• An insight into Ford’s Engine & Foundry Division
• Includes unique, previously unpublished material
• Covers all Small Block V8s built by Ford for racing purposes, 1962-1970
• Includes Indianapolis pushrod and DOHC engines
• Engine design and development phases
• Reveals problems encountered with the various engines and the solutions
• Includes Shelby American-built 289s for Mustangs/AC Cobras, 1962-1968
• Information direct from the original engineers shows why many of Ford’s decisions were made
• Relevant Ford Motor Company history
• Includes a rare reprint of a DOHC Indy brochure and an HP-289 engine catalogue
Description
While many will be familiar with 1960 Ford racing
programmes using the very compact, pushrod Small Block V8, few know the
facts behind the technology at Ford during this time. This book gives
insight into the confident, logical approach of engineers working at
Ford’s Engine & Foundry Division – engineers who made outstanding
technical decisions, leading to many major events being won using larger
capacity derivatives of the 1961 221ci Small Block V8 production
engine, introduced by Ford mid-1961 for fitting into 1962-model year
intermediate Fairlanes and Mercurys.
Synopsis
Few appreciate how rapidly the Ford small block Fairlane
V8 engines evolved from passenger car engines to highly successful
racing engines. Initially, in May 1960, a team of nine engineers, lead
by George Stirrat, designed a lightweight, all cast-iron, compact,
reliable and durable power-plant for passenger cars, but following its
introduction in July 1961, Ford’s engineers quickly realised its
potential benefits if modified for racing applications. Within three
months, the capacity had been increased from 221ci to 260ci, and by
early 1962 Carroll Shelby had fitted a High Performance 260ci version in
his AC Cobra. Subsequently, the original design team began work on a
second capacity increase, to achieve a High Performance 289ci unit – and
within three months the standard 289ci became available. Carroll Shelby
went on to win the 1965 World Sports Car Championship using a HP-289ci.
Aluminium block and cylinder head pushrod versions, designed in late
1962, had been constructed by early 1963, in preparation for that year’s
Indianapolis 500, and the DOHC four-valve per cylinder 255ci raced in
the 1964 and 1965 Indy 500, winning the latter outright. The 302ci
replaced the 289ci for the 1968 car model year and, at Le Mans in 1968
and 1969, GT40 cars won outright using this variant of the small block.
In 1965, 1966 and 1967, HP-289ci-powered Mustangs won the SCCA
B-Production Championship and 1966 and 1967 Trans-Am Championships. A
Bud Moore Engineering Boss 302 Mustang won the 1970 Trans-Am
Championship. Ford invested much time and expertise into its racing
activities in the 1960s, and there’s little doubt that the V8 Small
Block engines took the company to the forefront of the racing world,
until it withdrew from the sport in 1970.
Additional Information
AC Cobra 1962-1967, GT40 1964-1969, Lotus-Ford
Indianapolis cars 1963-1965, 289ci and 302ci racing Mustangs 1965-1970
