Hello all! New user here so correct me if I've posted in wrong thread. But here goes:

Bought a 72 Ford F100 Custom and it had a 360 Fe engine in it. It wasn't factory and not sure what it came out of. Anyways, I had it completely rebuilt from top to bottom.
*HV oil pump
*all new rings and bearings
*crank looked fine so didn't turn it
*Heads have all new parts
*I had the guy swap from a 2bl to a 4bl 600 holley and a 4bl intake off a galaxie I think.
*HEI distributor
*A comp cam with .515 lift was put in
*Headman long tube headers

I was told not much can be done to these engines but a fresh rebuild, bigger cam, 4bl swap and intake, and headers so that's what I done. Like most Fe's it shoots up to 70-80 psi upon start up, but once it warms it it idles with very low pressure 20-25. Press the gas and idles right back up to 65-70. Now for the issue. The truck has no power. Plug wires are in the right firing order. Starts and idles fine with zero noises. Drive down the road and you have to put gas pedal to the floor in order to build up speed. Doesn't throw you back in seat, per say, or nothing. I know these aren't power houses but something is up. I've read in different places that I may need to swap to an aluminum intake.

 

what's timing set at ? Vacuum advance hooked up and working ?

 

That is normal for a HV pump with the standard pressure spring.

In regards to power, I'd check the little things:
-Have someone step on the gas pedal and verify that the carburetor butterflies open all the way
-Dial in the timing
-make sure carburetor settings are perfect
-Make sure transmission is kicking down when you go WOT, if a lower hp engine is in 3rd when you floor it, if it doesn't kick down it'll be pretty doggy.

good luck.
Drew

 

The guy who built it said he got it as close to factory timing as possible. Also the secondary is hooked up.

 

Well, I'll tell ya....any modifications you make to the engine, you can throw "factory specs" out the window. With that cam, or any cam other than stock, you need to bump up the timing. I've found that "bigger" cams need more initial than factory specs. Your builder should have known this. Try going up to 12* - 14* BTDC, maybe more.

Then you'll have to play with the vac advance....I believe the HEI has an adjustable vac can through the nipple. And the HEI cam/weight springs are pretty good the way they are. You can fiddle with a re-curve but the springs on it are good.

Then you'll have to diddle with the carb settings once the timing is set. A vacuum gauge is an indispensable tool, as well as a timing light.

HV oil pump: I would tend to shy away from these - the stock one is probably better and won't cause any distributor gear problems - but that's just me. Also, as long as you have a minimum of 10 psi oil pressure per thousand RPMs, you're fine.

Hopefully, you broke the cam in right, as well as seating the rings the right way.

An aluminum intake is a bit better than stock as well as not being a back breaker trying to install/remove it. With your set up, it shouldn't make that big of a difference in seat-of-the-pants performance.

 

Hehe.... factory ignition timing as noted above isn't helpful here.
14-18 initial 36-40 total is more in the neighborhood with stock heads. This is a "test and see" kinda thing. Also adjusting/replacing the springs on the mechanical advance would be nice. Factory springs often don't allow the timing to come on until 4000rpms which isn't helping you at all. On my last engine it runs best when max advance is all in around 2800rpms.

secondaries being hooked up isn't what I meant in my post. Making sure the carb opens all the way when the throttle is pressed. I've had a few cars into my shop where you mash the throttle and it only opens 3/4 of the way.... instant 50hp upgrade :P

 

And above all else already mentioned, make sure the mechanical advance in the distributor is working - do you have a vacuum advance? And if so, is it adjustable? It might be set too tight.

 

I'm with deep roots and think you should check the drive train kick down and gear ratio if your getting power at the higher rpm then the engine sounds like its doing what it is supposed to when my kick down messes up talk about turtle turtle