actually....FE stands for ford experimental if anyone cares to actually know
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.
are you running a c6?
