I got the 390 in the 56 F100 fired up for the 1st time, (I never heard it run when I bought the project), its a stock 390, 2 barrell, with C6 and is most likely going to need to be refreshed, with high volume oil pump, need cam. rockers, aluminum manifold, carb, timing chain & gears, Electronic ignition water pump etc. etc. I'm noticing parts are not cheap for this motor and have the chance to pick up a 350 crate motor with a 700r4 trans complete and ready to drop in with AC, PS all pulleys etc. for well under $1000., plus I won't have an expensive header /exhaust issue with the volare front end steering box, I should have much more room to work with. So, would you swap out for the 350 or stay with the 390 and just rebuild it?
Any input would be appreciated.

Don

 

I like the 390's Your truck looks really clean

 

I'm not a Ford only or chevy only guy but I don't like crossbreeding. With that said its hard to beat overdrive and ac for a 1000 bucks but it'd be the same ol 350 in it that you see over and over again.

 

I am currently building a 390 FE stroker for my tbird project. Im convinced that FE stands for "Freaking Expensive."

 

So by the time ya get the 350 and trans home you have close to 1K
in it. How long has it set? Are the seals dried out in either one? Any
hours on the engine and or trans? Cam broke in yet. Then ya are going
to to need engine and trans mounts. Prolly a custom cross member.
So at the least ya will have to do a lite overhaul on the trans to
make sure it will work without pissing it's self to death. When all is said
and done it would be about the same or less to just freshen up the
FE and it's trans. And drop it back in. Just replace the worn parts and gaskets
and fire it back up. Rings, brg's, a timing set and prolly new lifters. but
only if they don't pump up or show wear. I wouldn't pull the cam for new
brgs unless the rod and mains show lots of wear, like the lack of any oil
changes or lots of sludge.

And I also hate cross breeding.

 

Maybe I'm missing something here. From your picture and description, I'm guessing you installed the 390 and got everything all set up to run, and started it up and all is working. I'm not seeing the problem where you would "need" to throw away all that work, time and money away to do something different. You said nothing about bearings knocking, clouds of smoke, etc. A 390 does not "need" a "high volume oil pump, need cam. rockers, aluminum manifold, carb, timing chain & gears, Electronic ignition water pump etc. etc." to run well, especially in a basic driving 56 F-100. What I'm hearing is a confusion between "need" and "want."

Engine swaps are not cheap. Your investment in the Chevy parts will be just the beginning. Either way, by the time you're done, the money will be equivalent. The bigger question will be, do you want to be like every other chump with a Chevy engine in your Ford, or do you want to stand out in the crowd, be unique, and power your Ford with one of the best engines ever designed and built? The FE in stock form is one stout powerplant and will give you all the grins per mile you can stand in a 3200 pound truck. If you "want" to add the goodies you mentioned, it would only get better, but none of those things are mandatory for a good running 390. My 2c.

 

^ x2


I am not knocking anyone for having a 350 but I personally think they hinder value on these trucks. Do they run good? yea, Are they cheap? yea, can you get any performance part or engine swap bracket easily? yea.....

Now with that said, the 390 probably could use XYZ to run its best. If I were you I would look into your wants/needs for the truck.

Do a compression test on the 390, see how the heads are and if the rings leak. Does it burn oil? Does it have good oil pressure? It probably leaks but thats an easy fix.

If the bottom end is solid, you can pick up gaskets for about $250 (good gasket set)
Intake and 4 barrel carb for about 800 (or less if you shop)
Cam/lifters/pushrods for about $350
Few cans of degreaser and some time painting it, then bolt it right back in.
Replace the trans pan gasket, tail shaft seal and clean that up too. You could even go as far as a stall converter if you wanted to start getting crazy (I wouldnt)

As for the ignition system, you can run it, tune it and be just as good as an MSD with ignition box. I know that pretty much every engine has an MSD and 6AL box with a big coil on it, most of this is because people blur the lines of what needs to be replaced and what "needs" to be modded.

