Exactly. If you're going racing with a Ford, it's actually easier and cheaper to build a 427CI small block (Windsor based), cap it with a set of Trick Flow heads or the like, and you'll be making more power than you can with a comparable FE. My dad ran 427 Tunnelports in his Torino and Mustang stock cars back in the early 70s and had good luck with them, but they were never as reliable in the long races as a BBC (and the BBC's were cheaper even then). Choosing an FE has a lot to do with image and looks IMO, and there isn't a damn thing wrong with that. Like I said - I'll have another one sometime.
my 59 ranchero came with a 352 Ford/Edsel from the factory... it was swapped out for a 302. That 302 dropped a valve and I replaced it with another 302... I got another 352 out of a different 59 ranch and a FMX? trans to rebuild and drop back in. Its supposed to be a runner. I would love to find a aftermarket 3 deuce intake and chrome the valve covers and call it done. it seems ahead of its time coming out in 58- my only experience with FE's has been with 70's era ford pickups... great engines... bad gas mileage... I think the ranchero would really come alive with the 352 back in it... the 302 thats in it is a smog motor- but its reliable... Tuck
What size primaries are you running? I plan on building a set for my 56. Crites headers require buying their mounts and won't work with a stick. My non-stock 3 2s
that supercharger is cool... that would be pretty rad... i could picture a sn60 paxton circa 1959 under the hood of the ranch huffing a 4bbl... seriously... too bad JoelR doesnt have internet he would love this thread- I should dig for pics... I used to have a 428FE in my shoebox... it was a tight fit- the engine is now in TX with tri-carbs in a 63 galaxie.
Good question. I have been involved with a couple. I used to do the cylinder heads for the Gentle Benn 428 Super Stock mustang that ran in the Ford Of Canada team back in the day and occasionally did a bit of work on the car too when they were short handed. Helped a friend do a 390 for a 68 short box a couple of years ago. It won best engine at Toronto International and a couple of trophys at some meet in Tennesee too. The heads are really quite decent. There is a bump inside one port but by using a stud for the rocker arm in that location on each head the odd part of that port can be completely eliminated. Not expensive. Who ever keeps saying that , somebody slap him, please. I dont think they spent $2800 on the whole deal and it was a complete job. boring, block work, pistons , rings, resize rods with good bolts,valves, porting , head planing, cam, lifters, springs, windage tray , timing chain & gears ,etc. You could spend that on one of those french smallblocks too (Chevy) They had the intake and carb already. Yeah I treated them good but i still made a buck. I agree they are not as popular as they should be.
Great motors, but yeah, they are a bit pricey because what fits our poorboy 390's also fits the big money 427's...My 58 has a 300 HP 352, stock w/313K on the clock. So, it's really only got half that HP now. By the springtime, she'll be pushing more like 450....FE's are the way to go...lots of inches available. Cheers and beers Hodge
Edsel, I have a couple of sets of those. FE's are not expensive to build as most of the stock parts can be utilized, add an aftermarket intake like an Edelbrock Streetmaster, a mild cam and you will fly. They are cheaper to build than the 348 Chevy I built last year, and cheaper than any Olds, Nailhead or Hemi. Parts are available at most any parts store. My 360 powered '69 F-100 will pull a trailer with a 4,000 lb. car, or smoke the tires with ease. Can't beat the FE.
neat motors. don't know much about them but a guy at work is building one right now for a Cobra kit car he is planning to buy next year and we talk about it often. he is a Ford guy (and former Ford mechanic for 13 years) and an FE fan from waaaaay back... on that note. anyone know what kind of "toploader" 4 speed bolts up to these things??? he is looking for one right now for the Cobra. if ya got one for sale PM me and i'll let him know.
Primary size is dictated by where your Motor is designed to make max H.P. and R.P.M. range. What works for my motor may not help yours at all. I have first 6" of 1-7/8" then step down to 1-3/4" for a total length of 31". When building headers you also need to be sure they let you service everything easily and don't Cook anything like starter, motor mounts and steering box. Getting them in and out is also important. Not always easy to do while making all 8 pipes as close to exact as possible. When buying bends be sure to get 16 gauge, not 18 as most suppliers sell. Also stay away from Dougs Headers, they will Screw you if given a chance. The Wizzard
I love an FE. This is the engine that starrted my screen name. It is a 427 Sideoiler that I found in a boat just across the lake from me and bought for $1,000. I put CobraJet heads on it (best of the factory heads by far), a 63 Dual quad set-up with a factory Aluminum intake, Edelbrock aluminum water pump and headers. Just to shave a little more weight I swapped out the original radiator with an aluminum one. The car is not Hamb friendly, but certainly this engine must be! Oh, and I was running factory power steering, brakes and factory A/C on it and it would still scream!
The flow numbers on the heads for my truck, stock C4AE-G 2.03/1.58 valves, no porting, but a good Serdi cut 45° multi-angle valve job. Running 9 years and still running like a son of a bitch, numbers at 28"H20 Intake Exhaust .100 66 52 .200 130 111 .300 180 135 .400 220 155 .500 236 165 .550 246 165 These are rounded from the flow sheet, but my cam is 230°@ .050 and .531 lift. It works pretty well in a 390. Really from about.490-.600 they are flowing around the peak strong and quiet. They don't make any noise on the bench, which surprised the operator for being rough cast. I think they were way ahead of their time. These are representative of the '58-'65 head with the tall intake ports and exhausts that exited 3/16" higher than the '66 and up ones made for the unibody cars. Common as dirt on cars and pickups(when the FE became available in the pickups in '65), 332/352/390 heads.
