390ci versus 460ci

None of the parts are interchangable! The 390 is a complete different engine series! Parts are available to swap the fe into the fox chassis. Check out www.bigblockfox.com for more info

FE vs 385 series motor....nothing alike

Unfortunately nothing is interchangeable between the two. The 390 is the smaller cousin of the 428 which is part of the FE family... (stands for effin expensive...) The 460 is part of the 385 family as stated before. It's smaller cousin the 429(not Boss) came in Fords starting in 71. You are better off with the 460. You can't make up the displacement difference between the two. You will have roughly a 1.16(half a honda motor) liter advantage and parts availibility and aftermarket support are also on the 460's side.
Other things that come to mind are that the 385 series, being a more modern motor than the FE, has better cooling and oiling too.
Kevin

Sicarius428 said:

Unfortunately nothing is interchangeable between the two. The 390 is the smaller cousin of the 428 which is part of the FE family... (stands for effin expensive...) The 460 is part of the 385 family as stated before. It's smaller cousin the 429(not Boss) came in Fords starting in 71. You are better off with the 460. You can't make up the displacement difference between the two. You will have roughly a 1.16(half a honda motor) liter advantage and parts availibility and aftermarket support are also on the 460's side.
Kevin

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or when he wins the lottery he can buy an aluminum genesis 427 FE block and punch that sucker out to BIG cubes lol and make GOBS of power

That is an option... back to what FE stands for... hehe.
Kevin

Hold off and go for the 460. I was going to put one in my 90 GT. Your build cost will be much less and the agrivation you will save will be tremendous. Keep one thing in mind " Theres no replacement for cubic inch displacement". My friend has a 86 notch with a Trickflow head and Vic SR intaked 514 stroker, and this is the badest meanest street legal car Ive ever seen. Powers like 618 to the tire on pump gas, 460 all the way.

Sicarius428 said:

That is an option... back to what FE stands for... hehe.
Kevin

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Ford/Edsel if anyone actually cares

actually....FE stands for ford experimental if anyone cares to actually know

Go for the bigger one....

ExplodingGopher said:

Go for the bigger one....

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aaaaaaaaaaaa what do you know? are you running a c6?

Modular2v said:

actually....FE stands for ford experimental if anyone cares to actually know

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The Ford FE engine was a Ford V8 engine used in vehicles sold in the North American market between 1958 and 1976. It was intended to fill the need for a medium-range displacement engine in Ford's lineup of available V8's, replacing the Lincoln Y-block V8 engine (317, 341, 368 cubic inches and truck sizes 279, 302, 332 cubic inches). It supplemented Ford's line-up of V8's which at the time included a small block (Y-block), a medium block (the new FE) and the prestige big block (the MEL engines). In the ongoing development of Ford V8's, the Y-block was soon supplanted by the new Windsor engines (221, 260, 289, 302, 351 cubic inches) in the early 1960's and the MEL was replaced by the 385-series engines in the late 1960's (429, 460 cubic inch versions). Some claim "FE" is an acromyn for 'Ford-Edsel', while others insist the name meant simply 'Ford Engine'. A careful search of the FoMoCo Engineering archives by currently employed engineers shows that the earliest references to the engine group made reference to 'Ford/Edsel and very soon that was shortened to F/E. Ultimately the designation was simplified to FE. Another engine family, the MEL, stood for "Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln".

A related engine, the Ford FT engine, was used in medium and heavy trucks from 1964 through 1978.

In all discussions of Ford V8 engines, it is extremely important to understand that Ford, unlike its competitors at the time, did not have just small block and big block engines. Ford engines generally came in three size ranges, sized to best suit the application.