Hey there,

I'm new in here but have been using some of your guys's tips and advice on my own projects. I was just wondering if the recent porting job I did will make much of a difference. I took the big bump in the roof of my exhaust port out and polished the exhaust ports. Never have ported a set of heads before and after that I just polished what them up a little. I left the intakes alone and didn't polish the combustion chambers. I am currently putting the engine together but don't have the heads on yet. I am going to use the following on it.
Edelbrock Performer RPM intake
Holley 600cfm single feed vac. secondary carb
Edelbrock Performer Plus cam .460 intake and .480 exhaust
New factory type adj. rockerarms on new shafts with used stands
TRW/(Speedpro) .060 forged pistons with my heads at 69cc's should give me 10.1:1 compression ratio
stock rebushed rods
stock type oil pump
ARP oil pump driveshaft
stock pickup tube
drilled out the oil filter adapter passageways and chamfered them
going to use a 427 type oil filter adapter if i can.
Napa (Wix) oil filter
Valvoline 10w-30 oil to break it in (we are also in cold winter at the moment)
May use synthetic after it gets broke in (5 to 6000 miles)
2.04 intake and 1.57 exhaust valves that have been ground. We had to lap the valves because we couldn't grind the hardened seats (they looked like they were in good shape) because this engine has been remaufactured once and it has .015 oversize valve stems and neither my instructor at college or the machinist in this town have that size of pilot so we couldn't grind the seats. My instructor said he wouldn't be scared to lap my valves because my seats looked good. The guides seemed fine too.
Dynomax jet hot coated headers ( inside and out)
stock torque converter
C6 tranny (will get an RV/heavy duty towing) shift kit in the near future and B@M light truck megashifter
K@N air filter
Mickey Thompson/Holley aluminum valve covers
Crane anti-pumpup hyd. lifters
Ford single point distributor with a pertronix ignitor conversion (I am going to rebuild the distributor if it needs it)Accel wires, Mallory Hyfire (Their compentition to MSD's 6AL)
Bosch platinum plugs
Crane custom vaccum adavance kit
stock 5-quart oil pan (front sump)
Ford Motorsport windage tray
Clevite bearings
1 inch phenolic 4 hole spacer
chrome air cleaner
Ford Blue paint or gloss black (tried Ford Red, looked to much like chevy orange)
brass freeze plugs
Edelbrock performer plus valvesprings
stock valve locks and retainers
rotating assembly has been balanced
Flow Kooler water pump disc (supposed to flow more coolant and drop temp) this motor ran warm in the summer time
Fel-Pro gaskets
3.00 rear gears with open diff. (plan on putting 3.50's and possible a limited slip in next semester)
newer 3 core radiator

This is what my restored 1973 Ford F-100 2 wheel drive LWB pickup will be running.
Any tips/suggestions would be appreciated especially with the heads and oiling system or anything else.

 

Did you check to see if the oil dipstick cleared the windage tray? I've had 2 of em on a 390 and a 427 and both required trimming the tray to allow the dipstick to clear. I'd get a bigger carb too. The pickup truck oil pan holds 6 quarts not 5 , 6.5 with the windage tray

 

