story consists of four basic engine families: the FE, MEL, Super Duty, and the 385 Series. The FE/FT, MEL, and Super Duty Truck big-blocks were all introduced in 1958. The 385 Series big-block was introduced later in 1968 as a replacement for the MEL.
When the FE/FT Series, MEL, and Super Duty big-block Fords were introduced there was no such thing as a small-block or a big-block. At the time, there were the Ford and Lincoln Y-block V-8s and the enduring legacy of the classic flathead V-8 first introduced in 1932. The Lincoln Y-block was also produced as a truck powerplant.
The FE
The FE Series big-block with its skirted block entered production with plenty of room for growth. During the FE’s 18-year production life spanning 1958–1976, it was produced in displacements of 332, 352, 360, 361, 390, 406, 410, 427, and 428 ci for a wide variety of missions, ranging from basic utilitarian function in cars, trucks, and stationary applications to world-beating Le Mans–winning performance.
Ford’s 429 Super Cobra Jet was produced for just two model years (1970 and 1971) and made huge amounts of horsepower and torque for a big-block production engine. It was fitted with Holley carburetion and a hot flat-tappet hydraulic cam that enabled it to put a lot of power to the pavement.
The FE was a continuing tradition of skirted Ford Y-block designs that were as rugged as they came. It remains loved for its durability and reputation for making whopping amounts of power. As the FE engine grew in terms of displacement in the 1960s it also became more durable. Ford gave the FE thicker main webs, cross-bolted main caps, a steel crank, heavy-duty rods, and an improved oiling system. The result was race-winning performance starting with the lightweight Galaxies and Thunderbolts in the early 1960s, through the 427 Cobras and 428 Cobra Jet Mustangs, and culminating in four consecutive wins at Le Mans, where the 427-powered GT-40s ended Ferrari’s domination in the mid- to late 1960s.
What makes the FE Series engine so popular is its historical pedigree and the wide variety of displacements and cylinder head variations that were available from Ford over the engine’s lifetime. When it was introduced, the FE was available in displacements of 332 and 352 ci, which was rather modest, considering that it gained nearly 100 ci of displacement in the years to follow to wind up at 428 ci. Ford achieved these displacements by playing with bore and stroke combinations.
The FE was produced in four bore sizes: 4.000, 4.050, 4.130, and 4.230 inches, with strokes of 3.300, 3.500, 3.780, and 3.980 inches. Ford managed eight displacements with these bore and stroke combinations. And, if you’re creative enough you can come up with more than 450 ci using the 427 block and a 428 crank. Opt for an aftermarket stroker kit and you can take the FE to the moon in terms of displacement and raw torque.
You can ask a lot of the FE without consequence as long as you amass the correct parts and infuse proper building technique. Although there are four bore sizes, basic engine block architecture is the same with the exception of the 406, 427, and 428 Cobra Jet, which are higher-displacement highperformance versions of the FE Series big-block. Cross-bolted main caps and heavier main webbing arrived late in the 1962 model year with the 406, then, ultimately the 427 in 1963.
NASCAR-driven performance improvements included High Riser heads available over the counter from Ford starting in 1963 (replacing the earlier Low Riser versions), and then Medium Riser heads in 1965, with a NASCAR rule change. In 1964, in the wake of the Chrysler Hemi’s NASCAR performance, Ford developed the 427 Single Overhead-Cam (SOHC) engine during a crash program, in just 90 days, to take back NASCAR dominance. Rules issues in NASCAR at the time prevented it from being used in stock car racing, but it became a legendary drag racing engine, piloted by Don Prudhomme, Mickey Thompson, “Sneaky” Pete Robinson, Connie Kalitta, and others.
The 427 Side Oiler, which featured an improved oiling system over the FE wedge engines, arrived in production cars in 1965. The 427 Tunnel Port came online next in 1967 as a NASCAR alternative to the SOHC. The 428 Cobra Jet, which arrived in 1968 in the Mustang and distinguished itself on the dragstrip, used a unique heavy-duty block with heavier main webbing for rugged durability.
The FE’s closest sibling, the FT Series (Ford Truck), produced in 330, 359, 361, 389, and 391 ci for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, was a stouter version of the FE with a heavier block and a steel crank. The beauty of the FT is its interchangeability with the FE. The FT’s steel crank will fit the FE with the talents of a good machinist who can machine the snout down to the FE’s diameter and length.
The FE big-block was eliminated from high-performance factory applications after 1970. In fact, 1970 was the last year for any kind of high-performance FE; it wrapped up with the 428 Cobra Jet, which was replaced with the 385 Series 429 Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet in 1971. In 1971, the 390 FE was replaced in passenger cars with the tall-deck 400-ci middle-block derived from the 351 Cleveland program. The 390 and lower-displacement 360-ci FE big-blocks, which were factory installed only in trucks, were all that remained of the FE program through 1976. The FT engine program wound down to a halt around the same time.
It can be safely said the venerable FE big-block is the most legendary high-performance engine in Ford’s history. It started out as a mild-mannered passenger-car grocery-getter engine in 1958 with the 332, 352, and 361 (Edsel). It wasn’t long before Ford engineers and product planners realized the great performance potential of this engine given displacement and a hotter cam. Racing history was made as Ford began adding displacement and brute high-performance components.
The MEL
The MEL (Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln) big-block, produced from 1958 to 1967 to replace the Lincoln Y-block V-8, is the most unusual Ford big-block ever produced. With displacements of 383, 410, 430, and 462 ci, the MEL was available in the Mercury, Edsel, Lincoln, and even Ford Thunderbird. When this engine entered production at the beginning of the 1958 model year at Ford’s new Lima, Ohio, engine plant, it wasn’t officially known as the MEL. In fact, based on Ford documentation from the period, the Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln Division of Ford didn’t exist until January 1958, when it was officially announced. The MEL was once a very popular racing engine, especially in powerboats where its torque and durability were unbeatable. It could make torque all day without breaking a sweat. These days, the MEL is often built more for automotive and boat restorations than anything else. Die-hard MEL performance buffs still look to these engines for torque. Parts for the MEL are becoming increasingly scarce.
What makes the MEL different from any other Ford V-8 of the period is the absence of combustion chambers in the cylinder heads, which employ a flat deck like a diesel cylinder head. The block deck is cut at a 10-degree angle off the piston crowns to where the top of each cylinder bore is a wedge combustion chamber. Chevrolet did the same thing with its “W” series 348- and 409-ci big-block where the top of the bore was also the chamber.
The MEL went through a series of revisions with its cylinder heads and pistons to reduce detonation and hard-starting issues early in production. The flat-deck cylinder heads got a small pocket chamber briefly during the course of production to help reduce compression and help quench. It wasn’t long before Ford went back to the flat-deck cylinder head and made changes in piston design.
Early on, the MEL was an option for the Mercury in 383 ci. Mercury received the 430-ci Super Marauder with 6V carburetion, along with the distinction of being Detroit’s first real muscle car engine. In the 1958–1959 Edsel, the MEL was 410 ci; in the Lincoln and the 1959–1960 Thunderbird, 430 ci. After 1960, the MEL was a Lincoln-only 430-ci powerplant until 1966 when Ford grew it to 462 ci. Production ended in mid-1968 when the 462 MEL was replaced by the 385 Series 429/460.
Super Duty Sleeper
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