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.
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1970 Ford Fairlane-Torino Fact Sheet 1970 Ford Fairlane-Torino Facts, Figures, and Specifications...
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1969 Ford Fairlane-Torino Fact Sheet 1969 Ford Fairlane-Torino Facts, Figures, and Specifications...
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1968 Ford Fairlane-Torino Fact Sheet 1968 Ford Fairlane-Torino Facts, Figures, and Specifications...
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What’s a shock tower and why was this important? Ford, who called themselves “the Total Performance Brand”, was caught napping. On the track, they were going head to head with the Mopar Hemi, on the street, their 427 big car was perceived as the be all end all in stop light performance. But the appearance of the GTO and the rest of the GM brand’s response in 1965 was to put a 400 CID V-8 in a mid size car.
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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.
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