no passing power
Thread Starter
|
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 108
Likes: 0
no passing power
i have a 76 high boy with a 74 390 in it. on the highway it revs 3000rpm at 60mph when it comes to hills or excelerating to pass it seem slike it wont go. Its a stock 2 barrel i need more power around 3000 but still need to keep low end torque. Any suggestons for boltons? Ive also heard fe's are likely to blow if ran alot above 4000 rpm. is this true and where is a good redline for a 390? I also do quite a bit of mud running so i need to spin those tires clean.
Elder User
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 925
Likes: 0
From: Quaker Hill ,CT U.S.A.
no passing power
No fe's wont (usually) blow at 4000 rpm ..I think a good 4bbl and intake with a set of headers and a good duel exhaust , will help you out alot but with that there is a pretty big drop in fuel econome . Maybe a cam might help but that isn't my cup of tea so maybe one of the more knowlegable people can help you out with that ..I think it also depends on how much money you have to spend on the truck
Jon
Jon
Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 6,175
Likes: 21
From: Texas
no passing power
A good 4V intake and carb setup and dual 2.5" exhaust would be good. A cam will make those work even better. See the popular Crane 343901 or 343941 cam to keep torque and open it up at the higher RPMs.
FEs came in many trucks with 4.10 gears and higher. These run 3500+ RPM all day on the highway and were designed to do so. I think the stock valve train is easily good for 5000RPM (actually, more like 6000, mine is). You just need the carb,intake, cam and exhaust to let it breathe.
FEs came in many trucks with 4.10 gears and higher. These run 3500+ RPM all day on the highway and were designed to do so. I think the stock valve train is easily good for 5000RPM (actually, more like 6000, mine is). You just need the carb,intake, cam and exhaust to let it breathe.
Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 6,624
Likes: 8
From: Missouri
no passing power
Blow at 4,000rpm? I better stop pulling through the traps at 6,200 then with my stock rods. 
First off I would do a good tune up and recheck the timing. A bone stock 390 should pull fairly hard up to 4,000rpm. That is unless your idea of pulling hard is like mine. The 901 cam would be great for opening it up a little. Headers are also a nice addition. No reason to dump the 2bbl but the edelbrock performer intake will breath a little better on the top end with the 4bbl and won't loose any bottom end. If you change the cam you will want a newer timing set as the original one is retarded about 8 degrees and will not work too well with the new cam. Headers and a better cam will give you a real good boost in performance though.
First off I would do a good tune up and recheck the timing. A bone stock 390 should pull fairly hard up to 4,000rpm. That is unless your idea of pulling hard is like mine. The 901 cam would be great for opening it up a little. Headers are also a nice addition. No reason to dump the 2bbl but the edelbrock performer intake will breath a little better on the top end with the 4bbl and won't loose any bottom end. If you change the cam you will want a newer timing set as the original one is retarded about 8 degrees and will not work too well with the new cam. Headers and a better cam will give you a real good boost in performance though.
Posting Guru
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 1,188
Likes: 0
From: yes
no passing power
I think any reputation that the FE has for blowing is from people who were running the engine hard while low on oil and hadn't restricted oil to the heads, these are simple fixes run 6 quarts of oil in the oil pan and restrict oil to the rocker arms which is a less than $20 fix
Elder User
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 925
Likes: 0
From: Quaker Hill ,CT U.S.A.
no passing power
You wont belive this but my dad told me a story of my uncle driving a full size ford with a 390 from New London to providence R.I. with almost no oil in it
So they beat on it all the way up and then decided ( after the engine got really loud , knocking) that they should stop and put some oil in it .
The point is they WERE TRYING to blow the engine up ! ..At any rate this engine was stock with nothing done to the oiling system ..So they put oil 4 quarts of oil in it and let it cool off ( it was running alittle hot ) It started right back up at they drove it home from R.I. , tough engine , can't beat those FE's My old man grew up when the 390,GT, 428,CJ,SCJ was in alot of cars and drove his cousins 'stangs again these were stock engines without the oiling mods and hey they would see 7000 rpm on a nightly basis .
Jon
So they beat on it all the way up and then decided ( after the engine got really loud , knocking) that they should stop and put some oil in it .
The point is they WERE TRYING to blow the engine up ! ..At any rate this engine was stock with nothing done to the oiling system ..So they put oil 4 quarts of oil in it and let it cool off ( it was running alittle hot ) It started right back up at they drove it home from R.I. , tough engine , can't beat those FE's My old man grew up when the 390,GT, 428,CJ,SCJ was in alot of cars and drove his cousins 'stangs again these were stock engines without the oiling mods and hey they would see 7000 rpm on a nightly basis . Jon
Trending Topics
Thread Starter
|
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 108
Likes: 0
no passing power
well if i put a cam in i'd like to have a little lope will these cams give me some. i am also running open exaust could this cause backpressure issue to lower power?
when i update my cam do i need to put new valve springs? i really dont want to pull the heads.
when i update my cam do i need to put new valve springs? i really dont want to pull the heads.
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
AEV FXL Super Duty - the Super Duty Raptor Ford Doesn't Make
Brett Foote
Lobo Vs Lobo: Proof the F-150 Lobo Should Be Even Lower!
Michael S. Palmer
Ford's 2001 Explorer Sportsman Concept Looks For a New Home
Verdad Gallardo
10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!
Joe Kucinski
2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road: Better Than a Raptor R?
Brett Foote
2027 Super Duty Carhartt Package First Look: 12 Things You NEED to Know!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Most Surprising 2026 Ford Truck Features!
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Ford Trucks Coming to Mecum Indy 2026
Brett Foote