Ford FE Race & Reunion Was A Show and Go Trip Back In Time

When it comes to classic Show & Go car events, the Ford FE Race & Reunion at Muncie Dragway this past April is a winner. This was a celebration of everything FE. It included high-quality street and race cars, awards, a swap meet, car show, and a “beverage and brats” night at the track.

The 1968 Ford XL with hidden headlamps and a fastback roofline was one of the best looking Blue Ovals of the 1960s — and the perfect place for an FE big-block. (Photo by Evan J. Smith)

Muncie Dragway provided the perfect setting for those screaming 390, 427 and 428 Fords. It has an old-school vibe, but with excellent traction and a friendly staff. As an added bonus, the FE Race & Reunion staff made a donation to Camp Light for $20,000. Camp Light is a summer day camp program for kids with special needs and at-risk youths. (Learn more at creativeworksfarm.org)

In addition to the restored cars were a few survivors, like this ’69 Mustang Mach 1, complete with 428 CJ and Shaker hood.

The show was filled with an array of Ford and Mercury muscle. Two examples were the Galaxie at right and the black Marauder, which had a magnificent 427 Cammer under the hood. The SOHC 427 never saw installation in a production car, but has been used by racers and street enthusiasts for years. (Photos by Evan J. Smith)

In addition to the Cobra Jet Torinos, Thunderbolts and original ’66-67 Fairlanes, there were Starliners, Galaxies and Mercurys of all shapes and sizes. There were Mustangs, hot rods, plus FE-swapped gassers, street machines and more.

The show included interesting finds, like this 1960 moonshine runner Ford owned by Tony McConnell. (Photos Evan J. Smith)

Show Cars, Race Cars … And More

In addition to the cars, a highlight of the FE Race and Reunion was meeting true icons of the Ford racing world. Jim Van Cleve and Robert Pond made the tow from the west coast with amazing Fairlanes, Ray Paquet was on hand with his NHRA Super Stock Thunderbolt, the Johnsons of Alabama tore it up with the ex-Van Cleve Super Stock 427 Fairlane, Dan Parson Jr.’s won with his 427 Comet, Kurt Neighbor brought out two of his Cammers and that was just a small portion of the winning Ford drivers in Muncie.
And we spotted no less than 12 427 “Cammers” — all running on track or in the show.

One of the most coveted FE Fords of all is the 1966 427 Fairlane (left). These R-code muscle cars packed a 425-horsepower punch and won many races on the street and strip. If you like them modified, how about Russell Gerhardt’s red forced-induction, drag-and-drive Fairlane capable of 9s in the quarter-mile? (Photos by Evan J. Smith)

FE Race & Reunion Car Show

Speaking of the show, it was a lineup like we’ve never seen. How about a real, unmolested 1966 427 Fairlane (one of 57 produced), a host of big Fords with 352, 390 and 406 power, a legit moonshine runner from an era gone-by and a Mercury T-750 medium-duty truck.

Being based around a single engine type, the FE Race & Reunion allowed for any-and-all FE-powered vehicles. There was also an all-Ford test and tune on Friday, which was unfortunately rained out, but the exciting eliminations and car show Saturday made up for track time lost.

(Photos by Evan J. Smith)

What Does It All Mean?

If you’re light on Ford engine history, the FE, which most agree stands for “Ford-Edsel” was produced between 1958 and 1976. It evolved from the small 330-cubic-inch displacement V8 into maximum factory displacement of 428. There were approximately 14 variations of displacement, plus performance variants. These included the 390, 406, 410, 427 and 428 Cobra Jet.

(Photos by Evan J. Smith)

The FE has a rich history in drag racing and endurance road racing, having powered the Ford GT-40 to wins at Le Mans and the legend continues with awesome events like this one.