427 W vs. 428 FE: Which Engine is Boss?

Doing It FE - The Old Gun SlingerWhen we think about the 427/428ci Windsor small-blocks, it is easy to define them as cocky, young upstarts ready to take on the old man. What the old man has on his side is wisdom and size. In the world of Ford, the old man couldn't be anything less than a big-cube FE-series big-block-the mill that won LeMans and kicked Ferrari's ass 40 years ago. It also spanked more than its share of GM and Chrysler musclecars in NHRA competition.

So why an FE instead of a Windsor? The answer is simple-we like the massive demeanor of a vintage Ford big-block. It's like an elephant in the living room; you just can't ignore this beast. Aside from size, there is no ignoring the amount of momentum that exists across five main journals in the Y-block design.

That's a lot of crankshaft married to larger connecting rods. It is going to make a lot of torque.

We're about to show you why there really is a difference between small-blocks and big-blocks with identical displacements. You have to think of the big-inch small-block as the lean, but powerful tough guy down the block. By the same token, you have to think of the FE big-block as rotund as a Greyhound bus, but every bit the old football player who can still hold his own against the bad guys.

CHP has topped the FE with... 

   

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CHP has topped the FE with an Edelbrock Performer induction system, cylinder heads, and an 800-cfm carburetor. These are good, healthy street heads with 2.09/1.66-inch valves and 72cc chambers. With some good port work, they work well. CHP does nice CNC-porting on these heads.

The FE big-block has the weight and moment advantage here. Translated-more torque from a huge crankshaft. Lots of kinetic energy going on here.

It Really Is All About SizeSmall-block versus big-block. Which is better? It depends on how you measure "better." The small-block has the advantage of less weight. But the big-block has the momentum and leverage advantage in a larger crank with larger counterweights and longer connecting rods. Each engine makes power in its own way. The small-block tends to make more horsepower. The big-block tends to make more torque. This doesn't always mean this will be the result on the dyno.

		We're going to fire the mixture...        read full caption We're going to fire the mixture with an MSD billet distributor and wires.
Fel-Pro gaskets are an industry...        read full caption Fel-Pro gaskets are an industry standard. Coast High Performance uses Fel-Pro on all of its engine packages.	Small-block and big-block...        read full caption Small-block and big-block cranks side by side. The 427W crank on the left yields nearly the same stroke as the 428 FE crank on the right. The FE advantage is in those huge counterweights that maintain momentum. The 427W's longer stroke sports the mechanical advantage when the piston begins to lean on the rod.	Let's look at the pistons...        read full caption Let's look at the pistons and rods. The FE big-block rod/piston combo on the right has the size advantage-better rod ratio.