But what you are not remembering is the longevity of these cars. It was a good life for an engine back then if you made it to 100k without an overhaul. Now I know, there are exceptions. Everyone has the story of "that car" that made it 400k without a problem. But as a GENERAL RULE you were starting to think about an overhaul at 80-90 thousand miles. Nowadays........at 100k you are thinking about changing your spark plugs. It is unacceptable to lose an engine before 100k. All the while you are making the same power as these old big blocks with 351 cubic inches or less! There has been advancement. Major advancement. I look under the hood of my Galaxie and A)I'm elated, because it's so stinkin easy to work on, and B) I'm faced with the reality that once again, I'm under the hood. You know how many times I've had to wrench on the 5.4 under the hood of my Expedition??? Wait for it....................ZERO! And it actually has 20,000 more miles on it than my Galaxie. Just a comparison for you. I am like you, I love the FE's almost to an obsessive degree. But I will always love them for what they are-classic American iron.

 

You couldn't be more wrong. In the world of dragsters nothing is new. The basic engine that win's most events in the upper class is the hemi. Not the new one but the old one. I will also bet that the 427 that was used in the race had all new parts in it built with todays material. A company is bring out new 427SOHC. Revised oiling, new material, etc. It's for the nastalgic and racing crowd. At $20k thats about all who could afford it.

Don't get me wrong it was and is a good motor. But compared to todays stuff it a dinasour. So no one has built a motor from the factory that is as powerful. First there has never been a call for it and second with all the emmision stuff and gas guzzler taxs it doesn't make economic sense. Remember the 427SOHC was made for NASCAR in the old days. It had to be put in at least 500 production cars. That rule no longer exists.

 

I still stand by what I stated.

 

Thats awesome.

 

First of all you have to take a few things into account:

Let's use the 350 SBC as an example. This engine was manufactured in many configurations for 25+ years. If we are going to compare FE engines versus SBC we need to compare the BEST of each. NOT a free breathing 1970 390 versus an emission control strangled 1986 350. Apples to apples. Are you trying to tell me your 352FE in your Galaxie has more torque / h.p. than say, the 350 SBC available STOCK in a Corvette running 375 h.p.? Come on...

While we're on the subject of performance, how many FE engines came stock with more horsepower than cubic inches??? Several SBC's did. My point is: apples to apples.

Brand loyalties aside, if the FE is so superior to the SBC when it comes to performance, ease of overhaul, etc. than why is the SBC so popular with racers / hot-rodders / rebuilders?

FYI, what engine family has the longest run in domestic production? You guessed it: the GM SBC. First produced in 1955 and in production , (albeit with a lot of different configurations), for over 40 years. GM must have been doing something right. How long was the FE series produced?

That said, I can certainly appreciate what one of you has said about liking the FE because it is different and kind of unique.

Any engine that is assembled correctly using good components and is not abused will last a long time, regardless if it's an FE or a SBC.

 

Easy there farmtrucker- I never said my 352 was better than any SBC ever made. I just said that it runs a lot harder than a STOCK 350. My Galaxie is a 4 door people mover. The corvette is a racecar. Talk about apples to apples, farmtrucker. That's kinda like comparing a Shelby Cobra to a bel-air. Two different purposes in life. The 352 simply is more powerful than the sedan engines Chevy was using at the time. And at 300 hp- 350 ft lbs it isn't all that bad compared to modern equipment either. It totally outstripps the 350 SBC in every way. Although they were rated a little more liberally back then. Anyway, to each his own. But the small block Chevy is just a little generic. Everyone and their brother has a 350 powered something-or-other. Booooo-rrinnng........ I like the nostalgia of having an FE, and when you pop the hood you get to explain the FE to people instead of having them turn away and say to their buddy"Oh, it's just another 350".

 

And if you look at my post #39 on this thread, you can see that I'm all about modern technology. But I was definitely referring to TRUE modern technology, like the Ford Modular series. Not a 1950's pushrod tech engine with fuel injection slapped on it.....

 

Armorer, I just thought a little clarification was in order. I'm not really saying the FE is a bad engine, we've used a few of them up along side various SBC's. In fact I've got a '70 F250 4x4 with a 360.

I just find it hard to do a direct comparison of one whole engine series (FE) versus another whole series (SBC) when there is so much variation, especially in the SBC. Granted, about the only thing in common with the 1955 265 SBC and the 1995 350 SBC is some of the bolt patterns on the block. How about doing a comparison of say, 1968 - 1970 FE vs SBC. Then we are all on a level playing field. Do you see my point? Still, all we can compare are stock HP and Torque because longevity is simply based on how the engine is used (see my original post).

And as you quote, "Everyone and their brother has a 350 powered something-or-other. Booooo-rrinnng........ I like the nostalgia of having an FE, and when you pop the hood you get to explain the FE to people instead of having them turn away and say to their buddy"Oh, it's just another 350".

As I said in my original post, I can certainly appreciate that. What I should have said is I can really appreciate that! I've always been a lot more interested in the 327 for the same reason. I've been lucky enough to cabbage on to a couple of the good ones, forged cranks, high compression heads, the whole shebang.

The 360 in the old pickup doesn't need a lot of work but I'm kind of excited about learning something new.

Just my $0.02.

 

Agreed. And you and I have something in common. I too love the 327 chevy. Talk about a quick winding lil motor! I have to say though, from 1968-70 the better comparison would be Big block chev VS FE. Because Your high output FE's were the 427's and 428's, some 390's. The SBC is at a bit of a cubic inch deficiet. I think that by the late 60's the windsor Fords were taking on the SBC's and the BBC"s were squaring off against the FE's.