I am aspiring to own and customise a ford truck. i am currently looking to purchase a 1973 390 F100. is this a good starting point for making a wicked fast truck? if so where should i start? or will i need to install a new engine to get the many horses that i desire? i realise that my question may seem very simple to all of the experts that frequent this page and that this question may have already been answered. if this is the case then please direct me to the correct link. i am after all a 17 year old first-generation car enthusiast and i am very willing to learn everything that there is too know about enhancing performance.

thanks

 

Jon, to answer your question, the 390 can most certainly be built to be a fast motor. But rebuilding a truck, especially one that is nearly 30 years old is a very difficult and time consuming task. It requires a good knowledge of cars and restoration techniques, a suitable work place, and most importantly a large sum of money. Make sure that you can meet all of these needs before taking on a project. If it proves to be too difficult you could end up throwing A LOT of money away and becoming very frustrated. If you believe that you are up to the job, then building and customizing a classic ford truck can be a very rewarding experience. Good luck to ya'

 

 

Good luck in your quest. I wanted to restore one of these rigs since I could walk, it only took 26 years to finally do it. If you have decent mechanical ability, you can save some money by doing most of the work yourself. The only thing I couldn't do on mine was machine the engine block and rework the heads. I hadn't ever done any body work or paint before, but now I am working on my third car restoration. Just because you've never done something, doesn't mean you can't. Your choice of trucks is good, this body style went from 73-79 so there are a lot of parts out there. Good luck
p.s. The engine discussion board can help out on powering up a 390. They have a lot of experience over there.

Dave,
79 F-150 4x4, 390 w/C6, Edelbrock carb, 33X12.50 never will be finished.

 

Excellent choice. The F100 is light enough to be fast, the short box or the step side is even lighter. I think the weight would be in the 3900# range (if you call that light). As for that truck, I'd look closely at the underside for rust, check the underside of the bed and all the edges, fenders, bottoms of doors, floor boards... I replaced the fenders, hood and both doors for about $300 on mine, but the beds can fetch $1000. Upgrades like power steering, A/C, power brakes are easy and most any part you'd need can be found in the junk yards.

The 390 is part of Fords FE family of engines and have a long racing history. The FE engines are not the cheapest to build, but if done right can produce excellent power. A 390 can make 400HP without too much trouble. You'll find a nice selection of intakes, headers, heads, carbs, cams... You can even get the 410/428 stroker crank and get unreal torque from it.

The main downside is that the FE is different and requires some knowledge to build properly. When compared to others, the FE is expensive to build, a good intake is about $280, and you could build a 351w cheaper and have more parts to choose from. However, the FE makes excellent torque and if built properly can rev to 5500+ all day long. If the engine is in good shape, you can just do a good tune up and drive it around, you'll feel the power.

 

Welcome to the best ford message board I have found...
I think you have a good choice for a fine project...

I`ll give you the best encouragement that i can and tell you it is and will be worth every cent you spend on it!!

I bought my truck from my mother when my dad died and drove it in to the ground(construction stuff). Then I slowly started from the bottom (Literally) and worked my way up....Brakes driveline , trans rebuild...etc... then the interior was next.
Then the Top of the 390 was next Heads, Intake, Carb, etc...
when I had all the major `stuff` done I had the body work done and then last thing PAINT..
I had OVER 9,500 in cash reciepts for the work I could not do my self (Back Injury).
After a car almost side swiped the truck I had it appraised for the insurance co. .... 11,500....
Learn as you go and do what you can and you will be Proud to drive that ford anywhere!!
The only thing I refuse to do with my truck is Move Furniture for my wife`s daughter.. Ha Ha Ha !!

Hey `Post` some pict`s here... lets see how you start out!!


__JOHN__Õ¿ö
FTE Club #7
Member-
http://www.cruisin-north.com/
Santa Rosa, Calif.
72 F-250
ICQ#6030753
http://www.ford-trucks.net/users/jbhf250/
https://www.ford-trucks.com/pictorial/big/1972_f250_2.html