FE Poll

[misfit41]

yes Ron,,
My Dad was a low budget hot rodder,,and was always buying wrecked or junk cars for motors,trannys ,body parts etc,I remember he drug home an UGLY brown and tan 58 ford ,it had a 352 PI motor,,I remember thinking it sounded cool,even then I could hear the solid tappets and the differnt cam profile,,actually I think some of these parts may still be in the woods behind my grandfathers house,,lol,,{this is Ky}
Another one was a 61 police car he traded for,390 4bbl,3 spd,it had big cast iron manifolds and an ALTERNATOR ,yes 1961,and beat nearly every thing around,I go tthe motor when I was Like 18 and over hauled it fo ran old truck I had,later sold it to a guy who raced dirt cars ,beater type cars,Little did we know it was a 375 hp 390,,and get this,,dad GAVE away the headers maybe 5 yrs ago with out my knowledge,the car is still there,I need to go ck it out,may be some parts to scrounge.
The artical I read said something like when they were talking about this new motor,in the notes they simply referred to it as the fairlane Engine since thats where they discussed the new design,and it stuck.no matter what they call it,,damn I love em,,Tk

[Woodz428]

RacerX, I don't know if you noticed,but those Edsel engines are 2 different engines. One is based on the FE the other is based on the MEL engine that was the Lincoln mainstay for many years.

[Great Asp]

When we raced them in High School, we thought it stood for Flying Engine parts.

Eric

[misfit41]

I am curious to learn more about the mel motors,,to me they look like the huge old truck blocks,,477/534 {I got a 534 if any one needs it} is that true ? are they similar ? Tk

[RACER X #99]

WDZ, Yes I did notice that and I always thought that FE meant Ford Edsel. Their statement said developed just for the Edsel.I think it should have died along with the Edsel. Too bad they didn't further develop the MEL engine. I remember a guy had one in a Model A pickup back in 62 and he used to clean up at the Local drag strip back then. It was a 430CI Lincoln Engine with Hilborn FI.

RD

[misfit41]

I see your point too Karl,,but since Edsel ford died maybe 15 yrs before the FE motor,,I just cant see it,,
another thing to ponder,,there is no such car as a "ford edsel",it is like saying ford lincoln,edsel was a whole other car line,given the name Edsel as a tribute to the late son,,and was to be another division,,ford dealers didnt sell edsels,,unless they became edsel dealers too,,and ford sales info did not include Edsels,,when edsel went belly up,,a great many dealerships became mercury dealers ,,thats why ford upped mercury production and develpment in the early 60's,to feed and keep those dealers.
Tk wow this is fun,,hahah

[thorconstr]

I asked LoveFords, this was their reply.

Thanks for writing to LOVEfords. I sent your question to our members group and here is how one of them replied.

I hope that you will consider becoming part of our group, too. Just go to www.lovefords.org and click on JOIN.

Best Regards,
John Rotella, President, LOVEfords and
Registrar at the Thunderbird Registry
1964/1968/1975 Ford Thunderbirds
1965 Ford Galaxie 500



-----Original Message-----
From: RareFords4me@aol.com [mailto:RareFords4me@aol.com]
Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2003 5:03 PM
To: members@lovefords.net
Subject: [members] LOVEfords Glossary: FE {02}


FE was the term used for the Ford/Edsel family of engines. In 1958 they were offered in 332, 352 Ford and the 361 Edsel.

Brian Lawler
1957 Ford Courier w/windows, 223 I-6
1958 Edsel Ranger 4dr, 352 FE
1960 Edsel Ranger 4dr, 312 Y-block
1960 Ford Fairlane 500 4dr, no eng.
1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL 2dr, 390 FE
1965 Fairlane 500 Sports Coupe 289 4V 4spd
Southlanders Edsel Owners Club
So-Cal Galaxies

[capfel]

Doesn't "FE" mean Iron.

Chuck

[Ron61]

Tim,

That is interesting and you may have some very rare parts if you find them. I remember a guy here when I was young that had a 390 HiPo with three twos in a 61 Fairlane I think it was and he really ran well at the drags. I wish I had my 58 back as it was one of the best cars I have owned. Not a great drag car, but I am not a drag racer anyway. But boy, would that thing wind forever and had a great top end. The only thing I ever did to it was replace the flywheel as the center broke around the bolt holes.

Ron

[machineman]

because they were made at the famed ford edsel plant thus the name FE

[computerworks]

The name "FE" (..according to the book, "Ford 1903-1984" by David L. Lewis, Mike McCarville, and Lorin Sorensen) was devised principally by Robert Stevenson, who was chief engineer at Ford Engine & Foundry (i.e. FE) where the first FE block was cast in 1957.

[CSX 4027]

Good thread with no fights and "I" started it.

What do I win?

[speed220mph]

And then there's the FT big block, a spinoff from the FE. It's easy to figure out what the T stands for since the engine was designed for medium and heavy duty trucks.

[EarlsflyinCobra]

FE = Floccinaucinihilipilification Electroencephalographically


Just my .02 cents worth.......

[Ron61]

Steve,

A thread with "NO" fights. What do you win? Maybe there are no fights because no one bur Ron (CW) really seems to have a real idea of just what FE was supposed to stand for. I guess we need someone with access to the OLD Ford archives and that can talk to the old engine designers if any are still alive to really find out what they meant by it. I had not seen the book that Ron referred to but it makes sense to me that is most likely the original thing that FE meant. I am still not sure if he meant Ford Engine or Ford Foundry. Ron

Maybe you should try mispelling a word or so to get the fights started. Or something like BB= Bloated Boat
Ancor.

Ron