No I haven't checked that yet. I just got the crank, rods, and pistons put in today. Everything has good clearances so far. I haven't gotten it that far back together yet but when I do I will check that (thanks for the tip). Later on I might buy a Demon carb (not sure what size yet, but I have the formula for figuring how much the engine needs). I am not arguing with you but I am almost sure that the pan holds 5 quarts plus one quart for the filter, Although the windage tray would give you a little more capacity I guess. It is a front sump pan. I won't get to work on my engine till next monday because we have to do service checks on a bunch of vehicle tomorrow and it's our last day of school for the week due to the Thanksgiving break. I am going to take my heads back home with me and have my cousin look at them and see if I should do any more porting/polishing. I am just scared to screw up a seat because then I will either have to take them to an engine rebuilder to get a new seat or go to the boneyard and find some heads to rebuild and that is time and I would like to get this thing up and running again. I say this because of the oversize valve stems. Wish I had a bowl cutter and knew more on porting these things. I have thought about getting the oil pan off of a 74 ford 4x4 highboy with the rear sump, and the cap bolt with the hole in the head for the longer oil pickup tube and then maybe cutting the sump and add part of another sump to try and get like 7 quarts and then I would feel alright about running the Melling high volume oil pump instead of worrying about my stock pan getting sucked dry and flooding my top end with oil and not getting enough to the mains, because if I stick with the stock pan I am going to run a stock type (new) oil pump and stock pickup. This would take time and may not clear the sterring linkage(depending on how much more depth I may add to the rear sump pan. Who knows though, I have been told to run the high volume with a windage tray, stock pan (although a larger capacity would be better), and a larger 5/8 pickup tube (which I do have). I have also been told no high vol. with stock pan unless I put restictors in the top end and run a windage tray. Been told don't do the restrictors because that is mainly a racing mod. and this is for the most part a street motor and your valve springs won't cool as well. This portion of building this engine along with my heads has been rather varied in advice/opinions, and somewhat frustrates me. Hope I get it all figured out though and it works well and runs like a champ.
Thanks again and more input would be greatly appreciated as this is my only vehicle, I am obcessed with this truck and these FE engines, I'm in college in the automotive program, Money is definately an issue at times (I am going to go get a part time job when this engine is done), and I don't want to do unecessary mods., or have to pull the engine right away to change the pump and pickup although I may need/want to.
Thanks again

 

I've always run the restrictors on my motors ( all street very little strip) and never had problems from lack of oil to the heads. The pickup truck pan is a front sump and looks similar to the car pan, but place the two side by side and you'll see the sump on the truck pan is a little bigger. The car pan is 4+1 and the truck is 5+1. I'm running a high pressure/std volume pump in my 68 Merc's 390. This motor had 60K miles on it when I overhauled it last year, I didn't turn the crank but did install new bearings. Pressure on it is 60-70lbs hot at highway speeds ( 2500-3000 rpms) with 20-50 Pennzoil. I'm runnning a Holley 3310 750 on it and it does well with it. The only changes to the carb are a 50cc accellerator pump and the lighest sec spring Holley offers.I ran a modified 1850-2 600 cfm on it awhile back and it also worked good, this carb was set up identical to the 750, ( same bowls, sec spring and accellerator pump) except for jets. Throttle response was great, with the secondaries opening almost immediately on sticking your foot in it. I wanted to compare the two at the strip the last time out but didn't get the chance. The seat of the pants meter has a hard time distinguishing between the two carbs.

 

Hey,
Thanks for that tip, I didn't know the truck pan was slightly bigger. The carb will be later on so I am not to worried about that yet. Would probably go with a 750 though (Demon or Holley). What do you think of my rear sump oil pan and trying to add some more capacity to it? Like I said earlier this is just a thought at the moment but I think it may be a good idea (adding a deeper sump may make so the pan wouldn't clear the steering linkage don't know for sure though). Can I just shim the stock pump I have or do I need to get a different spring? If so where would be a good place to get the spring? I think I will just send the Melling high volume and bigger pickup tube back to Summit. Finally, what do you guys think I will be possibly making for torque and horsepower? I know it is kinda a guessing game unless you go to the dyno and it depends on what has been done to my heads (Dyno 2000 says 398 hp and 462 ft. lbs.). That sounds a little optimistic to me and probably is but that would be nice. Oh and one last thing, I am the only one doing a Ford motor in my class, everyone else is doing Chevy 350's (gag, cough) just kiddin, I am not that brand biased but I do love Fords and always have. These motors are so darn tough and last forever, I think that people that bash them are uneducated and ignorant.
Thanks

 

I forgot to ask this question too! Do you guys think I should get new valve locks and retainers? I would think for as mild a cam (272/282 at .006" lift, 194 int. 204 exh at .050" lift, Lift at cam: Int. 265 exh. .280, Lift at valve Int. 460 exh. 480, Timing at.050 lift: Open 8 degrees ATDC intake Closed 37 degrees BBDC, Close 22 degrees ABDC 13 degrees BTDC, Lobe Seperation 110 degrees Intake Centerline 105 degrees.

