I guess I am kind of weird, if it is a ford it should have a ford engine. Anything wrong with a ford engine? I have had more issues with the 350 then I had with a 351W I had in a 54 I used to own. I don't remember seeing anything on someone using a 390. Is there a reason they are not used?

 

Nothing inherently wrong with Ford engines! Most of the OHV engines are based on the Y block design, which results in a deeper heavier engine for it's displacement. The shaft mounted rocker arms require perpendicular mounted valves, that limits the port position, shape, and size, and consequently the flow rates of the heads and the compression chamber shape. The Cleveland and Windsor engines use more modern thin wall castings and the pedestal rockers allow canted valves, with it's improved ports and combustion chambers.

IMHO you don't see many 390s used because you can get much more power out of the smaller lighter newer 351 with much less expense. The long rod length of the 390 makes it a low RPM high torque engine best used for pulling stumps.

YMMV.

 

Questions for the dark siders. My 350 has a Holley carb and I think it needs rebuilt. Where to I find the model number so I can buy the right kit. I had an issue where my truck would not start. If you tapped on the distributer cap it would then start. It has not done it in a while knock on wood. If there is an issue with the ignition coil in the distributer can that cause the engine to get poor gas mileage? I have never rebuilt a Holley, I always worked with the old quadrajets. Are Holleys diffecult? Should I switch it out for an Edlebrock?

 

I'd suggest replacing the wire from the coil to the distributor. They often get damaged or broken from vibration right where it enters the distributor housing.
From Holley tech support:
Once you have the list # you can use these pages to find the model #, the rebuild kit# and/or any oother part you might need:
http://www.holley.com/data/TechServi...%20Listing.pdf

A holley is no more difficult to rebuild than the QJ, they is plenty of how to info on the internet.

 

I have a HEI distributer, the coil is in the distributer cap is this what you are referring to? AXracer what are you running in your truck? I looked at the model number on my Holley and I don't find either number in the lists on the internet. On the front of the bowl is BD457-2 or ED457-2 best I can see and on top of the bowl is R-7809. Any suggestions?

 

The HEI coils in the caps have contacts that deteriorate due to vibration and moisture. Pull it out and clean the contacts. You can also convert it to a conventional cap with external coil.

 

I have a 390 in my panel, I bought it that way. After the smoke cleared I might have gone with a 350. The 390 does have a lot of torque but it cost WAY more to rebuild, only has 2 trans to fit it without an adapter (C6 or stick), it HEAVY, gets low mpg, it's wide, moody to work on and did I mention it's HEAVY!!.

That said any engine would be good, think nailhead, pontiac 455 or even a cadillac 500 but I digress, the cheapest to build would be a sbc.
If your looking for more mpgs then ditch the holley and go with a qudrajet, as far as the hei clean the contacts, make sure the ground strap is in there, make sure the cap isn't cracked or burned through.

Does the hei problem happen when the truck is warm after driving awhile or cold on first start-up. Sbc are pretty rock solid for reliability.

 

Just clean up the contacts in the HEI Dist. they are generally the really trouble free very hot firing distributor .

 

The starting issue has happened cold start and hot start. I did take it off and cleaned everything. Maybe that is why it has not happened in a while. I still plan to put in all new stuff from one of the high performance companies. I used to be able to fill up and run on a whole tank of gas for a week. Now it needs filled up in a couple of days after the fill up. I know I have a small leak somewhere because I smell gas right after the fill up but have not been able to find it. I put a new sending unit gasket and it is not leaking there anymore.