390 vs. 429/460
Posting Guru
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 2,002
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From: victoria
I run out of moxie before it runs outa ball's !!! I can pull my diesel compresser down the highway with no problem ,spin all four tires in the dirt ..you spend most of your time in cruise mode..hardly ever at full romp for more then a few seconds..a good running 300 horse is better then a crappy running 600 horsepower twitchy motor ,,if you know what I mean...
FE "Freakin Expensive"
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 6,461
Likes: 4
From: Smith Mountain Lake, VA
Some of you have the right idea..and some of you are WTFO ! Horse power sells...TQ is what moves the vehicle..Build for Tq and Hp will follow ! As the owner and X builder of each..and present..I only stayed with the FE 434" 428 for my truck as its period correct and pretty cool to see the wide **** intakes under the hood.. But with that said..I have many a friend..that have stroked 460's or A460 based motors that are BAD to the bone..Granted some have to run on Q16, but some run on pump gas at well over 900hp..and thats not a killer motor..a killer motor on fuel is more like 1200hp..and thats a N/A motor..But getting back to pump swill..you can build a nice DD 460 based with say 600 easy hp and about the same in Tq..for 2/3rds of what it would take an FE to get there..and have a hell of alot better street manners... So to me the point is moot ! Build what ya like.. BTW a 429 is still a 42 year old motor...LOL
FE "Freakin Expensive"
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 6,461
Likes: 4
From: Smith Mountain Lake, VA
Well the choice is yours .... being how its a 4x...I'd be looking for all the Tq you could mustar within street reason.. and someone made the remark a twitchy 600hp built 460...I guess that depend on the cam run..if indeed you have a twicthy 600hp 460 based motor.. But anyway..Its a hell of alot ceaper to get 500 and about the same in Tq out of a little more compression, nice cam...cheap aftermarket intake and headers, than it is taking the 390 or its brothren to a twitchy ..LMAO..running motor...to get a good streetable 500hp and Tq out of it.. Its just common sense ! you can take a standard 460 block out to about a 4.440" bore.. Now i cant do that to my 428 or even the 427..which I do not own..So its simple math..and a 460 with a few right parts will make 500hp standing on its head , and run all day long.. I have Buds running stock 2 bolt blocks on the street in the 500/800hp range..and use them as Daily driver too.. I love my Fe's..But I've never been a priod correct type guy..Just when it came to my truck..and I really had to think twice..
FE "Freakin Expensive"
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 6,461
Likes: 4
From: Smith Mountain Lake, VA
Well yeah you could go that route but at what price ? I for one dont even know of a Fab company that makes Mod motor swap parts for a 78 F150 ? let alone a 4 wheeler..and wiring harness change over..as there all computer controlled..and at that ly little Bro's quad cab HD F150 5.4L supercharged is only 360hp and somewhere around 440lbft of Tq..Hell a stock 429/460 with an intake, headers,cam,and a little more CR, will pull those numbers all day long, and much more..Probably closer to the 450 range..and more tq..you can buy a good running 460 block from a running car for a few hundred bucks..
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FE "Freakin Expensive"
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 6,461
Likes: 4
From: Smith Mountain Lake, VA
Found you a smokin good deal on a 466 street engine with about 1500 street miles on it..550 to 600hp range..aluminum headed also..gasket matched heads..
466bbf for sale!!!!!
466bbf for sale!!!!!
New User
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 7
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Adding more fuel to the fire.
The saying has always been no replacement for displacement.
I say that is a pile of bull.
I have put a 390 in my 79 f250. was a bit more involved than a 460 swap but gained more benifits.
my 390 is a truck 4v (9.5 comp if im lucky) has stock cam, stock heads,
a holley street dominator intake, a stock 600 cfm holley, flowtech headers, and a msd 7al-2 (little overkill).
I run a power robbing c-6, the motor burns oil, never been rebuilt, the truck has welded diffs, 5.13 gears, and 37 boggers. and full body.
I race in a mud curcuit.
There is a 78 f150 with a 460, c-6, 5.38 gears, 38.5 boggers, I am not sure the parts in his truck but last year he had police inteceptor heads on so he bends the rules of the curcuit to win.
His motor is rebuilt every year, he has for sure 3 performance bolt-ons,
he has took off the box and put on a light wood flatdeck, his truck is always running at its best when i race him.
I am very proud to say that my truck is right there with his. most of our races were within hundreths of seconds. we both won about the same amount of times.
He won the curcuit cause he went to another race than I.
