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i resently picked up a 68 390. i'm trying to figure out what i have. The motor is a 1968, S code intake manifold with C8AE 8425-F, The heads are C8AE - H, The tag from under the coil has this stampedon it.
390 68 108 B K343 J
the guy i bought it from swares that it is out of a police car.
could it be?
does it have bolts on the side of the exhaust ports for the manifolds? if so you have a 390GT, very good engine, with headers and a tuneup I've heard they can put a mustang in the mid/low 13's or better
I have a '69 390 GT in my '67 Galaxie (@4000 lbs, 0-60 in 7.5 seconds). They are pretty good engines. Seems to me, though, that the tag on my coil said "390 4v" on it. You might check the carburetor too-should be an old holley 600 cfm if it's correct. (If so, hang on to it--worth a little money to the Mustang and Fairlane crowd)The 390 GT heads also had four bolts per exhaust port for the manifolds, but only two were used--the diagonal ones--whereas fullsize fords and T-birds had two vertical bolts only. Don't fret if you don't have the 390 GT heads on there; it doesn't necessarily mean the engine's lame. You could have a garden variety 390 4v, which is still a pretty good engine.
Oh yeah, if it does have four bolt holes per exhaust port ala the 390 GT, it is most assuredly not a police interceptor, or at least it's not a stock p.i. I'm pretty sure the 390 pi had adjustable rocker arms, too. Don't know the casting numbers for these heads.
Don't fret if you don't have the 390 GT heads on there; it doesn't necessarily mean the engine's lame. You could have a garden variety 390 4v, which is still a pretty good engine.
There is nothing special about the 390GT heads, some have the exact same casting as trucks had, the only difference is more bolt holes for the exhaust. the heads themselves are just small port emissions heads, the intake and cam I believe made the majority fo the difference.