This is a 331 cubic inch V8 crate engine built by the Carroll Shelby Engine Company, it’s based on 289 Ford V8 architecture and it’s capable of a dyno-proven 460 bhp.
These engines are each built by hand using top shelf components throughout, and each engine is dyno-tested before it’s delivered to the customer to ensure it meets or exceeds its power target.
This is a 331 cubic inch V8 crate engine built by the Carroll Shelby Engine Company, it’s based on 289 Ford V8 architecture and it’s capable of 460 bhp.
History Speedrun: The Carroll Shelby Engine Company
The Carroll Shelby Engine Company started out as a relatively small operation created and owned by Carroll Shelby himself, to supply Ford V8 performance engines both for his own vehicles, and as crate engines.
The company was based in Gardena, California during the late 2000s, it functioned as a Carroll Shelby-owned engine building operation that was separate from the vehicle-building Shelby American brand, concentrating solely on engine building, tuning, and certified rebuild work rather than complete vehicles.
Shelby initially served as president, with longtime collaborator Don McCain as vice president, and the shop accepted customer-owned Windsor, 351C, and FE engines for overhauls, short-block and long-block builds, and dyno tuning. Each overhauled or rebuilt engine received a “Rebuilt by Carroll Shelby Engine Company” tag, and every dyno test produced a certification sheet signed by Carroll Shelby up until his passing in 2012.
Alongside its engine servicing work, the company produces a line of all-aluminum 351 Windsor and FE big-block V8 engines. These blocks were cast from A356-T6 aluminium, CNC-machined, and designed to accept standard Ford bolt-on accessories.
The crate engine you see here is a 289 Ford V8 that has had its displacement increased to 331 cubic inches (5.4 liters). It now produces a dyno-tested 460 bhp at 6,400 rpm and 420 lb ft of torque at 4,500 rpm.
The 351W could be built to 427 cubic inches, while the FE range was available in configurations up to 482 cubic inches with period-correct casting numbers, medium-riser heads, and a cast-steel crank. Complete FE engines were sold with a Shelby high-rise intake and a Holley carburetor.
Shelby Engines now operates out of Windsor, California, selling aluminum blocks and crate engines in FE, Windsor, and 289 configurations, and they’ve become one of the most highly-respected engine building outfits on the West Coast.
The Carroll Shelby Engine Company 331 V8 Crate Engine Shown Here
The crate engine you see here is a 289 Ford V8 that has had its displacement increased to 331 cubic inches (5.4 liters). It now produces a dyno-tested 460 bhp at 6,400 rpm and 420 lb ft of torque at 4,500 rpm.
The engine was built around an aluminum 289 block that was bored out to 4.030″ and then fitted with a forged steel stroker crankshaft for the displacement boost. Inside you’ll find a SCAT 4340 forged-steel stroker crankshaft, SCAT H-beam connecting rods, Mahle PowerPak aluminum 4032 pistons, and a custom-ground hydraulic roller camshaft.
The engine was built around an aluminum 289 block that was bored out to 4.030″ and then fitted with a forged steel stroker crankshaft for the displacement boost. Inside you’ll find a SCAT 4340 forged-steel stroker crankshaft, SCAT H-beam connecting rods, Mahle PowerPak aluminum 4032 pistons, and a custom-ground hydraulic roller camshaft.
It also has aluminum roller rockers, an alloy intake manifold, a Holley four-barrel carburetor, an MSD Pro-Billet distributor, and an eight-quart front-sump Moroso Performance Products oil pan. It’s never been fitted to a car, and has only been run on the dyno for testing purposes.
It’s now being offered for sale out of Windsor, California on Bring a Trailer, and you can visit the listing here if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
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Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
