Ford Archives

The Muscle Car Wars Part 2

Part Two of the Muscle Car Wars

The Muscle Car Wars Part 1

MID-SIZED MUSCLE WAS BASICALLY DEFINED BY GENERAL MOTORS (GM) EARLY ON BECAUSE THEY CREATED AND OWNED THE MARKETING.

1958 – The Year of the “Big Block.”

The introduction of the Big Blocks in the Low-Price Three; Chevrolet, Ford, and Plymouth in 1958, enabled the Muscle Car for those brands in 1964.

The Horsepower Wars 1949-1957

Without the Horsepower Wars of the 50s – We might not have had the Muscle Car Wars of the 60s!

The Story of Ford’s “Tame” 427 CID V-8

We’re still trying to figure out why this hydraulic lifter 427 ever existed and why it ended up in the 1967 Ford Fairlane and Fairlane GT.

Why Didn’t Ford Offer the 3 Two-barrel Manifold on the Fairlane GT

The 1961-62 390 & 406 CID Performance FE V-8s and the 1963 Thunderbird M-Code 390 manifold was readily available as a “bolt on” upgrade for the Fairlane GT, but it never appeared.

Bronco Bustin’

Hot as a pistol today, the 1966-70 Bronco got a lot of press- a lot of kudos – but, surprisingly, not a huge amount of sales.

The Bronco Story

Ford made a big point about the Bronco being a ton of fun at it’s introduction – but did that stimulate sales?

The Ford “FE” big block got its nomenclature from the realignment of the Divisions at Ford for 1958. “FE” stands for “Ford-Edsel” which were the vehicles where it was intended to be used. The truck version was revered to as the “FT” engine. The huge V-8 that was developed for Lincoln was an entirely different design and was set at 383-410-430 CID (and later 462 CID) and called the “MEL” block. It was used in Edsel Citation, Mercury, and Lincoln lines.

Ford Fairlane Grows Up in 1966

In 1966, the Ford Fairlane grew 1 inch in width although the length and wheelbase remained the same. Stylists made the car look much wider and longer.

Ford Fairlane Grows Up Continued

Ford’s redesign of the Fairlane was driven by a demand for a mid-size muscle car that could compete on short tracks and road courses, as well as consumer demand for big inches. The company needed to accommodate the FE block and design parameters were set years in advance. The engine bay became the front frame, affecting the design of the entire unit. The FE block was 5 inches wider than the 289, affecting the shock tower and steering, and the block was 27 inches wide not counting the exhaust headers. Learn more about how Ford’s racing program impacted the redesign of the Fairlane in the 60s.

The Crown – Part Two

Part Two | When we last left off, the M-335 V-8 was installed in the Crown Victoria and all the running gear was hooked up. The first run up of the engine happened on the day before Christmas eve, so little happened until after the Holiday. My gift from my parents that year was a floor shift conversion kit from a company called Ansen and $25 in cash.

The Hi Po 289 CID V-8 and Shelby’s Mods

The Mustang 289 CID High-Performance V-8 (“Hi-Po”) developed 271 horsepower. It’s weight per horsepower was less than two pounds, an excellent figure, as lighter, more powerful engines helped not only straight line performance but handling as well. The horsepower per cubic inch of displacement of 0. 95 was close to the the 1960s benchmark of 1.0 set earlier by the original 1957 283 CID fuel injected Corvette V-8.