I was teched every second race. he never got teched once.
The 390 has more torque than the 460 in my opinion and also has a higher rpm range. and if you run the np435 you will notice the 390 more. and if one day its not enough for you stuff in a 428 crank for a 410, or go with a 445 stroker kit and still beat up bigger 460's.
Its all down to what you put into it.
The saying has always been no replacement for displacement.
I say that is a pile of bull.
I have put a 390 in my 79 f250. was a bit more involved than a 460 swap but gained more benifits.
my 390 is a truck 4v (9.5 comp if im lucky) has stock cam, stock heads,
a holley street dominator intake, a stock 600 cfm holley, flowtech headers, and a msd 7al-2 (little overkill).
I run a power robbing c-6, the motor burns oil, never been rebuilt, the truck has welded diffs, 5.13 gears, and 37 boggers. and full body.
I race in a mud curcuit.
There is a 78 f150 with a 460, c-6, 5.38 gears, 38.5 boggers, I am not sure the parts in his truck but last year he had police inteceptor heads on so he bends the rules of the curcuit to win.
His motor is rebuilt every year, he has for sure 3 performance bolt-ons,
he has took off the box and put on a light wood flatdeck, his truck is always running at its best when i race him.
I am very proud to say that my truck is right there with his. most of our races were within hundreths of seconds. we both won about the same amount of times.
He won the curcuit cause he went to another race than I.
I was teched every second race. he never got teched once.
The 390 has more torque than the 460 in my opinion and also has a higher rpm range. and if you run the np435 you will notice the 390 more. and if one day its not enough for you stuff in a 428 crank for a 410, or go with a 445 stroker kit and still beat up bigger 460's.
Its all down to what you put into it.
wich do you think is louder louder and more meaty sounding, a 390 or the 460?
Super Moderator
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 34,536
Likes: 2,837
That all depends on the mufflers and intake. Either one. As OEM the 390 in one of the dual exhaust, open air cleaner, special cam jobs. '60-61 with 3 2bbl carbs and high compression or the '66-67 Fairlane GT.
460s only had single exhaust and closed aircleaners. Some early Lincoln's might have had dual exhaust but were fairly silent being pillow barges.
460s only had single exhaust and closed aircleaners. Some early Lincoln's might have had dual exhaust but were fairly silent being pillow barges.
Posting Guru
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,242
Likes: 3
From: Joliet, Illinois
I used to be at ford when the FE series were still used!
Then they came out with this new technology called Electronic Fuel Injection and it was an improvement on the mechanical fuel injection we were using!
LOL!!!
Use the big bore 427 block, the long stroke 428 crank and the 410 rods, um, I forget what pistons to use, might have been custom, but you can easily get up to 454 cid out of an FE block!
As far as induction, there are so many factory heads and intake options it's unreal as to what you can do with an FE engine!
Yeah, the 429/460's are a newer engine design, but it all depends on what you want and are willing to spend.
Then they came out with this new technology called Electronic Fuel Injection and it was an improvement on the mechanical fuel injection we were using!
LOL!!!
Use the big bore 427 block, the long stroke 428 crank and the 410 rods, um, I forget what pistons to use, might have been custom, but you can easily get up to 454 cid out of an FE block!
As far as induction, there are so many factory heads and intake options it's unreal as to what you can do with an FE engine!
Yeah, the 429/460's are a newer engine design, but it all depends on what you want and are willing to spend.
Hotshot
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 11,141
Likes: 25
From: south louisiana
I used to be at ford when the FE series were still used!
Then they came out with this new technology called Electronic Fuel Injection and it was an improvement on the mechanical fuel injection we were using!
LOL!!!
Use the big bore 427 block, the long stroke 428 crank and the 410 rods, um, I forget what pistons to use, might have been custom, but you can easily get up to 454 cid out of an FE block!
As far as induction, there are so many factory heads and intake options it's unreal as to what you can do with an FE engine!
Yeah, the 429/460's are a newer engine design, but it all depends on what you want and are willing to spend.
Then they came out with this new technology called Electronic Fuel Injection and it was an improvement on the mechanical fuel injection we were using!
LOL!!!
Use the big bore 427 block, the long stroke 428 crank and the 410 rods, um, I forget what pistons to use, might have been custom, but you can easily get up to 454 cid out of an FE block!
As far as induction, there are so many factory heads and intake options it's unreal as to what you can do with an FE engine!
Yeah, the 429/460's are a newer engine design, but it all depends on what you want and are willing to spend.