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Ford small block engine
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<p>The Ford small-block is a series of 90° <a href="/facts/Overhead_valve/zd4v8vWf">overhead valve</a> <a href="/facts/Engine_block/TJ8qN3UJ">small-block</a> <a href="/facts/V8/W7Q5Uw29">V8</a> automobile engines manufactured by the <a href="/facts/Ford_Motor_Company/lY6Wcwty">Ford Motor Company</a> from July 1961 to December 2000. </p><p>Designed as a successor to the <a href="/facts/Ford_Y-block_engine/WSaeyA92">Ford Y-block engine</a>, it was first installed in the 1962 model year <a href="/facts/Ford_Fairlane_(Americas)/MyRmcngH">Ford Fairlane</a> and <a href="/facts/Mercury_Meteor/rzdml97F">Mercury Meteor</a>. Originally produced with a displacement of 221 cu in (3.6 L), it eventually increased to 351 cu in (5.8 L) with a taller deck height, but was most commonly sold (from 1968–2000) with a displacement of 302 cubic inches (later marketed as the 5.0 L). </p><p>The small-block was installed in several of Ford's product lines, including the <a href="/facts/Ford_Mustang/Jmt5Xflt">Ford Mustang</a>, <a href="/facts/Mercury_Cougar/D291gxe4">Mercury Cougar</a>, <a href="/facts/Ford_Torino/8rcYocde">Ford Torino</a>, <a href="/facts/Ford_Granada_(North_America)/1ELXEG8u">Ford Granada</a>, <a href="/facts/Mercury_Monarch/4rEG4sw4">Mercury Monarch</a>, <a href="/facts/Ford_LTD_(Americas)/BsY48gPg">Ford LTD</a>, <a href="/facts/Mercury_Marquis/TLbqso8C">Mercury Marquis</a>, <a href="/facts/Ford_Maverick_(1970%25E2%2580%25931977)/zFv167bl">Ford Maverick</a>, and <a href="/facts/Ford_F-150/E3JUcB9B">Ford F-150</a> truck. </p><p>For the 1991 model year, Ford began phasing in the <a href="/facts/Ford_Modular_engine/RHzNhMXM">Modular V8 engine</a> to replace the small-block, beginning in late 1990 with the <a href="/facts/Lincoln_Town_Car/AsjAfGK0">Lincoln Town Car</a> and continuing through the decade. The 2001 <a href="/facts/Ford_Explorer/ULMlxmVn">Ford Explorer</a> SUV was the last North American installation of the engine, and <a href="/facts/Ford_Australia/5KAqTyQW">Ford Australia</a> used it through 2002 in the <a href="/facts/Ford_Falcon_(Australia)/6Bm2qlsf">Falcon</a> and <a href="/facts/Ford_Fairlane_(Australia)/CM3UBC0g">Fairlane</a>. </p><p>Although sometimes called the "Windsor" by enthusiasts, Ford never used that designation for the engine line as a whole; it was only adopted well into its run to distinguish the 351 cu in (5.8 L) version from the 351 cu in (5.8 L) "<a href="/facts/Ford_335_engine/tSrdNNan">Cleveland</a>" version of the <a href="/facts/Ford_335_engine/tSrdNNan">335-family engine</a> that had the same displacement but a significantly different configuration, and only ever used to refer to that specific engine in service materials. The designations for each were derived from the original locations of manufacture: Windsor, Ontario and Cleveland, Ohio. </p><p>As of June 2025, versions of the small-block remain available for purchase from Ford Performance Parts as crate engines. </p>