No matter how many times I read the history of the FE series (which you'll note the first link you posted said stood for "Ford Engine". and the second said "Ford/Edsel", which I agree with the latter) I always enjoy it because "I was there" as a kid in my Grandfather's small town Ford dealership.
I got a ride in a 1958 Ford with a 352 one night on the way back from a Cub Scout meeting that I'll never forget. The driver was a big burly guy and he intended to give the scouts something to remember, and yikes, he did. That car would fly (and it scared the heck out of the kids!)
Then my Dad got a 1959 Ford with a 352 Thunderbird engine in it, and THAT would fly. Those cars were heavy, and the motors just had lots of torque. When they would kick down to pass at speed, anyone standing in the back seat would be tossed back into the seat.
As I got older and the bigger motors came out, I started learning more about them and that's where I really caught my love for cars. I recall seeing my first 427 crossed flag badge on the lower front fender of the beautiful 1964 Galaxie. 1964 was the first full year of production for the 427. There was an identical car in town with a hi-po 390 and he held the record speed from a certain point to the top of the longest hill in the area where the water tower was located. Ond day the 427 powered car ran beside him and that's the sort of things legends were made of back in the 1960s. Yes, the 427 powered car finished well ahead, ha ha. Both cars were aqua convertibles too, what a fantastic sight!
I remember standing in front of the dealership looking at a badge on the front fender, asking the regional sales rep what "Seven Litre" meant. Wonder where that car is now, because they're worth a bundle of cash these days.
Ford (and everyone else) was understating the true power of the performance cars back then, as were others. Some of the dual carb setups they were turning loose on the public roads back then were surely putting out considerably more power than the marketing brochure would indicate.
It's fun to remember that first Chevy 409 I used to see rumbling around Washington Street, in shady little Conneautville, PA. All the kids were talking about it. It looked and sounded sinister, and once in a while we could all hear it really howl.
When the 427 was introduced in 1963-1/2, the 409 sales took a 3-year slide into oblivian and Ford literally wiped the tracks clean at NASCAR. The plank head 409 simply wouldn't do the job at high rpm, and Chevrolet didn't have much luck. The numbers I love to quote are 101 wins for Ford in 1963-64-65 and 9 for Chevrolet during this same time frame.
Chevrolet simply didn't have a motor that would compete during this time frame. It caused them (GM) to develope their porcupine head, "mystery motor" which was essentially the precedessor to the 396, and it was fast, blew up, and lacked the long development curve of the 427 Ford.
Here is a glimpse into a few of the 101 wins Ford posted during those three totally dominant years with the Ford 427
http://www.allamericanracers.com/mt500.html
Chrysler had some GREAT wedge head motors during the era, the 413 and 426B. Their hemi is more of a legend than it was an actual observation on the street. They didn't make good street cars. They were heavy, made gobs of power, and won a lot of races. When CryCo finally got the hemi into production, Ford answered with variations of the 427, including the tunnelport. The hemi had the power advantage, but the 427 would run to the end of the race. Then Ford developed their own 429 BOSS semi-hemi which was every bit the match of the best Chrysler could put on the tracks. Those cars essentially ran side by side. In the end of the Superbird and Talladega NASCAR winged car battles with the big blocks, Chrysler and Ford were essentially even, with Ford tweaked by with more than 50% of the overall wins. Many of those wins were with the 427, because it was fast, and rugged enough to last to the end of the race.
http://www.fordfairlane.com/nascarpics.html
When Richard Petty drove for Ford in 1969 he beat the best cars Chrysler could put on the track, ha! What does that tell you?? (Petty was a good driver, Ford had a good motor).
The great thing about the era, was the fact that it was so rich in development all across the spectrum. Oldsmobile had some fantastic motors, Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac, and Chrysler all had their own internal performance engineering divisions. American Motors even had some pretty cool smaller motors (they had their own 390), and of course Studebaker had some too.
When you get into the small block motors, the Mustangs, Javalins, Camaros, Fairlanes, Novas, etc all come into play. What a great time in automotive history, and Chris Craft history too. Chris Craft happened to select one heck of a choice for their flagship, and we are still the beneficiary of that good decision. I never owned a 427 powered car (yet) but I'm sure pleased with the marine version!
Regards, Paul