Just another day in the engine shed, preparing for instalation of an all aluminium, Ford 427 FE (big block) side oiler, plus TKO 600 into my ‘93 Mk IV. The project is fraught with technical feasibility issues. Most importantly, the engine position will be key to minimising the compromises. It will be bad enough doing this once, so it better be right, At the very least, the grp footwells, the engine mounts and some chassis crossmembers need cutting out and replacing, so this kind of caper is not for everyone. All things being equal, I guess it depends on your life agenda: Keep it original at all costs, or experience, maybe improve on the legend?. Either way, it’s worth mentioning that all this can be reverse engineered back, just as easily as it’s been modified.
To be as sure as one can be, regarding feasibility choices, I have meticulously measured the engine and trans in meticulous detail. I’m aware people have done the 427 conversion, but not as far as I am aware with an all aluminium motor and the 5 speed TKO. This incidentally can be had with a extra high 5th for economical motorway cruising. However, I rejected that option in favour of progressive gearing. This is not exactly an economy drive after all.
Anyhow, I’ve converted the data into a scale CAD drawing, showing how the the car should look with the engine installed. To get it where it needs to be and the vital propshaft angles correct, means positioning the entire 5 foot long drivetrain within 4-5mm. You can see it’s all very tight.....but it might just work. Incidentally the huge 7 litre FE weighs just 20 lbs more than the current cast iron 302. Shelby never had this available, nor ceramic header coatings and that’s the attraction....