Nope it is so we could have so many different head styles in the basic casting. 4 styles of heads and manifolds though low and medium heads are so close it matters not. Low riser (T-birds and other low hood design cars), medium riser (most common) High risers (high horsepower motors) and Tunnel Ports( real high RPM racers). CAMMERS do not use standard FE Heads or manifolds.Frankenstein wrote:Oh yeah, why the hell did FoMoCo think that this FE intake/half the heads design was so friggin great, just to piss people off?
Yes we have to remove push rods and rocker arms to change the manifold. Well 95% of the FEs built never had a manifold changed.
The short head ports allowed the intake port to be ported easier. And yes the 58 352 was on the race track and winning because of that head design even though Ford never had any official race teams. The 352 was in the hands of racers before the street machines rolled off the production line. The 352 heads with little tweaks could flow better than 428 CJ heads. They worked so good that I carted a set with machined combustion chambers and 427 High riser valves in them across 11 different FE race motors.
The FE is the only engine that has been outlawed in ever major race organization.
outlawed
NASCAR 427 CAMMER, Tunnel Port and High riser
LeMans 1966 CAMMER
1967 Tunnel Port
Sebring 1996 Tunnel Port
1966 NHRA no cammer in purestock
1967 no Tunnel Port in pure or superstock