ok, ive got a 75 f250, its a 390 with merc valve covers on it, now my question is why would someone replace stock valve covers with mercury ones. so i was wondering, how can i tel if i have mercury 390????

 

wonder if there is a difference between ford and merc. other than cosmetic?

 

higher compression, more hp

stock truck 390 with 4bbl rated at 200hp, stock merc 390 with 4bbl rated at 315hp

 

wow wonder if the same is true for the 460s i think mine is a lincoln motor (or atleast that is what i have been getting parts for)

 

A Mercury 390 is the exact same engine as a 390 installed in a Ford.

There's absolutely no difference in the compression ratio = none. Every part on and in the engine is the same as a 390 used in a Ford.

Why do the covers say Mercury on them? Mebbe the engine was swapped in from a Mercury passenger car.

And...just because the valve covers say Mercury on them, that proves nothing about the engine size.

The first use of the Mercury name on valve covers (that have oil cap holes in them) was in 1967, and that year Mercury's could be had with 390, 410 or 428 FE engines.

So, what size is the engine? It could be any of those I listed above, it also could be a 352!

You can't go by names on valve covers to ID the size of the engine. A 390 valve cover fits any FE engine: 332/352/360/361-1958 Edsel only/390/406/410/427/428.

Whatizit? Measure the stroke: 352/360 = 3.50" / 390 = 3.78" / 410/428 = 3.98." That'll narrow it down a bit.

btw: You also cannot go by casting numbers on engine blocks, because all the 352/360/390/410/428's when first cast are 352's.

Only when the blocks are bored and/or stroked, can it be something other than a 352.

 

i checked the stroke and came near 4in., but im gonna run another test tommorrow to make sure.

 

"A Mercury 390 is the exact same engine as a 390 installed in a Ford."

i was a little off in my hp ratings, but not all 390s are the same. the only truck 390 listed has 201hp, its only a 2v but still, i guess both fords and mercs varied in hp and compression, the truck has significantly lower compression than the others


2V
8.9:1 — 250 hp (187 kW) at 4400 rpm and 378 ft·lbf (513 N·m) at 2400 rpm
1963-1965 Mercury
9.4:1 — 266 hp (198 kW) at 4600 rpm and 378 ft·lbf (513 N·m) at 2400 rpm
1964-1965 Mercury
9.5:1 — 275 hp (205 kW) at 4400 rpm and 401 ft·lbf (544 N·m) at 2600 rpm
1966 Ford
1966 Ford Fairlane
1966 Mercury
1966 Mercury Comet
9.5:1 — 270 hp (201 kW) at 4400 rpm and 401 ft·lbf (544 N·m) at 2600 rpm
1967 Ford
1967-1968 Ford Fairlane
1967 Mercury
1967 Mercury Comet
1968 Ford Mustang
1968 Mercury Cyclone GT
1968 Mercury Cougar GT
10.5:1 — 280 hp (209 kW) at 4600 rpm and 427 ft·lbf (579 N·m) at 2800 rpm
1968 Ford
1969 Mercury
9.5:1 — 265 hp (198 kW) at 4400 rpm and 401 ft·lbf (544 N·m) at 2600 rpm
1968 Ford Fairlane
1968 Ford Torino
1968-1970 Ford
1968-1970 Mercury
8.6:1 — 255 hp (190 kW) at 4400 rpm and 376 ft·lbf (510 N·m) at 2600 rpm
1968-1971 Trucks
9:1 — 255 hp (190 kW) at 4400 rpm and 376 ft·lbf (510 N·m) at 2600 rpm
1971 Ford, Mercury
8.6:1 — 201 hp (150 kW) net (150 kW) at 4000 rpm and 376 ft·lbf (510 N·m) net (510 N·m) at 2600 rpm
1972-1975 Trucks
4V
10.6:1 — 375 hp (280 kW) at 6000 rpm and 427 ft·lbf (579 N·m) at 3400 rpm
1961-1962 Ford
9.6:1 — 300 hp (224 kW) at 4600 rpm and 427 ft·lbf (579 N·m) at 2800 rpm
1961-1963 Ford
1961-1963 Ford Thunderbird
1963 Mercury
9.6:1 — 330 hp (246 kW) at 5000 rpm and 427 ft·lbf (579 N·m) at 3200 rpm
1961-1963 Ford Police Interceptor
1963 Mercury Police Interceptor
10.1:1 — 330 hp (246 kW) at 5000 rpm and 427 ft·lbf (579 N·m) at 3200 rpm
1964 Ford Police Interceptor
1964 Mercury Police Interceptor
11:1 — 300 hp (224 kW) at 4600 rpm and 427 ft·lbf (579 N·m) at 2800 rpm
1964-1965 Ford
1964-1965 Mercury
1964-1965 Ford Thunderbird
10.5:1 — 315 hp (235 kW) at 4600 rpm and 427 ft·lbf (579 N·m) at 2800 rpm
1966-1967 Ford
1966-1968 Ford Thunderbird
1968 Mercury
10.5:1 — 335 hp (251 kW) at 4600 rpm and 427 ft·lbf (579 N·m) at 3200 rpm
1967, 1969 Ford Mustang
1967, 1969 Ford Fairlane
1967, 1969 Mercury Cyclone GT
1967, 1969 Mercury Cougar GT
1969 Ford Torino
1969 Mercury Montego
10.5:1 — 325 hp (242 kW) at 4800 rpm and 427 ft·lbf (579 N·m) at 2800 rpm
3x2V, 10.6:1
401 hp (299 kW) at 6000 rpm and 430 ft·lbf (583 N·m) at 3500 rpm
1961-1962 Ford
340 hp (254 kW) at 6000 rpm and 430 ft·lbf (583 N·m) at 3500 rpm
1962 Ford
1962 Ford Thunderbird

 

Way back in the day I bought a 62 F-100 4X4 from a guy who said it had a Mercury 390 in it. That truck was scary fast. A bit too fast for a me at 20 yrs old,which led to it being flipped and totaled.I pulled the motor and put it away for about 15 years. It was not until I disassembled it to rebuild for my 76 that I learned it was 428 CJ......

 

I didn't say all 390's were the same, what I said was that the 390's installed in Merc's were the same as installed in Fords.

I have all the specs of every 390 car engine made from 1961 thru 1971.

I currently own two 1963 Galaxies, and have owned over 20 1962/64 Galaxies.

A few of my sources:

The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975.

Fords of the Sixties.

High Performance Mercury's.

Ford Galaxie/LTD 1960/1976.

All the Motor Trend mags from the 1960's.

 

ok, its confirmed. its either a 410 or a 428, good thing you guys told me to check the stroke.

is there anyway to see if i have a 410 or a 428? shouldnt i beable to tell through the head numbers?

 

Post all the numbers you know

Crank
Heads
Pistons

 

That isn't entirely true... the 428 blocks have thicker cylinder walls for the increased bore.

Also look into the water jacket thru the freeze plug. Yep, 428 is cast inside there.

428 Cobra Jet Block Identification

 

Nope.

C6AZ-6049-E .. Cylinder Head

Fits: 1966/67 352/390/410/428.

 

so in other words ive got to take the engine apart to tell?

the only casting numbers i can get to are the heads and block

if it is a 410, can i bore it to a 428?

 

That is the head ASSEMBLY number not a real casting number... more than likely it had a C6AE-R casting number