It's been awhile since i was last on here, mainly cause I haven't been able to do much to my 71 F100 cause of finances. Hopefully within the next year I will have the funds to rebuild my 390, and I plan on doing a stroker kit. My questions are... First, Is it worth it or should I swap a 460 into it? Second, what type of kit would be best for HP? And Third, most of the kits i've seen run around $2000, any one know of a cheaper way of getting the same performance for cheaper?

James

 

James, What do you want it to do when finished. A mildly built 390 with a RV cam is a very kick azz truck engine.

Can you build a bigger 460, well with 70 more cubes, yeah.

Whatcha want it to do???




John

 

I say keep the FE... Visit the site below and be inspired:

Survival Motorsports Home Page

 

I would say 428. I font know where I saw it at but something if you use a bore of a 427 and the crank of a 428 you would have some massive cubes. I don't know if it could be done but it's worth looking into.

 

A 428 crank in a 390 makes a 410 that was used for 2 years in the Mercury.

If I could get my hands on a 428 I'd use it rather than making a stroker.



John

 

if your on a budget just rebuild the 390 with a cam , intake and headers you'll be happy . that's what i am doing .

 

I`m doing the same thing. I also have a 390 out of a `67 Fairlane GT, so I`m thinking of dropping it in my `71 F100 4X4.

 

i got a 67 tbird 390 block factory speced out so i am doing a hone job ,got a lunati voodo cam complete kit , edelbrock performer, 670 holley avenger carb ,getting headers . i also smoothed the castings on the intake /exhaust ports on the heads . she should run pretty good .

 

My overall vision for this truck is along the lines of a hot rod truck. This is my first rebuild, but I have a lot of people I know that have done them, and are more than willing to help. Like I said earlier I would like to max out to HP as much as I can without sacrificing too much torque in return.

I also have been thinking about new aluminum heads, but I also these are not cheap. I think in the end I will have the block machined, bored 0.40 over, get a new cam, new intake, new carb, new heads, and new headers.

Mike - what , if any, did your bore your block to?

 

my block and bores were in sweet shape factory spec'd out so i just deglazed honed it my self . motor was from a car that someone took apart still running to "restore" and never finished . i got real lucky
i would measure your cylinders and cylinder taper then have machine shop bore it the minimum you can .

 

JNISSEN
do you have this book ? if not a recommend getting it lots of knowledge in there
Rebuild Ford Big Block Engines 352 390 406 410 427 428 | eBay

 

Might want to look at Amazon too, I saw some better prices for used books.




John

 

No I do not, I have another one "How to Build Max Performance Ford V-8's on a Budget"
Havent been able to really dig into it yet, but my buddy gave it to me, and said it worked well for him. I think I will probably buy the one you suggest as well, never can have too much info!
Thanks for the help

 

I'ts a real good read for basic tips on rebuilding the fe engines .

 

if finances are a challenge then just rebuild the 390 with some good compression, good intake and carb and a healthy cam that matches the rest of your combo with some opened up heads and your 390 can make over 400hp. if you want serious hp and have some money to throw at it i would go 460 versus strokin the 390 unless you wana stay with FE and theres nothin wrong with that. the reason i say go 460 if you have money and are serious is baecause you can spend 1500 strokin your 390 to 445 and have 450-500hp or you can spend 1500 strokin a 460 tp 545 and have a calm cool 550 to 600hp depending on the heads you use. ported iron heads on a 545 can get 600hp with ease. like wilker said, depends on what you want. a nice healthy 390 is lots fun