Okay, so heres the plan...I hope to be getting a classic ford pickup(pre-'74) and chances are, unless modified, it will come with a 390, or other form of FE power. I wanted to know how well the FE's perform off road? I only have experience with small blocks so either series is a mystery to me, well I know the FE's were great for the street anyways. Should I put money into the FE or hold out for a 429/460? For example, does a 385 have more low/mid range torque than an FE? Does one overheat easier than the other? Any lubrication problems? Any advantage/disadvantage information would be great. I apreciate your time, and the space for this post. Thanks.

Caleb

 

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I have experience with both motors and can say that the FE is fine for offroad work. I currently have a 390 in my '76 F250. I'm in the middle of a full scale rebuild but before I tore it down it did fine offroad lugging 38" Swampers with only 4.10 gears. The motor was built with Edelbrock aluminum heads and intake but a properly built FE using stock parts would actually have better low rpm power. The FE's work well because they have small port size which keeps velocity up and gives you plenty of torque. Also, you're not really comparing apples to apples because a 390 will never have the torque of a 460. However, a 428 is an absolutely great truck motor but they're getting exremely rare and expensive, I'd convert to a 385 before paying the extra cash for a 428. Both have oiling issues but nothing too serious for a truck engine. The FE's have oiling misalignments that need to be addressed, along with a restriction to the top end. The 385's are ok if not pushed too hard but can have the top end restricted for hard use. Check out these excellent forums for more info., I guarantee they'll help you out. Use the search function, it's excellent.

 

The FE was used in heavy trucks like the F600. I saw one in a large dump truck and one in a large UHaul truck. They have excellent torque and are one of the best engines for normal off road use. If you are looking for Baja 500 type off road, go for the Winsor, but for regular non-race off road a 390 is a great choice.

I had a 360 in my 73 F250 and pulled it out installed the 428 FE. The cost was about $1,200 for the 390 to 428 conversion, but this included balancing, custom cut pistons, 12" CF Dual friction clutch, Billit steel 428 flywheel, 428 crank.

A 390 with a few mods is a great choice and I think the FE has more choices for parts than the 460 does. With the proper heads, headers, good intake, ign upgrade... you'll have a great engine. Stock 390s get 427# of torque at 2800 RPM!

 

The FE will give you PLENTY of power where you need it , low rpm's. the money you spend getting the part's you need to change over is well spent in the FE heads,and cam, you don't really need a lot of compression in truck engines. the "FT" engine was put into the heavy truck such as the 600 and other service trucks.