With my limited experence of these engines IMO they are reliable and will go 180-200K with proper maintainence. The std. 210 hp engine seems to have decent power to move a 4000+lb Lincoln Towncar and 4 people with luggage and have enough suds to haul us over Echo Summit [7200'] with some power to spare and still average 24+mpg overall. There is a problem with the composite intake manifolds and there was a silent recall on those engines. They will leak coolant from a couple of fitting nipples that crack letting the engine overheat. I believe the comp. manifolds were only used a few years in the mid 90s. Later engines use cast aluminum manifolds so your 2002 should be ok. Other than the width of the engine it would be an ideal swap into the 66 Fairlane. The engine compartment of the Fairlane barely has enough width to contain a FE thats only about 26-27" wide exhaust to exhaust. I'm very familar with the 66-67 Fairlanes as I have 2 of 'em, a 66 and a 67. What was done to the shock towers to allow that engine to fit or was a Mustang II front end installed?