Was the 390 ever an option in 1966 for the F-100's? I have a 1966 390 and a 1978 400 engines and am trying to decide what would be a better fit. Would like 400+ horsepower the cheapest way to get it.

 

According to Wikipedia it was not an option. But the 352 and the 390 apparently looked an awful lot alike, at least as far as I could find with google. Check your VIN with the VIN decoder under the Articals/Specs drop down at the top of the page, that might point you in the right direction.

Ford F-Series - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

I already know that it had a 300 in it but i was just curious which would be better?

 

I woud say you will get more HP easier out of the 390.... the 351M/400 is more of a low end torque engine, not high revving. The 390 I had was a screamer, check the engine forums out also!

 

Some claim 390 were installed on special order for ford big wigs. but the parts guy will say never happened.

There is no VIN letter corresponding for a 390 in any 65 or 66 light duty truck. The XL's (63 Uni) Vin letter is not stamped as it left The production line with no engine and was fitted with a 427 at DST.

Garbz

 

As far as fit between 352 and 390, the blocks are the same externally. Internally the true 360-390 truck block has some heavier webs in it. I had a 390 in a 77 F-150, ask Archion how it ran. 3.25 gears, camper special short block, 65 390-300 heads and intake, stock truck exhaust manifolds, camper special duraspark distributor, carburetor, but using the Duraspark II cap, tower, rotor, wires and box. My design dual exhaust setup to run down the right side in order to clear the dual tanks. It would fly and deliver 16mpg on the highway.

 

My Grandpa was a Ford Parts guy in Alliance NE, and my first 66 was one he bought from the original owner, and when he was working at Ford, the original owner ordered the 390 and had it put in his 66 F-100. Grandpa later bought the truck, and then my dad bought it from him, and then I bought it. It was the one from a cop car, and made MAJOR power, I think I finally yanked it at about 250 or 300k because it was tired and smoking bad, but it still ran like a ****! Since then I have always been a fan of them, the 390 that is.

 

Ford would do almost anything back then within reason for customers. Add special equipment like PTO's, add special beds, paint vehicles in non standard colors, change transmissions, send vehicles out to Marmon-Herrington to be converted to 4WD even tho Ford offered 4WD as an option on F100's & F250's beginning in 1959.

Whenever these things occured, the vehicle would have a DSO number of 6 digits. The first 2 digits reflect the sales zone office where the vehicle was originally ordered from. The last 4 digits are the DOMESTIC SPECIAL ORDER number for the special equipment added by Ford.

The 6 digit DSO was necessary because when making these changes, the parts won't match up to what the parts catalogs list, or the parts weren't even manufactured by Ford.

To find out what these special order vehicles had, the dealer would contact Ford, give them the 6 digit DSO number, Ford would look up the order and pass the info back to the dealer.

NO 6 digit DSO = It's not something Ford Motor Company did = PERIOD!

If the vehicle was not a DOMESTIC SPECIAL ORDER, there were no 390's (or 360's) installed in F100/350's till model year 1968. No C6's till 1968...yadda yadda yadda!

No 351M's or 400's till 1977. There were no FE engines factory installed after 1976.

 

If you want cheap HP, I suggest you go with a 460, a member of the 385 series. The 460 was phased out as a carbed engine about '89 (in motorhomes), but the FE series, of which the 390 is a part, was last used in '76.
You will probably find it easier to get performance and add-ons cheaper for the 385s than for an FE.
If you are changing the original drivetrain from a 300 to anything else, the modifications and work required to accomplish the changes will be about the same regardless of the final choice of engines.
You can even transplant a complete fuel injected 460 into a Slick - ask Garbz!

 

What I was saying Bill, was that he bought the truck, drove it and then later on decided he wanted a 390, it was not BOUGHT NEW that way, he bought the engine from parts AFTER the fact and had it dropped in.
sorry for the hijack

 

Thanks everyone your help is greatly appreciated!!