my first fe-your first fe

[fryedaddy]

after giving it a little more thought,my dad had 13 56 fords back in the early 70s. they used one of them in the making of the movie coal miners daughter. they gave my dad 150 a day to borrow it.he gave me one that was two tone pink and white with a black diamond pleated int.it had a 352 3 speed in the floor.i had the holley 4 barrel rebuilt,put it back on,and when i tried to crank it it backfired so big that it blew the valvecovers loose,blew the oil cap and dipstick through the tree tops.that was my first fe experience

[Drew Pojedinec]

I thought FE stood for Farm Equipment until just a few years ago.

[Barry_R]

Barry was that the car at the reunion this year ?

No - the original one is long gone.

The notchback I brought to the reunion is a newer car - purchased it in 1981.

It is a rare original 6 cylinder automatic, white with a red interior.
Found it sitting on cinder blocks in back of a mobile home.
Paid $250 for it, in Jane Lew, West Virginia.
I should restore it someday...anybody know where I can find a proper date coded 250?

[KMcCullah]

Cool thread! I've enjoyed reading the stories. Here's mine...

I was fixin to start Jr high in 1981. I had spent the summer mowing yards and doing other odd jobs. I managed to save $200. Damn I thought I had reached the point of independent wealth. Lol Anyhow, mom sent me to Virgil's for a hair cut. Virgil was this cool old Barber that ran the same shop for 50+ years! He had a slick 1963 Galaxie that I had been secretly lusting over for a while. I remember my dad commenting about it too. It was a black 4dr box top with red interior. 352 with a COM. It had always sat behind Virgil's shop. Never moved. But the day I went for a haircut it had been moved around front and had a for sale sign in the window. Inquire within it said. Well, Virgil wasn't really wanting to sell the car. He was just hoping for a few guys to stop in so he could talk them into a quick haircut. He was quite the salesman. When I told him I REALLY wanted that Gal he said it had a miss to it. He couldn't figure it out and didn't feel right selling it as is. But after much teenage negotiating, it was mine. $200 and weekly lawn mows until winter was the deal. Lol After a fast buzz cut, I threw my Schwinn in the trunk and with instructions to drive home SLOWLY, I made the 5 miles home. I'm pretty sure flames shot out of my mom's eyes when I got home. Lol But dad smoothed everything over. I think he liked the car more than I did. We ended up pulling the worn 352 and found one of the cylinders had a big groove worn in it. A snap ring had came out letting the wrist pin drag a groove into the cylinder wall. The car never moved under its own power again.  I used the C1AE-6090-A heads from this 352 on the 416 I built last year for my Highboy. I sold the car in high school to help finance a 1975 Ranchero. Wish I still had that Galaxie. We all seem have that "one that got away".

[blykins]

Barry was that the car at the reunion this year ?

No - the original one is long gone.

The notchback I brought to the reunion is a newer car - purchased it in 1981.

It is a rare original 6 cylinder automatic, white with a red interior.
Found it sitting on cinder blocks in back of a mobile home.
Paid $250 for it, in Jane Lew, West Virginia.
I should restore it someday...anybody know where I can find a proper date coded 250?

What year?

[shady]

In '72 a'60 Ford country sedan wagon. 352 2 bbl. Second was a '64 Gal xl 390 4 speed blue on blue bought in '73. Third in '75 was a '71 Elcamino. What was I thinking, and I still have it, sheesh. Was kind of if you cant beat em, join em moment. 4th was back to another "64 gal xl with a 390 auto. Still have that one too. Then came a shower of Comets, Falcons, Mustangs, & Chevys with a Poncho thrown in just for diversity (loved that one too). Never a Mopar or AMC, but I did want a Rebel Machine badly at one time. Cars I wish I would have kept? My '73 yellow with white interior Mach1, '65 Comet convert with a Boss 302 4 gear, a cherry all original '64 Caliente 2 door ht. 260, '90 5.0 LX not much else.

[e philpott]

1979 for me , traded a "over heated " ( never run without fan belt on a air cooled engine )VW Beetle for a 65 T Bird 390 , the guy wanted the Beetle for a Baja Bug conversion  , the Bird needed a water pump gasket so we traded even , He had over sized jugs on the VEE WEE before I could get a water pump gasket on the Bird , lol

[FElony]

Barry was that the car at the reunion this year ?

No - the original one is long gone.

The notchback I brought to the reunion is a newer car - purchased it in 1981.

It is a rare original 6 cylinder automatic, white with a red interior.
Found it sitting on cinder blocks in back of a mobile home.
Paid $250 for it, in Jane Lew, West Virginia.
I should restore it someday...anybody know where I can find a proper date coded 250?

What year?

No 250 in 1968, so I'm guessing 1969. Like this one:  https://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/pts/d/ford-inline-250-straight-six/6239841388.html

[chilly460]

'76 F250 4x4 I bought when I graduated college in 1998, had Edelbrock headed 390 in it that's now in my '63 Merc. 

[Joe-JDC]

First exposure was 60 Thunderbird with 352 HP my uncle bought, first driven was new '64 Galaxie 500 HT 4 speed,  '66 Fairlane GT 390 driven in college, and while in college tried to buy new 7 Litre Galaxie 4 speed, but had to settle for new '66 Mustang 289,  and first bought new: '69 Fairlane Cobra HT with 4 speed then my '70 Shelby GT-500 I bought new, which I still own .  Joe-JDC

[MeanMofakee]

First FE was a 66 Galaxy 2-door, 390 4 barrel 4 speed with factory bench seat. Loved it. Didn't know what it had for goodies but had pretty good steam for a 16 year old kid. A couple of clutches and a few rear ends, finally blew the motor. I remember changing third members in it, just get another one from the junkyard not concerned about gears, just wanted something tall because 130+ was what I wanted. Jack the car up high enough to put a couple 55 gal drums under it. About 3/4 of the way there the rear quarters would buckle and make a hell of a sound. Knew I was almost high enough. Get it back together, start letting down, kerplunk the quarters would pop back out no damage like nothing happened. The life of a dumb assed kid!
For some of the honorable mentions, 67 Galaxy 289 3 speed, 70 Challenger slant six, 67 Chevy II 327 3 speed, 69 Gran Prix SJ 400 ci (probably best cruising car out of the bunch), 71 Thunderbird 2-door 429, another high speed roller. Makes a grown man kind of sick knowing now what he didn't know then! If it burnt rubber and went really fast, what else was there. Of the first 15 or so cars I had I think I only sold 2. The rest ended up in the boneyard. Last 2 I owned before my 14 F-150, 350,000 mile Maxima(sold it) and my 99 Explorer 280,000 miles(still own it). My how things have changed!

[mike7570]

Took my drivers test when I was 16 in my parents '64 Galaxy 390 country squire wagon. Bought my first car on graduation day from high school 1974, a '67 Mustang 390GT fastback deluxe interior.
Like Scott cruised Van Nuys and Whittier in SoCal many Friday and Saturday nights.

[ToddK]

My first FE ownership was a rusty 1961 Mercury Monterey powered by the Marauder 390. Up till that point, I had driven only small blocks and Clevelands. I was hooked on the torque from the standard engine, plus the knowledge that the FE was THE Ford performance engine of the '60s.

[Royce]

1969 I inherited a 63 Gal 4dr from mom and Dad. .Champagne with red interior. Had a bad 352 in it and my brother and I did an engine transplant with almost no tools. Outside on the grass by the machine shed.. Took us all summer...Then my brother hit a bridge with it...LOL   I have had many since then

[Richard F]

1969 Cobra Torino (Fairlane on the NC title).  Bone stock.  I was hooked.....