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Originally Posted by Anthony
I don't think that it's not because Ford didn't have the technology, but in the basic design of the engine. The "original" 427 had water jackets completely surrounding each cylinder, for even cooling. The Genesis has siamesed cylinders, that is no coolant pasing between the cylinders. If Ford wanted the 427 this way, I'm sure they could have cast it the same way as the Genesis. I'm not saying one way is better than the other.
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First off, anyone boring ANY FE, be it an original 427SO or a more plebian 390, should have it sonic checked, by someone who knows what they're doing. And then, if you have cylinders that shouldn't be bored, don't.
Second off, the Pond block, in addition to having siamesed cylinders, has a bulged block around each cylinder that adds material (and strengh and weight) to the block. So strengthwise, it goes: bored-Original, Original, Genesis, Shelby, Pond.
Ford DID want it that way, at least initially. The FE was a thinwall casting, state of the art at the time, that weighed just enough but not too much. If you want an engine that was cast using 19th century theory, look to the 'elephant' hemi where the block was cast sooo thick that you could bore it probably an extra 1" per cylinder (JK). That was bad for real life usage in passenger cars, but great on a straight line drag strip.
Personally, I'd get a Pond, an aluminum Pond, a Genesis, an aluminum Genesis in that order of preference. You get the benefits of a design that has been updated for strength, that looks very close to the original, that will take all original parts as bolt-on's, and that are better than the originals. The Shelby just looks wrong. It might be 'better', it just looks wrong.