Long story short: my 390 leaks oil like crazy, my friend offered to take the engine out to replace the rear main seal. Seems excessive to take the engine out but my friend is retired and offered, so I'm going with it! He loves this kinda stuff.

While its out I am having him replace the oil pump and timing chain/gear, and taking off the 2 bbl intake to put on a 4 bbl.

Few questions:

1. My truck is a '76, can I net a little more power by putting a pre '73 timing set in? Or are all the timing sets the same? I also don't have emission testing where I live.

2. We are replacing many of the gaskets (obviously). What's the brand of choice? Fel Pro or Mr. Gasket?

3. Any other small odds and end stuff that i should replace while the engine is out? I don't want to upgrade anything that isn't necessary. I have a 7 month old daughter so money isn't as free flowing as it used to be!

4. I'm putting the a Holley 4 bbl carb on. It was the carb that originally came with the truck when new. The original engine lost compression so I grabbed a junkyard engine and have driven it the last 6-7 years. Any good websites to buy a carb rebuild kit? I can post the info on the carb tag later- it's in my parents barn at the moment.

Thanks guys and gals.

 

You may want to post this in the "Engine" section of the forums as well

For reliability and peace of mind and ease of "while out"

Replace all the frost plugs - (there may be one or two hiding behind the flywheel / flexplate)
Replace the thermostat
Replace the fuel pump (mounted on the block, it is a pain to change in the vehicle, depending if there is power steering in the way)
IF you have manifolds and want to run headers in the future, I suggest removing the exhaust manifold bolts while the engine is out, just in case of one or more of them snapping off instead of unthreading, then they can be drilled out if they snap.
If you have headers OR manifolds I suggest putting in new exhaust gaskets

 

Clean up the engine bay. Get the firewall holes not being used, covered up.

 

Hide inside the engine bay and talk to people as the truck as they walk by

 

hide wads of money in the frame rails

 

Personally I am a fel pro fan.

 

I am not a FE guy but I would guess that, yes a pre 73 timing set will "straight up" time it and wake that thing up.

X2 on a 460 pwr said plus a water pump. X2 on Fel Pro. If you do hide in the engine compartment make noises like a high revving and shifting FE power engine, not a rattle, thump and knock like a chebbie.

"Rock Auto. com" for on line parts.

Pressure clean the eng compartment and slick up (paint) the fire wall, and inner fenderwells.

Scribe mark the hood hinges before you pull it, so come install and alignment time you are not frustrated.

And post some pics, we all love pics.

 

I found the number for the rebuild kit in my Haynes Holley Carburetor manual then double checked on Holley's website (they have a hotline too). Then I ordered through Amazon. They had it as cheap or cheaper then most places and I got free 2-day shipping because I am a Prime member. Ordered on Monday, rebuilt on Thursday. If you order lots of stuff online, Amazon Prime will quickly pay for itself, plus you get free streaming music and movies/tv shows all for the price of a year 'o Netflix.

 

1. A mild cam! Even Edelbrock's Performer cam is decent without going overboard.

2. 2x on Fel-Pro and concur with replacing the core (freeze) plugs. Also pull the pipe plugs to thoroughly flush sediment out of the block. One on each side of the block basically a couple of inches above each pan rail directly below cylinders 3 and 7. If nothing comes out, poke the hole with a scribe and observe an additional quart or two come gushing out along with the muck.

3. It'll be down to a long block so build up from there.

4. A Holley spec carb kit is fine.

5. Summit Racing is my go-to place.

... clean up the engine bay, paint it, and be a happy and proud camper every time the hood is opened. Details count!

 

I'm in a similar position with my '76 F-150 w/ 390/C6. Here are a couple of things I've learned.
Before yanking the engine and while the starter is still operative, do a compression test on each cylinder writing down the results. Do one round of measurements "dry" with a second round "wet" meaning you've squirted a bit of engine oil in each cylinder through the spark plug hole before taking that measurement. This will provide you with a good indication of the condition of your rings and valves w/o a complete teardown. Read more about compression testing and interpreting the results.
Since you'll be loosening the main bearing caps or even removing the crankshaft entirely in order to replace the real main oil seal, take a good look at a few of the main and rod bearings. This is the window to your engine's soul and the best available evidence on its future. Just replacing the front oil seal may not be enough. Look closely at the crankshaft spacer right behind the harmonic balancer. There may well be a groove worn in it that will leak even with a new seal. You can buy a new spacer or get a sleeve to slip over it. Read more about analyzing bearing wear.
If these tests reveal that your engine will likely not have the lifespan you'd hoped for, the next step is to tear it down completely and seek the guidance of a competent automotive machine shop. This is where I am right now –*hoping to hear that a valve job, honing the cylinders and polishing the crank journals will suffice.

 

Dupe post deleted.

 

OK, I might have drank a few too many beers tonight - but this cracked me up big time.

 

How many miles are on it? If it's that far apart I would consider a re-ring, and some new bearings. I got a re-ring kit for my 390 from Summit. it came with every gasket, Rings main and rod bearings for about $250.
Any of the aftermarket timing chains should have different notches for straight up or retarded timing. Install it however you want then. Since the kit came with head gaskets I went ahead and pulled them and did a valve lap and cleaned the ports real good. Something to think about.

 

Thanks for all the replies/help/suggestions.

My friend who is doing all doing the work is a retired Ford mechanic. And as he put it, he "knows his way around an FE".

He suggested everything you all mentioned, too. He helped me make a shopping list and eill help me look for the best deals online.

He's very thorough and explained why I should replace what I should while the engine is out.

I'll just have to wait and see what my compression test yields. If it would stop snowing maybe we could give it a shot!


Not sure how many miles this engine has. I was told 90k when I bought it from someone from Craigslist. Who knows though. It was put in a few years ago and I drove it with no problems. I used to track miles and consistently got 12 mpg whether I was driving with my foot on the floor or like a grandma.

Wish it wasn't leaking oil like crazy- I'd still be driving it daily.

 

If I was that far into it I think I would go ahead and go all out and make it a 406, 410,427,428 and really burn some ga$