The Comp Cams 280H is a great cam but in an automatic 390 you will need at least a 2500 RPM converter or it will be ill mannered at stop lights.

I have tried split pattern cams and find they tend to idle smoother but have less mid range torque than Comp Cams single pattern Magnum series cams.

I just built a 427 with the 270H and it works fine with the stock converter but it is right at the limit. In your 390 the same cam would need a converter with slightly higher stall speed.

One suggestion I would make is to change intakes. I have personally used the Edelbrock Performer and it's an excellent street/RV intake. But it's not designed to exceed 5,500 and that's tops. You've indicated you want power to 6,000. So it would be best to switch to the Performer RPM intake. It's designed for the reasonable upper ranges to 6,000...maybe 6,500 with some work.

There really were not any specific heads for a 352. All the passenger / light truck FE's used the same head castings during any given year. The heads on a '65 352 were the same as those on a '65 390.

Royce

http://jcoconsulting.com/forumfe/reply.aspx?ID=16043&Reply=16043

Im running a soild roller cam in my 428CJ. 11to1 speed pros, F-427 intake, Holley HP750 DP, comp cams roller rockers, and some other goodies. It makes 475- 500 hp at 5,600 rpm and 550 foot pounds.

I have no idea what my power is as I've never dyno'ed it.

The combo is a bored/stroked 390 with edelbrock heads, M/T crossram with dual 600's a d FPA tri-y headers.

The crossram is a midrange intake, the cam is a midrange cam, the FPA tri-Y's are a midrange set of headers.

As I said, I haven't had it dyno'd, but the C6 leaves rubber at 1, 1-2, and 2-3. Seat of the pants-wise, I'm happy.

DO NOT expect to rev much past 5000 rpm with the hyd roller lifters though unless you invest a lot more than I did in lightweight valvetrain components.

But for a street driven car, it all works together great.

They do flow much better than either garden variety or CJ heads. The Edelbrocks are based upon medium risers while the CJ and other passenger car heads are a low riser port. The obvious benefits are that they are lighter, flow better, handle higher compression ratios, and have a better chamber design. As to whether those things are significant enough to outweigh the cost or give you a high enough return on your investment just depends on your individual situation. Higher lift cams and stiff rear gears will bring out the difference with the extended rpm range and better breathing but it's also not real hard to make over 400 hp with iron heads. Port flow is not one of the FEs problems.

With the bare heads, yes you can just clean up the heads and use your valves but you're still going to need the expertise of a machine shop since the valve spring heights have to (or should) be set. While not as expensive as completely going through your C6AE heads, it's not free.

Another way to look at it is a good set of cj heads can run $400 to $600, plus $50 shipping if you don't find any thing local. New springs and a good set of ss valves $200-$300 depending on source and app. If the heads require a machine shop, and they usualy do can run as high as $350. Start adding it up and before long the edl heads are looking better and better.
I have a set of cjs c8oen on a 428 in a 68 mustang and a set of edls on my 67 mustang w a nonoriginal 428. In the 67 I can take my dad in the 1/4, but its also minus all smog equipment and had a dig. ignition system. The race has allways been close, not sure what actual 1/4 mile time we are running.
If its original, stick with the iron, ifts for hp go for the edls and leave the good iron for the restoration guys
Charlie

Try using the search function above and you will find an abundance of advice re. headers.

We need to know about the cam specs and the type of tranny. If you are running an automatic then your idle is important. If you are running a standard then it is not as crucial. If you are running an automatic with a cam over about 223 degress of duration without a stall converter then you will need to play with it, like I did, until you get it to where you can live with it.

A notable mention is that the FE engines love a lot of timing. Best rule of thumb is after you have wieghted the distributor to the prove standards that you have mentioned is to keep advancing the intitial timing until it starts to ping a little under acceleration then back it off in tiny increments until it quits and that is concidered optimal.

It is or will be whatever it comes out to be once you set the total.

I know it seems contrary to everything you're heard or read but it's time to expand your horizons.

First, there is no magic one size fits all initial timing number. You want 10-12 degrees just to get the car started and as a baseline. Once the engine is running satisfactorily, you can start tuning the ignition curve and total. The best way is on the track but you can do it from the seat or your pants and by ear. Optimally, you'd want to bump the total timing to the point where performance falls off, then back it down a couple of degrees. Much easier to do on the track since you have a timeslip with a MPH that you can reference.

In your case, suppose that you find that the engine makes the best power with 36 degrees total and you have a 21 degree limiter in it. That gives you an initial timing of 15 degrees. If the car ran best with 41 degrees, your initial ends up at 20 degrees. If you were to set the initial at 10-12 degrees, then you'd have to work the total with just the bushing and you may not be able to get to optimal with just a bushing. So, you can see that you want to work it from the total timing, not the initial.

It probably goes without saying that to do it right and come up with the optimum takes some time. Especially in light of trying to work the centrifugal rate into it.

Get the ignition timing sorted out before you start working the fuel curve. Ignition will have a lot more to do with how the car runs than how well the fuel curve is matched to the engine.

Holleys do run fat out of the box. It's a fact of life. You'll want to work the idle circuit before anything else. The idle circuit contributes to all the other fuel curves so whatever you do to tune the idle circuit will cascade. You'll very likely need to put a restrictor in the idle fuel feed circuit. This is usually a piece of .015" wire in the channel. Google it and you'll find plenty of online instructions on how to do this. It's pretty simple and make a big difference in eliminating or reducing the nausiatingly rich idle. Most of the time, this is about all you'll have to do to a Holley. You'll probably find the other circuits will fall nicely in line.

One thing about any carburetor and idle speed...if the idle is too high you will expose the transition slot. The transition circuit is designed to get the carb from the idle circuit to the main circuit smoothly. Yes, the accelerator pump play a part in this as well. But, if you have the primary throttle blades open too far, you will uncover this slot right above the throttle blades. Once you do this, you'll have this circuit dumping fuel at idle, which will give you a very fat idle. You avoid this by not having the idle higher than it needs to be. You can also crack the secondary a bit or if necessary you can drill air bleeds into the primary throttle blades.

A solid mount is not a good choice for a street car, if that is what your "expert" is referring to.

Just get the stock rubber isolators. If you're worried about shearing the mount you can use a torque strap or put a bolt through the rubber mount.

Rubber mount will last a long time as long as you keep oil and grease off of them.

Mark, I cannot help with the mustang application, however, I took the top-loader out and installed a TKO with my 428 in a Cobra Kit. Install was easy with the adapter plate/spacer. The input shaft on the TKO is about 1/2" longer than the top-loader. Rob

I have a 69 428 CJ Mach 1 with a Tremec TKO, no cutting or hacking of any kind, made the car a much more enjoyable to drive.

The parts catalog is wrong. It's been confusing people for over thirty years!

Royce

http://jcoconsulting.com/ForumFE/reply.aspx?ID=10401&Reply=10367

Depends on how long you stay?
I went there last year for the first time ...WOW that's all I can say!

http://www.carsatcarlisle.com/schedule/fall/index.asp

Ford & Mustang Club-Finder

At National Trail raceway every laborday weekend there is a big All model Ford show thats the first weekend in Sept .