Well, guys....I am, thus far, pretty disappointed in my new engine. I have a lot of time and money into this thing and I am not seeing the results I had hoped for. It doesn't even put me in the seat unless I hit it in second at about 3500 - even then, it's weak.
It is certainly not tuned as it should be, as I am still tweaking things. That said, what kind of things should I be looking for in regards to changing/adjusting?
-Edel Heads
-Edel RPM intake
-Crane 343941
-Forged Hypereutics @ ~9.2
-Edel 1406 Elec. choke 600 CFM carb - larger jets, high flow needle/seats, and metering rods.

Timing is currently at 12.

As well, my oil pressure has me worried. It may be a defunct mechanical gauge, but I don't believe so. On a cold start, I have about 60 psi - cruising at 2500 RPM, 50 PSI - Warm engine on a hot day at idle, the gauge is at almost zero. It jumps right up when I get moving, but I don't like the low pressure at stop light. I have taken to shifting to park or neutral to keep the pressure up.

What do you guys think? What areas should I focus on? Advance weights? Jetting? I am itching to feel so power out of this thing - it's left me broke and in debt...I need to hear the tires chirp into 2nd at least once.

-Patrick

 

what car/truck is it in? Did you atcually cc and calculate to find the compression ratio? Did you check all bearing clearances before assembling the motor? Are you sure you installed all galley plugs and seal them? You must work your way down the list there are so many things... Check plugs for mixture reading, make sure all plugs get spark, good fuel pressure, compression test. Those would be some basic first steps that i would look into. Also try to see if there is any drag in your drive train holding the motor back. With that cam, I would like to see a higher than stock converter too. I would also get a real mechanical pressure guage and hook it up to the filter adapter to double check the oil pressure. I like those little water filled 1-1/2" from summit. That way when your tweaking the motor under the hood, or remote starting it, you can allways have an eye on the pressure. Looks cool too. Seems to me, if you change the filter ensuring no blockage, your gunna have to tear it down if you dont like the oil pressure. That motor should put close to 400hp. You got headers???

 

As I said, I am just beginning to get to the tuning stage. I'll try and get some of the things you mentioned checked over tomorrow. I had the plugs out recently and they looked about as good as you can hope for; clean and no signs of running rich, etc. My machinist was in charge of the lower end, though I helped as much as I could. As far as bearing clearances, when we (my machinist and I) were assembling the mains/crank, the rotating assembly would barely turn. (.010 grind). ...He told me he hadn't done a line hone, so we went ahead and line honed it - the problem was fixed. So, in short, I wasn't hands on for the bearings, but they were supposedly double checked by my machinist.

This motor is in a 73' F250 CrewCab - not a light vehicle (Rebuilt C6 and 3.54 Dana 61 - also robbing power). I have been running without a bed, however. Compression ratio is on target given Edel. heads and my clearance/piston dish. I am indeed running headers; 3" Hookers to 2.5 inch duals.

On a side note, I also have some blow-by happening out of the passenger bank. I was on vacation for a while, but I am going to get it down to the machinist and see what he says.

Thank you for the input, it is always helpful to have a fresh/more experienced mind to help me out.

-Patrick

 

Blow-by...is it white? That usually would indicate a bad head gasket or for that matter the intake manifold. With your setup...it should really throw you back in your seat...with little effort. Good luck...

 

Patrick, can you tell us what brand and what part number pistons the guy used ? The compression the parts book lists is not correct for many of the pistons on the market. I would have to guess that 8 out of 10 rebuilt 390s I run across have the wrong pistons in them. DF