THE OFFICIAL BB/SB THREAD
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 319
From: CA
Good scoop here...also I stand corrected on the 352 being the smallest:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_FE_engine
Also not sure on how accurate this info is:
"FE stands for "Ford/Edsel"
ref: http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/show...d=60889&page=2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_FE_engine
Also not sure on how accurate this info is:
"FE stands for "Ford/Edsel"
ref: http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/show...d=60889&page=2
Last edited by retro77; Sep 25, 2008 at 02:49 PM.
6th Gear Member
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 7,635
From: state of confusion
FE = Ford Engine
FT = Ford Truck
(http://www.mustangandfords.com/techa...cts/index.html)
MEL = Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln
I'm pretty certain that (with the exception of the current 4.6L 3V engine) all Ford production V8 blocks have been iron.
Norm
FT = Ford Truck
(http://www.mustangandfords.com/techa...cts/index.html)
MEL = Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln
I'm pretty certain that (with the exception of the current 4.6L 3V engine) all Ford production V8 blocks have been iron.
Norm
5th Gear Member
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,566
From: Marquette Mi
Yes you need to differentiate the families, not just the CID. With Fords its all about the architecture and vintage, there are some that have design elements that fit other families while having their own distinct design attributes.
When designating big block or small block, a good measure is bore spacing, how far apart the center lines of the bores are from each other. Ford built a vast array of engines, some are amazingly interchangeable like the FE series. Often a displacement increase is only a crank, and piston swap to the next higher one. ie 360-390-410, and even the 429 and 460 share the same bore with only the crank and pistons being different.
I dont concern myself with what the designations stand for, be they FE, or M, or whatever. I just use them to identify what goes where. The flathead bowed out in something like 1952, the mod motors came out in 1992 with all pushrod V8s being gone by 1996, give or take. So over 40+ years Ford built different engines for different purposes, and they have their own internal systems that we are not aware of as consumers.
What I do concern myself with is what fits what, and from what years. In the 302 engine there are distinct variations with limited interchangeability between them. Knowing what years had what crank is more than helpful or merely trivia, it prevents you from buying something you cant use. Also you can find out what it takes to make your 390 into a poor mans 428 provided it can take the overbore.
I have found three different small block bellhousings just since 1964 for the C4 transmission. That doesnt include C5, C3, FMX, or C6 transmissions, only the C4. Not evry C4 is the same either, there are year breaks, different valve bodies, different oil pans, different pumps, different this different that all throughout the years they were made.
Sometimes its a matter of see if it fits when you dont know where it came from or what it came with. Knowing what years fit and interchange even being different isnt easy with no hard and fast rules. Ford did mid year changes on everything, more than a few times multiple changes during a year.
The one thing that doesnt change is bore spacing. All the W, C, and M engines share the same bore spacing. The 335 series is all unto itself, as is the FE series. The M is the largest and heaviest small block with canted valves like the 335 and shares the bellhousing pattern with the 335, but its a small block that easily swaps into where a 460 was and vice versa.
Ford probably did that so they could use fewer parts on the assembly line to save money. Using the same engine mounts, same transmission case, and whatever else they could between them saved them money in a time that was a belt tightening recession. Something GM and Chrysler had been doing for years as standard operating procedure, not that everything they made was the same either.
No matter if its a big block a small block or a Y block, its a Ford and it probably wont fit much other than what it already is.
At least people have realized that the Cleveland and M engines are small blocks. I wonder where that moron that thinks an FE isnt a big block is these days...
When designating big block or small block, a good measure is bore spacing, how far apart the center lines of the bores are from each other. Ford built a vast array of engines, some are amazingly interchangeable like the FE series. Often a displacement increase is only a crank, and piston swap to the next higher one. ie 360-390-410, and even the 429 and 460 share the same bore with only the crank and pistons being different.
I dont concern myself with what the designations stand for, be they FE, or M, or whatever. I just use them to identify what goes where. The flathead bowed out in something like 1952, the mod motors came out in 1992 with all pushrod V8s being gone by 1996, give or take. So over 40+ years Ford built different engines for different purposes, and they have their own internal systems that we are not aware of as consumers.
What I do concern myself with is what fits what, and from what years. In the 302 engine there are distinct variations with limited interchangeability between them. Knowing what years had what crank is more than helpful or merely trivia, it prevents you from buying something you cant use. Also you can find out what it takes to make your 390 into a poor mans 428 provided it can take the overbore.
I have found three different small block bellhousings just since 1964 for the C4 transmission. That doesnt include C5, C3, FMX, or C6 transmissions, only the C4. Not evry C4 is the same either, there are year breaks, different valve bodies, different oil pans, different pumps, different this different that all throughout the years they were made.
Sometimes its a matter of see if it fits when you dont know where it came from or what it came with. Knowing what years fit and interchange even being different isnt easy with no hard and fast rules. Ford did mid year changes on everything, more than a few times multiple changes during a year.
The one thing that doesnt change is bore spacing. All the W, C, and M engines share the same bore spacing. The 335 series is all unto itself, as is the FE series. The M is the largest and heaviest small block with canted valves like the 335 and shares the bellhousing pattern with the 335, but its a small block that easily swaps into where a 460 was and vice versa.
Ford probably did that so they could use fewer parts on the assembly line to save money. Using the same engine mounts, same transmission case, and whatever else they could between them saved them money in a time that was a belt tightening recession. Something GM and Chrysler had been doing for years as standard operating procedure, not that everything they made was the same either.
No matter if its a big block a small block or a Y block, its a Ford and it probably wont fit much other than what it already is.
At least people have realized that the Cleveland and M engines are small blocks. I wonder where that moron that thinks an FE isnt a big block is these days...
5th Gear Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,100
From: Texas Hill Country
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 319
From: CA
