Haha yeah the muskag is fun stuff,
I actually went back home around may of last year and stayed there for the summer. Then came back up here in october.
Nice to work winter and take the summer off.
Theres quite a few nice fords around this town, lots of new ones too, its all ya see in the real work place.
Ill give ya an email here in a second, just got my truck running again (carb problems),
cheers

 

Pistons for the 390, I just paid $383 for badger pistons 40 over with seal power rings for my rebuild 390, it should be on the road soon, comp cam, 650 thunder eldebrocke 390 intake. headers, hopefully I will have the power I need to pull my 5th wheel.!

 

Eww, I hate to tell ya this, but you can get forged TRW / Speed Pro L2291F40 pistons from Summit for $36.99 each, or $295.92 total.

Who'd you get 'em from? They're laughing all the way to the bank!

 

I got the price on my pistons and rings last night. 360 stock pistons 148.00 and rings 58.00. Canadian $$

Hey Rusty you said this build will be similar to yours? How does yours rate in the hp dep't and how is it for daily bombing around? Do you have to tinker lots to keep it running(your intake not included) half decent? I am hoping it is some what trouble free once the carb is dialed in.

 

On the pinging issue, you'll hear just a hint of it around 2000rpm when the vacuum advance is fully engaged, on 89 octane. It's pretty much gone otherwise. I set the timing at 6 BTDC, and I have the vacuum advance plugged into full manifold vacuum. The reason I do this is so I can get it to idle. If I dont, it will idle around 6" vacuum, and die when I put it in gear. With the full manifold vacuum, the vacuum advance increases the advance at idle, and I get 16" vacuum, and it idles really nice. In gear though you can hear a lope, it doesn't sound stock.

My build is pretty much the same as yours, except I have TRW L2291 pistons (highly recommended BTW), a 700cfm TBI Holley electronic fuel injection system, and ported heads. The ported heads make a huge difference IMO. According to Desktop Dyno 2000, I'm supposed to be getting 409hp @ 5500rpm, and 440ft-lbs @ 4000rpm. The way this thing launches, I almost believe it. If the tires hook up (rare) 70mph comes up in no time flat. It also works good as a daily driver. Street manners are excellent, you can drive it like a grandma and it works well, at ~15mpg. OBTW, mine has 3.50 gears in it, and P265/75R15 tires.

Now you're going to lose some HP with unported heads, and the carb is a bit smaller. DD2k shows 334hp @ 4500rpm, and 418ft-lbs @ 4500. My recommendation is to port those heads and make 'em breathe.

The only "tinkering" I have to do is with the fuel injection. Everything below that is pretty much maintenance free, with the exception of changing the oil. Once I get the fuel injection dialed in completely (it's pretty close now) it'll be a daily driver.

 

Porting the heads really make a huge difference, eh? Like 50 -75hp. I don't know where to go for something like that. I'll look at the 2 nearest cities from me(Fort St John and Grande Prairie) and try to find a shop that can connect me. Do I need a machinist or is this something special? What exactly do they do when porting? I don't want to sound stupid on the phone and I really don't want them taking me for a ride when they figure out I don't know what I'm talking about. Any idea on cost for this kind of work?
I have another 390 I gave to the local autowrecker but he told me I am just 'storing it' there, he really doesn't want it. Maybe I should go get it and tear it down for the entire rebuild instead(it is also out of a '71 f250). Then I can take my time knowing I can still drive my truck with no time limits AND do the build right.

 

The amount of horsepower gained through porting depends on the quality of the job done. Now I ported mine myself, and I doubt I'm getting the full HP that Desktop Dyno is telling me. For the beginner, you *probably* wont want to do it yourself, however, you can save a lot of money this way. You will probably need to buy tools, and learn how to use 'em. See if the wrecker has some bad (cracked) heads you can practice on. That's the best way to learn.

If you really want a good porting job, contact Keith Craft. I can guarantee he will do an excellent job, I've heard great things about his shop. It will cost you though, so get out your wallet.

When porting, basically you smooth everything up, remove the EGR bump on the top of the exhaust port, polish the exhaust port, clean up the valve pockets, and so on. Basically make 'em flow better.

Building a separate motor so you can still drive the truck is a GREAT idea. That's how I did mine.

 

Just for the hell of it I inquired while waiting to hear from you and I was recomended to an outfit in Edmonton(Campbell Automotive) and the head machinist told me he has done alot of FE's over the years and believes for $350-$500 he can get the heads in excellent condition with less than 2 weeks turn around. I thought that was an affordable amount.
I also inquired about a stroker crank. I was recomended a Scat series 9000 with a 4.125" stroke to give me a 431cid. Sound right? He is calling me back in a while with a price on the kit which includes crank(internally balanced) rods, pistons(forget the type but heard of them here before) and rings and bearings.
If this kit isn't too bad should a guy get it? Will it make any noticeable difference over a built up 390? I am starting to have fun now learning from you guys so I want to go with something unique providing I can still afford all of this. By using the extra engine if I do fall short on cash I can always save up and do it as it comes.

FE's are a curse!!!

 

It all depends on how much money you want to spend. The stroker crank will add torque, but I dont think it'd be worth the extra cost over a 390 crank. Also, Scat cranks are made in china and use BBC rod journals. Something to think about.

For the money that guy wants to recondition those heads, he'd better be porting 'em!

 

Rusty do you think that porting job is to pricey? It is in Can$$ don't forget. But if you still find it high I'll look in Prince George BC also. They are only 8 hours away where Edmonton is 12 hours. I just thought Edmonton would be the better place because they are the bigger centre.

Confusion!!!!

 

Oh, if he's porting 'em too then that's fine. I'd still call up Keith Craft to find out what he charges.

 

Where is Keith located and how do I contact him?

 

Click the link.

 

The guy has some cool stuff ,BUT being in the US it will cost an arm and both legs just to send the heads down let alone port them and have them sent back. Oh well. Canadians have a good handful of Gearheads too.
I did some more looking and Campbell Automotive was recomended again, twice so I'll go with them. He apparently built a 650hp FE that would run on premium pump gas! I don't know if that is possible or not but it sure would be cool to see it perform!!

 

Rusty I was wrong, The Badger pistons were only $22.60 each or $180 bucks Canadian which is $1.50 U.S. So i didn't even have to go to the bank! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA The seal power ring set was $113.43 so for under $300 canadian, I am set, and they are already installed. If I was to wait for the forged units to come in I would be still waiting, and it is not a race machine so forged units are not needed anyways.