Either route you go, do what works best for you. If you choose the 350, you still are going to go thru all of the above AND have to fabricate mounts for the engine and trans

 

I happen to like the FE series engines. 332, 352, 390, 406, 428 and the venerable 427 side oiler. All parts are interchangeable. Some are better than others. For example, check the junk yards for "66, '67, '68 4barrel heads and manifold, (66 is the best). They came in just about everything Ford build in those years. The rated 335 hp, for those engines, was just a little bit shy of the truth. If you really want to see what it will do, spend some extra money and find that 427. Even bigger valves and a mid rise manifold were stock and it's a bolt on. No, it's not cheap, but neither are custom parts that might accomplish similar results. With stock internals you'll see something close to a very real, very reliable and very Ford 400hp.
Why not, you have it out, the truck isn't going anywhere. and you'll be able to proudly state, "I built that".
As for the Chevy, I have to agree with most others. If you do the transplant and do it right, you'll probably see something close to $3200 by the time you're done.

 

I think if you just want the cheapest way to get your truck back on the road, you might be better to go with the Chevy motor if your 390 is tired and you know for a fact that the Chevy motor is a good running engine, and it is hard to knock back the price. If you are not sure how good the Chevy motor is, I would be sticking with the Ford engine, personally. A 390 is a nice torquey thing, should be fine with a freshen up.
What I'd like to see is a close up of that poster on your wall!
Wow! Hot Mumma!

 

I like your wall posters!

Oh yeah as far as the engine if the 390 is not knocking I would just dingle hone the cylinders and do a rering on it with fresh bearings and add whatever upgrades you want.
That said the chevy setup sounds like a good deal, if it is a ready to run setup it will be cheaper, but you will need to make engine and trans mounts, exhaust mods, maybe a new radiator, etc.
Myself I would go with the chevy just to get the overdrive and for sure better gas mileage with the smaller engine. Especially if you already have a low geared rear axle.
I dont think the chevy engine matters much to value for those looking to buy a ready to drive truck, the truck doesnt know what is under the hood. For every person that turns their nose up at it there is another who will be fine with it. Build it for you and not the future owner.

 

The 390 would increase the cool factor but you will pay extra for it. If money is an issue I'd go with the 350.

 

Go with the 350, and keep your hood closed at car shows. Or Rebuild the 390, and get respect from all of your peers! Sorry, just way too many classics around here with 350's. But I understand where you're coming from. You just want to drive the beast. 350's are a good solid engine. But any used engine is just that, a used engine. You have no idea what you're getting until you either go through the trouble of installing it and running it. Or tear it down and visually inspect it/mic it. My opinion, stay with the 390. You'll thank yourself in the end!

 

So after thinking about this last night I called the guy I bought the project from and asked him about the 390 & C6 that I have, he told me the motor runs great (at least it did in the previous vehicle it was in) and that the C6 was rebuilt a couple years ago and shifts fine. With that said, seeing as I already have the motor mounts, and trans cross member and really don't care about gas mileage etc. I think I'm going to freshen up the 390, I'm not a fan of cross breeding either to be honest. I can put the money I was going to spend on the 350 and have a nice looking 390 that runs good. Thanks for the input guys, thats what I needed to hear! I'm not in a big rush anyways, I just picked up a 1976 Cadillac Coupe Deville that I planned on doing something cool with, original AZ car, 1 92 yr old owner, all original Firemist Gold paint, tan cloth interior with 90k original miles. I was thinking lowrider, bagged, 22's custom candy & flake paint, but the car is so nice I can't bring myself to mess with it. It has a couple oil leaks and the AC needs to be converted and a couple dings here and there ( Dent Wizard) but it's really nice! It will have to have dual exhaust though!
Thanks Again

 

I have the 390 & C6/2 brl in my 56 & it is great with plenty of go.

Gas milage is not great, however.

 

I've never bought or built a car caring what anyone else liked, or thought, currently or down the road unless they were paying the bill to do it. I use the parts that are readily available and make the most sense for my purposes, no matter what manufacturer made them or what car they came off of. If Yugo had the best XYZ part for my purposes, my vehicle would have a Yugo XYZ in it! That's what gave birth to hot rodding. I couldn't care less what the tire kickers and lawn chair sitters at a "Park and Sit" think, you aren't likely to see anything I own at a P&S show in the first place.