I am looking to buy new front coil springs for my 59 Tudor sedan,(originally a 332FE FordOMatic car), I am not looking to really lower or raise the car, suspension wise, but trying to decide what springs to order. The 332 and automatic have been replaced with a 428CJ and 4 speed Toploader, the 428 has been lightened up some with an aluminum intake manifold, water pump,and radiator, so its likely close to 100 pounds lighter than stock, all up front. I was wondering if anybody has actually weighed a 223 6 cylinder and a Y Block V8. I have a scale that goes between the engine hoist and the engine, my 428, without the clutch, flywheel and bellhousing weighed 548 pounds, with the clutch, flywheel and bellhousing weighed 633 pounds.Just curious how those numbers compare to the 6 and Y Block engines. I think the new springs for a FE car may make the nose sit a bit too high, so if the 6 or Y Block are lighter by about 100 pounds , the springs for one of those engines may work better. I know I could always cut the FE springs, but would prefer to avoid having to take them out, and cut them if possible.
I believe an FE is about the same weight as a Y-Block. I have aluminum cylinder heads in addition to your mods. I found this site and it confirms other sources I have found. I believe my FE is maybe 100 lbs. lighter than a stock Y Block and about 100 lbs. heavier than a 223 6.
http://www.team.net/sol/tech/engine.html
Thanks for posting that chart, although I have to question how they come up with a Boss 429 weighing 40 pounds more than a regular 429/460 engine. Considering the Boss 429 has aluminum heads and intake manifold, compared to the heavy cast iron heads & intake on a 429 wedge or 460, color me skeptical. This chart is also the only thing that I have seen that shows a 429/460 as being lighter than a FE engine. I think the 429/460s weight should be 740 pounds, not 640.
A note on the coil springs available. Detroit Eaton has 3 springs available for our '57's, and I believe the 6 cyl spring is not the lightest. It's not only the engine weight, it's the position of the weight relative to the crossmember that comes into play as well. Ford actually used a total of 9 different coil springs to keep all the front end heights the same regardless of model or drivetrains or options like A/C, PS etc. Trying to get it "right" the first time around is a crap shoot. Ask me how I know.
I think Detroit Eaton has specs on engine weights although they told me my 4.6dohc/4R70W was within 60 pounds of the oem 6 cyl w/ maunual, and in reality it was probably close to a few hundred pounds lighter than the 6
First off all, I know you didn't ask about 302 SB. I weighed my 223 that I removed with 3-speed tranny attached. The 302 I installed has the T-5 tranny attached also. 675 lbs for 223, 585 lbs. for 302.
I have 2.5" drop spindles and used my stock 6 cly. front springs for perfect ride height and ride.
Yeah, the 289-302 sure is a nice, lightweight package. Although I have been racing my 78 Fairmont drag car with FE power for about 30 years, a couple of years ago, I decided to swap in a 331 stroker 302 I had been running in my 85 Mustang. Going from the iron headed 427 FE, to the aluminum headed SBF, and switching to a tubular front K member at the same time (but still retaining the heavy factory lower control arms and coil springs) knocked off almost exactly 200 pounds, all right off the nose. The small block , complete less clutch/flywheel/bellhousing weighed in at only 392 pounds, and with an aluminum flywheel and McLeod "Soft Lok" clutch, and McLeod steel scattershield came in at 471 pounds. If I wasn`t such a big FE fan, and was a bit more practical, I would have built another 302 based engine for this car!
This is the scale I have. It has a maximum capacity of 660 pounds, so it's pretty handy for weighing most car engines.
I do have Ford document with weights for every part of an FE engine if that would help. I do think that Y-blocks and FE are about the same stock. You can look at the shipping weights for a 6 cylinder and an 8 cylinder '57 and this should give you a good basis for comparison. The post on the stock 6 on the scale is very much in agreement with the website page I posted. I figure generator, starter, flywheel, bellhousing, clutch, and transmission is good for 200 lbs. or so. I do agree that the 460 is a much heavier engine than an FE, so that does make the chart a little suspect.
You could always build a 462 Windsor! Love my FE..."FEAR THE DINOSAUR" (An FE T shirt).
If I remember correctly there is only a 25lb difference between Y and FE. That was calculated with no accessories on either.