my first time on the chat. i have a vintage bluebird motorhome with a 391 FORD hooked to an allison 6 speed auto. i want to get MORE power so i need specs on the 390, i have on the 391. has anybody put any kind of fuel injection on a 390/391. i hope to turbo it and it would be easier with injection.

any info would be appreciated
herb gunn

 

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390 & 391 are like dog & cat. One is an industrial truck engine (hence the motorhome application) one is a auto engine. I'm sure the rest of the gang will be by shortly, but It'll take quite a bit of work for you to get where you want to go with that project of yours.
Good luck,
b62

 

The 391 is an FT engine, the 390 is an FE engine.

The bellhousing is the same, but you would need a 390 flywheel, and possibly a different clutch (most likely). And 390 exhaust manifolds or headers.

Problem is, the engine mounts are probably on the front of the engine, using the timing cover, and nothing like that exists for the FE. What series truck did they use for the base? You could use the 391 timing cover with the 391 crankshaft, keep the 391 flywheel, possibly update the pistons to a higher compression, and use 390 heads, intake, etc. Even with the stock 391 block, you could probably bolt on 390 heads and intake and be done with it - however, I have no idea what the compression would be (what are the chamber sizes for FT heads vs FE heads like D2TE/C8AE ???).

Were you planning on unbolting the 391 and bolting in a 390 from somewhere?

 

The 391's have a forged steel crank which is nice compared to the 390's nodular iron. Just keep in mind as mentioned the crank snout/ timing cover as the 391 crank has a larger OD snout and timing cover seal than the std FE cranks. Also the 391 FT heads use a smaller ex valve and stem and the heads have large chambers 80-81cc's. The heat crossover on the heads and intake are in the center vs the rear on the std FE heads and intake. The 391's use a HD block casting and have been found to be the same as the 428 CJ in some cases. The "428" identifiers can be found inside some of the 391 blocks depending on the year.

G.

 

when did they put a 6 speed behind them? what year is it?

 

AN FT motor might be a good candidate for force induction. It's tough as a brick chithouse and it already has low compression. As said above, maybe step up to some good flowing FE heads and intake. A blower is probably easier as Turbos seem to be completely custom setups for FEs with little or no aftermarket support.

 

TopHerb, tell us more about this bluebird motorhome......what year is it, and is it a bus chassis ? Are you certain it is a 391 and not a 361 ? do you need more low speed power or more topend power ? There are lots of FE parts that will fit, or can be made to fit, and will help with power. Are you looking to turbo/inject because you want to do that, or are you just looking for more power and don't care how you get it ? That Allison 6 speeder sounds fun. Tell us more please ! DF, @ work on the boss' computer at lunchtime