Thanks again,

P.S. I'm suprised that Ratsmoker and Gtex haven't had anything to say (no offense) and thanks again baddad 457!

 

I haven't seen anything about springs yet, you'll want to get the springs specified for the cam.

With a higher performance than stock cam in an FE, anything you can do to increase the strength of the valvetrain will help. However, I think the stock valve locks and retainers will work fine with the cam you're looking at.

Have you got the cam yet? I'd look at a crane grind, like their 343941. It's got slightly more duration and a lot more lift than the edelbrock cam.

I'd rethink your gear selection too, 3.73's would be more appropriate, IMO.

Other than that, everything looks great!

 

I'm not real sure but the HD truck 9-10 quart pan might fit pickups too.For a oil pickup attachment bolt, All that's needed is to weld a 3/8 X 1 inch bolt to the head of a main cap bolt. I switched to a rear sump on my kid's 400 in a 77 F100 and it fit fine, I have seen a F350 that had a 4wd rear sump pan on it too. Your HP estimate sounds about right for your combo. Your retainers will work fine, but I'd get new locks. The stock 390 springs will also work OK as long as they're not worn out. Have your auto machinist check their installed and open pressures, they may just spec out close to what Crane recommends. The springs in my 390 aren't new either, I had them checked and the pressures were Ok for the Energizer cam I'm running. The stock gt390/428CJ springs will work OK too with cams up to a 290 duration and .525 lifts. My high pressure pump was bought at my local Advance Auto Parts. And as far as running against Chevy 350's , the 390 will completely out pull them any day, the 390 makes far more torque than the stock stroke 350's. Now a stroked 350 ( 383 ) will even up the odds some against a 390

 

Why wouldnt you want to replace the valve springs with a new cam? I thought this was one of those cardinal rules. Comp cams has a set for 79.95 at summit racing. New locks are only 25.00 and the set of retainers I bought were 55.00. Then you are all new and dont have to worry about a weak spring or a lock and retainer coming loose at 6000 rpm. To me, its just too cheap not to replace everything on a rebuild.

 

