1961 Archives

1958-1965 Chrysler Corporation “B” and “RB” Wedge V-8s

by Bob Gerometta

1958-1965 Chrysler Corporation “B” and “RB” Wedge V-8s The Chrysler...

Chevrolet’s W-Series Engine Specifications 1958-1965

by Bob Gerometta

Chevrolet’s W-Series Engine Specifications 1958-1965 Chevrolet’s W-Series V-8 had many...

1955-1982 Pontiac V-8s – Part 2

by Bob Gerometta

1955-1982 Pontiac V-8s – Part 2 The 389 CID version of the Pontiac small journal V-8 is the...

1955-1982 Pontiac V-8s – Part 4

by Bob Gerometta

1955-1982 Pontiac V-8s – Part 4 Pontiac’s Large Journal V-8s came in three sizes: 421,...

The Ford FE Series V-8

by Bob Gerometta

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.

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

by Bob Gerometta

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.