I have a 85 ford with no engine and no trans..I want to build a FAST 4x4..That can tear things up in the mud and still be realiable while doing alot of of modification..I know that seems wrong becuase when you modify ALOT your realiability usually drops ALOT as a trade off..

So would the 390 make a good engine?

How tuff are they?

And I notice there is alot of FE engines.. What were the major changes in them? did they just change the crank to up the cubes or make bigger blocks for bigger pistons?

Any other 390/FE info would be helpful..

I currently have a 460 in another truck..But was looking for something that revs a little higher and will throw your neck back when shifting into fourth gear with a granny 4sp..
thnx alot...

 

That's a TALL order! whip your head back shifting into forth? I'd like to go for a ride in that some day!

I have an FE in a 73 F250 4X4 and love it. It's a 428 crank with a standard 360/390 block bored to 60 over. I used forged pistons custom cut to about 10.25 CR, 67 TBird heads with heavy port work, Hooker headers, Streetmaster intake with very heavy mods, Predator carb, port matched intake and exhaust, Crower Beast 292H cam, Pertronix ign w/coil, blocked off exhaust cross over, HV/HP oil pump with 9QT Milodon oil pan, Billit steel McLeod 428 flywheel, CF DF 12" clutch, Edlebrock alum water pump, recurved dist, etc...
I've spent about $5,000 in the engine but could have done it for less. The tranny is the NP435, and I haven't finished dialing in the carb.
the reason I tell you this is the HP is probably about 400~450 and the torque should be over 500. I don't take the engine over 5,500 RPM. Most big blocks don't rev that high without heavy mods. The FE will require heavy mods to the valve train for anything over 6000 for long periods of time.
The point is that you can build the 460 a little cheaper, and the extra cubes will help. For the kind of money you'll spend on the 390/428 you can get the Ford 514 storker kit and have mega power!
Don't get me wrong here, I love FE engines, but the 460/514 are great for 500+ HP.

 

Gotta agree with Karl. I love my 390, but the general base model FE engines weren't designed to rev high without serious mods (with the exceptions of the 427 and SCJ's). What the FE's do is make good strong power in the lower RPM range with tons of torque which is much more important than horsepower anyway. The main reason for big HP numbers is to sustain the torque throughout higher the RPM's.

 

The reason I do not want to stroke my 460...is the reliability...This will be an everyday driver becuase I am going to sell one of them or peice out my other one that has no motor in it...I do like my 460 alot its a 71 block with 73 heads..And is in need of a rebuild. So i was thinking of just switching to another block. I have seen the 429 CJ's with 4-bolt mains but they come with a hefty price tag..

Also what is the difference between the 4-bolt main 429 SCJ block and the 460 2-bolt block...can 4-bolt main caps be added to 460's..?

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 25-Feb-01 AT 02:26 PM (EST)[/font][p]

Grab yourself a 360 truck block (reverse 501 on the drivers side of the block instead of the usual 352). It's got extra lower end webbing virtually identical to a 428 CJ. Weighs about 80 lbs more but worth it for high RPM. A good one can be bored to 428 or converted to 390 by switching crank, rods and pistons. Email me and I'll send you a pic of my '360 GT'