enough to have machinest buddy's that could guide me past that. Biggest problem today is exhaust in the 57-59 chassis. Cast iron is not an option. The only way around it was to hand build headers for Me. That's where I'm at today. (see pictures) If all comes together as expected I should have around 460 Hp at the flywheel. We'll know shortly. I can tell you I have spent more money on GM and AMC motors to get less. Then there is that Look. I love multiple Carbs especially when they really work. The Wizzard
http://www.critesrestoration.com/galaxie.htm Try here for headers. Everything I've ever bought from Crites has been top notch. We run a set of his headers on my fathers car and they fit very well.
Ford F.E. Use More? In my shop today, 68 Mustang, 427 SOHC, 63 Galaxie 427 Dual Quad R Motor, 63 Galaxie 390 with Edelbrock Aluminum head and kit, 63 Galaxie 390, 63 1/2 Galaxie 390, Built 390 on engine stand, 3 F.E. s outside waiting. I can't seam to get away from them and you want to see more!!!! Being a smart ass we work on lots of them and have good luck with them. Not a bad motor and thats coming from a Chevy guy. Ted
Restrict the oil passage in the cylinder head, at the rocker arm bolt. When porting the cobra jet head, be careful not to grind through the oil passage on the roof of the port. Use a high pressure oil relief spring, 80#,s. If your using Le Mans rods, get rid of the stock rod bolts, use ARP
Picked up these last week 3- 428 industrial irrigation motors that run on propane and one 390 from 76 ford pickup. I'm thinking of a 428 in my 30 highboy coupe.
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