There has been a lot of talk lately with people asking what they should do with thier 360/390's, well here is what I just completed:

Started with a 360 that came with the truck
Replaced crank with a 390, had it polished because I dinged it up removing it
Heads were reworked and decked, installed hardened valve seats, had all valves verified for wear tolerances along with valve guides.
Rebuilt rocker arm shafts
Stock 390 pistons
Installed cam and lifters from Summit (they only sell one size for the FE)
added Reconditioned C7 AE-B Rods with ARP bolts
Edlebrock Performer 390 intake
Edlebrock 600 cfm carb
Hedman hedders (should have gotten the coated ones)
2 1/2 inch dual exhaust with crossover, Flowmasters, all exiting behind each rear wheel

Did everything myself except the final tune up. I can say it runs great and the power it gained is awesome. A bit louder than I wanted but it does sound great. My guess over the time it took me to do it, I started last summer, parts and machine shop labor totaled close over $1500.00

My first rebuild I took short cuts to save money and it showed. This time I took my time and did it right, but I'm sure some here will say I should have changed the pistons too but it wasn't in the budget.

Have fun, I'm very satisfied with my results...

 

Very nice,but Summit sells LOADS of cams for a 390 Camshaft and Lifter Kits - SummitRacing.com

 

I was refering to the Summit Brand name... yes there are many different cams under various makers but Summit offers only one.

 

Sounds like you built a very good pickup engine, for a reasonable price, and it runs very well for what it's intended to do. You'll probably get some folks telling you you should have used a Performer RPM, more carb, more cam, and for a hotrod engine, they would be correct- but the combo you have should pull decent vacuum, have great throttle response and low-end torque, be great for towing, and get decent mileage. In other words, a great pickup engine- not an old-school, old-technology drag race engine. Should throw mud pretty good

 

The specs on that Summit cam ain't too shabby!! Now I'm wondering what that will do on my next build...

 

Which one did you go with? Summit Racing - SummitRacing.com

 

Here is the kit I bought:
Summit Racing SUM-K34052 - Summit Racing Street & Strip® Cam Kits - Overview - SummitRacing.com

I also forgot to mention that I had the 390 crank and new rocker arm shafts from the last rebuild so that wasn't a cost for this rebuild. Machine work was reduced because I only had the cylinders honed, so they stayed .030". Most of the cost for the machine shop was in the heads. I had less than 20k on the motor.

The rods and intake came from DSC Motorsport
Dennis has a good supply of FE parts new and reconditioned.

My rocker arm shafts came from a guy in California. I was overseas in the Navy when I ordered them and when he found I was serving, he sent them for free...no charge. His original web site is gone, but I think his company is still out there:
Every assembly is remanufactured to meet or exceed original equipment specifications., Rocker Arm Specialist Anderson, CA Home If i remember correctly his rebuilt rocker arms were just $98.00 for the set. The ones I got were as good as new and in perfect condition. If you have adjustables he can rebuild those for you. Again, not sure if this is the same company I put the link for.

I also live just 45 minutues from the Summit retail center in Georgia, dangerous.

 

nice build, thanx for the site, i was looking to turn my 360 into a 390 aswell