[salesco]

yahoo search
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. 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, 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".