Hello,
I'm new to all of this and I'm not real familar with terms, or specs on the FE motors. I would like to learn as much as I can from you guys. Please be patient with me if I'm not understanding.
We have a 1954 Ford F-100 with a 390 FE ( pre-fmx) auto trans. This engine runs good but the intake is leaking oil in the front and rear. The heads have been drilled through for bolting up the exhaust manifolds, and whoever drilled them through used 5/16 bolts to mount the exhaust manifolds which still leak. The oil pressure is about 25 psi on startup and practically goes to nothing after it warms up. We bought a set of 390 heads re built for $100.00 thinking if we re-do the 390 the exhaust manifold problem would be taken care of.
We also have a 1966 428 FE police interceptor engine that needs to be rebuilt. The engine is from a Galaxie 500 7 Litre. We just learned that the 428 engines are externally balanced. The 428 engine had a manual 4 speed trans originally but do not know if we can use it with the auto trans. I was told that the flywheel is balanced for the engine and using the flex plate for the auto trans would not be balanced for the engine and would not balance the engine.
We were wondering what you all would do, rebuild 390 in truck or the 428 and put in the truck? We do not know what year the 390 is and how would you know what to order for a rebuild kit. We also do not know if you have to buy a special kit for the 428 being that it is the police interceptor. I hope this all makes sense to someone. We have lots of questions and we are hoping to use your experience to help us out if you can.
This truck we bought 3 yrs ago and basically had to go through and replace all of the engine mounts, crossover, trans mount, trans crossover bracket, radiator (1986 Ford Bronco), installed electric fan, new wiring harness, new Mallory pointless distributor kit, installed power steering, Toyota power steering box conversion kit, etc.
I guess what we are trying to say is we started to drive the truck this year and want to do something with the engine. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on making our old truck a bit nicer. It has been a fun project so far and we want to make the engine good so we have no worries when going for a cruise. Thanks for your help in advance.
papa8397

 

How do you know for sure that it is a PI or even a 428? If it is a 428, the old saw, "There is no replacement for displacement" is true. FYI a PI motor will have an aluminum intake. If you check the stroke and it comes up 3.98" then the motor is either a 410 or a 428. A stroke of 3.78" is a 390.

 

Hi Bear,
The car the engine came out of was my Dad's and had a rod starting to going out on it when the engine was taken out. I believe that it does have an aluminum intake. Dad had put a 390 FE in the car to replace the 428 because it was his work car. I remember he had bought a station wagon for fourty five dollars and took the engine out. He had to get it changed over so he could drive it to work. Later on he had taken everything out of the 428 block and greased the cylinders,cam, heads and crank. It has been tucked away under his work bench for over 30 yrs now. I remember him always telling me it was the Police Interceptor motor that was in that car that made it fast. I was pretty young at the time but remember that car would haul.
How do you measure the stroke? Is it the measurement of the connecting rod? Thanks
papa8397

 

Lucky dog, welcome aboard!

Since the crank is already out, clean the third counterweight from the snout and look for a number followed by a letter. Hopefully you will find a "1U" stamped in the counterweight. If so, just mail it to me!!! LOL

The balance info is correct, but, the crank can be balanced like the other FE cranks. It's just more $$$$ to do that.

Other fellas will be along with more info, so just ask away.

HTH, Mike

 

Or you can just buy a 428 flex plate, which is one hell of a lot cheaper than having the counter weights drilled and filled with heavy metal. The 428 PI made 360 horsepower at 5400 rpm and 459 ft/lbs of torque at 3200 rpm. The PI used standard 390/428 heads and the 427 hydraulic cam which was later the standard 428CJ cam.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll have to check out the crank for the stamping. Where would you be able to buy a 428 flex plate? Would that flex plate be balanced already or would that have to be done? Do you have any brand re-build kit that works better? Would you have the cylinder walls re-bored? I think this engine had about 70,000 mi once it was taken apart. None of the bearings had spun it just had a rod nock starting. Thanks again for the info.
papa8397

 

Ford or one of the auto parts stores should be able to get it for you. Yes it will be balanced for the 428, that's why it's for the 428. The engine parts need to be inspected to determine what it needs. Your machine shop can help you with that.