Hey, I am new to the FE scene- I know most of my stuff about the windsor- could you explain what makes an FE an FE?

I am looking at replacing my 302 with a 360 and upping the preformance a bunch- 350 to 400 hp and was told the stock FE crank can handle around 600hp and 6000 rpm's thats impressive- can the rods pistons and basic bottom end keep up?
Do these engins love alot of camshaft lift, big durations or will it kill torque?
Also what trannys will bolt up to these blocks?


Thanks for the help Scott.

 

FE, or "Ford Edsel", is a family of engines ranging from the 332 to the 428. I don't know a lot, but I'll tell you a bit about them.
I have heard them as being compared to the old Y-Block, but the only real difference is an ambiguous similarity in the block shape. One of the distinguishing characteristics of an FE is that the intake overlaps the heads.

You can build, as the members of this forum have proved, an FE that can handle any duty cycle. Personally, I have a warmed up 390 that acts as an almost daily driver. dinosaurfan is envisioning a low-rev torque monster. Scouder has the scariest motor in the world - 511 c.i. alum. Shelby thing...scary.

In general, the FE is a really stout motor and only really has issues with stock oiling, (EASILY fixed), and stock exhaust.

As far as your plans, I think you'll find that a 390 would be a better candidate than a 360 - same motor with a longer stroke. (3.78 versus 3.5)

C6, C4, FMX, T-18, and NP435 will all work. AOD will with an adapter, but that is quite pricey.

Good luck and welcome. : )

-Patrick

 

The FE will use more cam lift with slightly increased duration than other similar cube engines. I ran a .563 lift 284* adv.,228* at .050 cam in a well prepped 390 as my daily driver for years. It ran hard and I also used it for towing!! It does require some rocker shaft, stand improvements to handle that much cam.

Welcome aboard!!

Putt

 

I got this mess started! I took for granted he knew the FE. Ford Performance book says that ford said the cast cranks are good up to 600hp (unblown) and 6000-7000rpm. I mentioned the 390 being a easy swap. And recommended the edel heads, rpm intake, crane 901 cam, and headers. I suppose a 750 cfm carb would be about right.

 

A 360 will make more power with less money than a 390. It will also make les tq. And it will make both higher in the rpm range. Great for a car or lighweight truck. Just read the thread "360 in a mustang"

 

Personally, I wouldn't do it. You are getting into a major transplant. NOTHING interchanges between the small block and the FE. Your transmission won't fit - your motor mounts won't match - neither will your exhaust. And that's just the beginning. The FE weighs 200 - 250 pounds more, depending on how it's dressed out. Parts are WAY more expensive.

A 351W will give you anything an FE will (unless you're looking at building a monster stroker, in which case you'd want the 460.) It will bolt right in where your 302 sits with no problems of any kind.

 

after reading scroob post, I agree with using a 351w. I thought the 360 was already in the truck. Just hop up the 351w and will be just as good if not better. And saving around 175 pounds is nice!

 

He could do the 360 swap if he wants to. Just find the motor mounts for the FE and get the transmission with the motor. Probably best to start out with a junkyard truck and get the whole bit from it. And yes, the stories are true. The stock bottom end of the FE's are pretty much bulletproof, within reason.

How to build up a 360? Start out with a Crane 343971 cam, port the heads, add headers, dual exhaust, a 4-barrel intake, and a holley 600cfm. That should give you about 330hp and about 390 ft-lbs. This would be a brutal low end torque motor. The bottom end of the 360 is way more than adequate for this build. The biggest thing the 360 has going against it is low compression. That's where the 390 comes in!

Soooo....

How to build up a 390? Start out with a Crane 343801 cam, port the heads, add headers, dual exhaust, a 4-barrel intake, and a holley 600cfm. Add 1.776" compression height pistons for more compression than the stock 390 low compression pistons. That should give you about 390hp and about 430 ft-lbs. The bottom end of the 390 is way more than adequate for this build. The only drawback is that you may need to run premium gas.

While I have yet to build my 390, I do already have the heads, pistons, crank, cam, block, etc. If I had it to do over, I'd build a 360 with the 971 cam. It should feel nice and powerful on the street and have plenty of torque. But then, the 390 will be more fun!

 

Well Id go with the FE, it would be a good learning experiance and a world of difference from a Windsor both building it and driving it. And whatever you don't know post it here, you'll get all the help you could want.

 

You guys are awsome.
First to clear up a few issues- I have found the motor- a 360 in truck with full drive train. - So the motor mounts could be swithched out with the engine as well as the transmission (a four on the floor) and the transmission mounts. I have no Idea whether the engine is seized or what the deal is but I plan a complete rebuild, so I will have the crank balanced when it is pulled apart, that should help.
AS far as the money issue I would have the same problem with the 302 or the 351 windsor because I wanted a windsor with a four bolt main- basically an A4 block that would cost me well over $2000 bucks Canadian ( the Ford racing catalog for 2003 lists it at $1700 bucks amarican) sooo considering that I can probably get the complete truck for somewhere in the neighbourhood of 200 bucks i am saving money. I also planned on Edelbrock Victor Jr. heads (complete) and an Edelbrock preformer RPM intake, and a 750 speed demon carb, as well as a comp cam hydraulic roller camshaft. To handle this top end I was adding a scat billet crank , new connection rods and forged pistions. This setup in the 302 put out 390hp @6000 rpm & 386 lb ft at 4400 rpm ( hot rod Aug 2003 forced induction trial) this was before adding boost. with a supercharger it ran 617 hp, 561lb ft. thats a lot of grunt.
Sooo if I put together a similar top end on the 360, save a bunch of money on the bottom end.. I win. The low compression ( stock was 8.4 : 1 in 1970 ) is ok too because I can add boost later when I get some more cash and then look out chevy! Im going to eat you for lunch.

Any comments, advice, or doubt is welcome I want to do this right the first time. Thanks again.
Scott

PS a gear vendor over/underdrive is also slated to help highway cruising fuel efficiency.

 

Well, if you're dedicated to the FE swap, do it. I was testing you. Not so much testing as appealing to common sense.

It'll be a somewhat hard road. The 351W swap is much easier but the FE swap will test you out. If you have a donor truck with an FE in it, it's a lot easier.

 

No Scott! Scroob and others here that advise aganst this swap are right. Buy a small block crate motor from Ford Motorsport and install it in whatever you have. IMHO!

 

So what is wrong with building a FE here? Any one can go buy a crate motor and slap it in. For the money a crate motor would cost , he could buy a stroker kit for a FE and walk on a SBF all day. He obviously knows the upcoming issues he may have with installing the 360. Just my .02 not trying to offend anyone.

 

Agreed. Definately agreed.

He's obviously got the donor truck, I say go for it.

 

Ok, so for those of you who say it will be a hard swap... care to enlighten me as to why? If you have had some experiance with the swap and run into tight spots, I would really appriciate hearing about them, and maby even your solutions.

I am planning on taking the tranny as well so I can use the tranny mounts from the donor truck as well as the speedo gear, can I use the motor mounts as well? They just bolt onto the frame? The crossmember under the oilpan should be the same, so I dont think there will be any clearance problems, I plan on installing a new set of gauges (temp, alt, and oil) If there is anything I am missing, please fill me in! Thanks.
Scott