Personally i like them better than 292 Y blocks. All the 56 fords i had got a FE swapped in to them. I think the reason they are overlooked is that most of them in the 50 and early 60,s had a crappy cruseomatic trans and 300to 1 gears Not good for hotrodding. Put a stick with a 370 or 411 gear and it is a different animal altogether. I have a dozen 352,s and 390,s that i have kept over the years. Might put one in my 56 pk that i have had for 30 years. OldWolf
The first motor i ever rebuilt was a 390 outta a tbird so i've always got a special place in my heart for FEs. Objectively i still think they're great motors. The 390 in my girl's 57 Ranchero used to wrap up the leaf springs so bad when you'd stomp the gas the whole car would pitch sideways. Let's keep FE's on the down low though, don't want the prices going up
i think i have a 390 in my newly bought 76 f250 4x4,it was a replacement for the 400 that was in it,where are the casting number on these and any good sites on ford casting numbers
Oil hole between the oil pump and filter needs to be enlarged to 1/2". Also, due to their large cam journals, you can run much more valve lift than a SBC and still end up with good vacuum at idle -and- have a decent idle to boot. If you insist on a raunchy idle, you'll have to buy a cam with tighter lobe centres. Yep! My '67 pickup (352" 2bbl) runs pretty much the same fuel guzzling running empty or pulling a fully loaded car trailer. It is just a reliable old work horse.
My 57 Ranchero at almost 4000 lbs ran consistant mid 12's in 1973 with a 390. It ran 11:60's forever with a 427...easily, all home built except for head work. This was a long time ago. I love them.
Why not more FE's? I'd guess a lot of preconceptions and misinformation passed around for decades. Also, until the last decade there wasn't good aftermarket support since the early 70's, just used and abused old parts. Another thing I remember is the bad rap the 390 Mustangs got compared to 396 Camaro's. Nowadays you can completely build an FE from aftermarket parts! Heads, blocks, cranks, intakes, etc. etc. (even SOHC FE's!!). A general lack of knowledge keeps people away I guess. That's too bad, because I'd love to see someone use a 352 Interceptor (early iron heads with machined combustion chambers, solid lifter cam and 4V carb) in a late 50's early 60's style Hot Rod. Anyway, look at my login name; I love FE's and drove a 428 Tbird all through my college years.
Yes they are "Heavy" and "Expensive" But here's my collection. I really don't care. 4 Intakes, some with carbs not shown, total cost less than $1000 total for all 4 setups. The 6 deuce was the most expensive @ $400. My Latham may even be on one of these with 6 YH's on a custom manifold. Valve covers less than $20 a set. 9" axles all narrow to put weight on the rear. Only 6 disassembled as of now 4 more waiting. Purchased at $50 each. 4 of them are non-dimpled early ones. My point is if you put a 600 # FE in the front of a Model A/32 ford or a 33-34 C body and balance the front to rear weight with a heavier rear axle. Why bother --- a 2200 pound car with 390-560 cubes (if you want a stroker) and easily 400+FP torque just figure out what rear end ratio you want. My cars are all getting FE's. I just have to figure out the combo's behind the flywheel. Oh well. Movin/on Pist-and-Broke PM me if you really want a multi carb FE manifold at a reasonable price.
Yes... a very good idea, and easy to do! You can kind of see it in this photo: (lower left of photo, larger hole near the oil pump)
My '56 has a 410FE with a four-speed and 350 gears. Runs very strong, but needs headers bad. Did you ever make FE headers fit a '56 chassis. They appear a lot tighter than the '57-59 chassis. Bob
Money is the only reason I don't have an FE in my car. Can't afford the parts to build one or an OD trans that will hold up to one. Can't afford the gas to feed one and can't afford the drivetrain parts to keep it on the road, so I'm stuck with a 300 horse small block. Oh well, someday I'll have me a cool dinosaur motor.
All the Headers I've built are one off per application. I've never done a 55/56 Ford but only because I haven't needed to. It's no more work than the 57/59 set. I can tell you this, If your running the factory log style cast manifold you owe it to yourself to do something about it. The Wizzard
An FE is really more of a cruiserweight than a big-block. With an aluminum intake they weigh about the same a 351W. Mine scaled at 607 lbs with the tube headers, carb, and alternator all there. A SBC isn't that much lighter either. The FE is scalloped out a lot in the casting. The block only weighs about 200 lbs,and the heads are right at 45 lbs each in iron. The intake is really heavy, so aluminum really makes a difference. The crank is actually lighter than a 351W, with it having .251 smaller mains. I am inclined to think an iron headed BBC or Mopar is quite a bit heavier, and 460 even more. But if you put aluminum heads on all of them the BBC, Mopar, and 460 won't be that gawdawfully heavy compared to the FE, because they lose more weight when you switch heads. FE heads even in aluminum are still 25 lbs. You can fet it down to about 550-570 at fighting weight.
The Jalopy Journal
