Just the other day, my little brother said he was thinning out his collection of ford truck junk. He's getting married soon, and the little misses doesn't care for all the clutter. He has a 390FE from a 70's truck that he wants gone, and said he'd make me a good deal. I took a ride in the truck years back and it seemed to run strong for a big jacked up 4x4 on super swamper mud tires. The only thing that's been done to it is a 600cfm Edelbrock is installed on a factory 4v intake.

- What is a good price for a running 390 FE engine?

- The recipient is a '67 Galaxie 10 passenger Station Wagon. The wagon originally came with a 2V 390fe and FMX with 3.00 rear. The original motor is flood damaged and seized up with corrosion. Some parts may still be salvageable though. Are the heads from '67 any better than 70's? I'll have to check casting numbers or cc them to determine if it'd give a bump in compression. Is it even worth it to do a factory head swap?

- Are there any mods I should do with an eye towards reliability and fuel economy(relative for an FE)?

- I'd like OD for our cross country road trips, which account for over half the miles the wagon will see. Rebuilding the FMX would be easier and far cheaper but most of the interstate we drive is 75-85 mph speed limit. At 85mph, with 3.00 rear and stock 27.7" tall tires, that'd calculate to about 3093 RPM. I see quite a few 390fe truck guys swapping NV4500 with a Bell to tranny adapter from Advanced Adapters. They are available in the junkyard for pretty cheap here. With the gearing, 1st wouldn't be used unless I was towing. It has a 0.73:1 OD which would bring the engine speed down to 2258 RPM @ 85mph. At 70mph, I'd be turning 1860 RPM. Assuming the engine has an RV cam (not sure if it does), would this be too low of engine speed, out of the power band, hurting fuel economy, for that highway speed?

- I was also considering a GM TBI swap off of a 454 to help with mileage, easier starting, etc. Would there be any advantage to this over the current 600 cfm Edelbrock? I'm an Aircraft Electrician by trade, so the wiring doesn't worry me. The bulk of the swap would be Junkyard sourced to keep with in the very modest budget.

 

The C7AE heads in the '67 will be almost the same castings at the C8AE/D2TE heads. A 70's truck would have D2TE heads, which have hardened exhaust valve seats, so they are a better pick without doing any head work.

I had a set of both the C7 and C8 heads, and during a discussion here years back, I posted pictures of them. Very close in design. Not enough to warrant any change over. Pictures attached. C8's at the top, C7's at the bottom.

 

The D2 seats were induction hardened, so unless they're untouched, that hardening probably isn't there now. The hardened depth is only a few thousandths thick. One valve job would likely remove what was there. The D2's chambers are slightly smaller, giving a better quench. The intake port floors were also raised vs the 67 heads, giving better port velocity over the 67 heads.

 

No such thing as an FMX until 1968.

You sure this wagon is a 1967? Are you sure it had a 390? It could have had a 352.

1967 Galaxie/LTD 390 came with the C6. 1966 Galaxie/LTD 390 came with MX Cruise-O-Matic or C6. 1965 Galaxie/LTD 390 came with the MX

MX Cruise-O-Matic (aka BIG Cruise-O) also installed in 1958/66 Thunderbird (except '66 428); 1965/67 F100/350 352, misc.1958/67 Ford/Merc Passenger Cars.

1960/79 Passenger Car VIN: The 1st digit is the year, the 5th digit is the engine code.

D2TE heads were introduced in 1972 F100/350's, originally had hardened valve seats.

 

I hope she bakes good, biscuits and pies. It seems like he is headed for trouble ...

 

Lots of people heard of the FMX. few though knew there was an MX before it. Anyone wants one, I have one that needs a home.

 

But they didn't hear or know of the FMX until 1968, it became far more common in 1969 because the 351W was introduced.

The only Ford truck with FMX: 1973/77 F350 w/300 I-6.

 

I'm not sure if it's original. It does have a removable bell housing though. C6 was integrated, right?

Dead sure it's a '67 wagon. 66 and 68's have a slightly different body style. Positive it's a 390. Verified by the casting number on the crank. Fender badges are for 390 model. I'll have to go get the VIN and see about deciphering it to verify what actually came from the factory. Not really interested in keeping it all original but they are a little more valuable with the 390 than a SBF.

Thanks for the heads up. If everything was unmolested, that'd help. I might have an MX. Have to see if I can ID with pan bolt pattern, detachable bell, etc.

 

The Clevelands got the FMX's too. And the Mavericks with a 302. Seems there was a semi auto version too in those cars too

 

The MX looks just like the FMX. I don't recall what was changed in them to get the newer designation. C6 had all aluminum case integrated bell. The MX/FMX had a removeable externally bolted bell and aluminum tail housing with a cast iron main case. Tough SOB's. You could drain the oil out an it would still do the job.

 

The MX trans pan (has a notch in it) and gasket are different than the FX & FMX .. MX: Both are the same as 1955/57 Thunderbird with Ford-O-Matic.

FX pan is different than FMX, but the pan gasket is the same. The MX filter is MX only thru 1967. 1968/72 MX uses the same filter as FMX .. FX used a different filter.

 

I'd have to look at pan on mine. Pulled it from a 64 Merc Monterey behind a 390.

 

If I do it, I will get a spankin' ...

I dood it...

Don't forget the LX (HX). Might as well throw a little more confusion into it.

The designation before 1958 was F-O-M / M-O-M Single Range.

1958/ designation was FX (Small Case) / MX (Medium Case) and HX (Large Case - LINC) Dual Range.

1961 Saw Modulator Valve intro - No more TV linkage adjustment

The FMX was a FORD re-design that put the MX internals into the FX case by removing the rear pump.

 

I'd really like to have Over Drive, preferably a manual transmission. I realize my FE options are very limited though. The TKO500 would be nice but they are more money than I'd like to spend. I've read a few of the truck guys putting the NV4500 behind the 390 with good results. I think they like the super low 1st gear for crawling, etc.

I posted up the RPM calculations in the initial post for the RPM at 70 and 85 mph, which is the average interstate speed here in TX. These calculations are assuming I keep the stock 3.00 rear.

Will this be too low of an RPM at that highway speed?

Will the engine get poorer MPG because it is out of it's power band... lugging?

Would I be better off sticking with the factory auto, and get familiar with rear gear swapping everytime I want to take a road trip?

 

I'm running 4.10's in my 96 E150 with the roller 351. It's turning 2600 at 75 with an E4OD transmission. It seems happy at those rpms, it no longer downshifts on hills. Mileage hasn't really changed vs the 3.55's it had before. Your 390 would be turning the same rpms with 3.00's and no overdrive. But it makes probably 100 more ft/lbs torque, so it likely would be happy with an OD transmission at 1900-2000 rpms. I've yet to see a 390 that gets more than 12-13 mpg in anything. But then, how much are you really going to drive it ? Most people I've seen spend big $$$$ on an overdrive transmission conversion, but they never recoup that cost. It would be cheaper finding a 2.75 or 2.50 geared 9" chunk to swap in there to lower the rpms on the highway. It would slow the acceleration some, but it's a Station Wagon, you're not building it to drag race. 2.50's would drop the rpms at 75 to 2275. 2.75's were more common in the 70's, 2.50's ? I found one in a 78 Monrach with it's disc brake rear. Had traction-loc too.