The springs are the ones Edelbrock matched to my cam. They have one inner flat coiled looking spring with the normal outer spring. I would guess that these are just dampers. You guys are awsome. I am not worried about those small block chevy's beatin me, maybe a really modified 383 but who cares, Fords can always do it better. Only one of them is even mildly modified. And trust me even though a friend is building it and loves chevy's, He knows and has told me that "Your motor is gonna be tough on the street". Anyway I can check the installed height, and pressures against my stockers. My stock replacement type pump is from NAPA and is made (made, rebuilt, who knows) by Clevite which is part of the Clevite/ Victor Reinz/ Perfect Circle/ Dana coporation. The part number on the box is 601-1055 P57. Do you know if I can just shim the pump or get a higher pressure spring. Yes I do have the cam and it does have a bout 8 to 12,000 miles on it but the original Edel. lifters that were with it were still good and the cam seems to be fine. It has only been in since the late spring of 2003. I bought some Crane anti-pumpup hyd. lifters for it. Should I dial the cam in straight up again or with some advance? I had a reliable mechanic tell me that with my 10.1:1 comp ratio that advancing it much may knock holes in the top of my pistons from to much heat I think is what he said and of course you are supposed to check your valve to piston clearance when you do this. You guys really think that 398 hp and 462 ft. lbs.? I thought realistically depending on how well my heads flow that I would be more around 360 to like maybe 385 hp and 420 to 440 ft. lbs. I know cam grinds are probably better than they were in the 60's and 70's but it is a mild juice cam and Hot Rod (I kinda get the notion that they are in bed with GM at times) got like 450 hp and 460 ft. lbs. with a roller crane cam, that is bigger than mine in all aspects, Edelbrock heads with bigger valves (they more than likely flow better than my porting job does) and a bigger carb. I'm not trying to underate my engine or anyone elses, Just trying to be realistic here. I know that the only way to know would be flowbench with the heads, and dyno the motor at the flywheel (It would be more than a street motor putting out these kind of numbers at the rear wheels which I'm sure can be done). I will by some new locks, should I go with the 7 degree or pricier 10 degree ones? I will look into the oil pan back at my parent's ranch (we have a 74 Ford 600 with either a 361 or 391 heavy duty engine with that big oil pan. I don't think it would fit by pickup if memory of what that pan looked like serves me right. Being's how it doesn't look like I am going to use the high volume pump and bigger pickup I am not quite as worried about it. Darn I can't wait to get it all figured out and put back together and running like a champ (and go terrorize the streets with it, after I get it well broken in of course). What do you guys think this thing may get for mileage? With the 3.00 gears and the c-6, mostly stock 390 except for cast iron 4 barrel intake, Holley 600, Edelbrock cam, and Hedman headers with dual 2 1/2" exhaust I could get 14 being very light on the throttle and keeping it at 60 or under. I know I will have a whole new animal and different carbs make different mileage along with a lot of other varialbles, I plan on putting in 3.50 or 3.55 gears (3.70 would be great on the street, but I drive a lot of highway/interstate and I think the 3.70's would be a little to much, maybe I am wrong though). Do you guys clean up the bowls at all on the 390 heads, because I pretty much didn't touch those. Thanks again for everything so far!

 

Why wouldn't I change valve springs with a new cam? Depends on the cam. The 272 degree Energizer's just a little warmer than the Gt390/428CJ cam, and we're not talking about revving the motor to the moon. In this case the stock springs will work fine. Now with a hotter grind and wanting to rev higher 6000 + rpms and up, then I'd look into new springs . Make certain when reusing lifters with a flat tappet cam to make damn sure the lifters go back in the holes they came from, if in doubt use new lifters. From what I've heard you can shim the pressure spring in the oil pump to get higher pressure, or stretch it too, I've never done this on an oil pump, I did do it on the side oiler 427 I had in the 80's , the relief spring was in the main oil gallery in the side oiler. Valve locks will depend on what your valves and retainers require. 14 MPG is a really optimistic figure with a 390 in a truck. The GT 390 I had in a 70 F100 had a hotter cam than yours ( .533 lift--296 degree duration) with a 428 PI intake and 780 Holley headers, C-6 and 3.50's in the rear and it only got 10-11 mpg.

 

I am not that concerned with the mileage but that is what I got 1 time this summer on a cool night (before I tore the engine down and am doing what I am right now). I could get 12, 12.5 without trying to hard but normallly the way I drive I got like 10 or 11. I was just seeing what you guys thought I would get after this "Performance rebuild".
I bought new springs for the cam this time around, before then I ran the stock ones on it.
I will get new locks, I just wondered if my retainers were ok to use or should I buy new ones?
I would like to run a little bigger cam (something with a little bit of an idle) but I think I will run this one for a while, probably till this summer. I stuck several different grinds in the Dyno 2000 program and for a pickup with a Hydraulic flat tappet cam it seemed to have good hp and torque all the way to 5500 RPM.
I bought new Crane anti-pumpup lifters for this Edelbrock cam even though the Edelbrock lifters looked good (yes I kept them in order) so maybe I should send them back? I may buy a different cam, I have played with some from Lunati, Crane, and Comp. What about Engle or some other companies? I also thought about contacting Clay Smith cams and having the do a custom grind for me ( I think that may be the way to go).

Thanks again guys