How can I id the 390 vs the 352? Is there a casting number I can look for?
Thanks for the help!!
Bob

I've seen a lot of info on the C3AE-C and the C4AE-G, but I have not seen anything on the C4AE-C 9060. Anyone have a proof positive ID on this one??

P

Hey,
Does anyone know how to measure the harmonic balancer. I am going to buy some timing tape from Summit and they list a 6&somethin and then a 7" Balancer for the FE Ford. I have a 1966 Galaxie w/390.

Thanks,
Chad

I have enjoyed all the wisdom available on the variuos FE forums. I have a cronic low oil pressure problem on a fresh 352 rebuild. Main and rod clearance is .001 to .0015. I'm running 10-40w and a melling HV pump. In the morning, about 60DEGF, I get 60 PSI at 1,000 RPM. Has the engine heats up, idle pressure drops to 5 PSI. Here are the readings at 185DEGF engine temp. Idle 5 PSI, 1000RPM 10PSI, 1500 18PSI, 2000 28PSI, 2500 39PSI, 4000RPM 50PSI. All readings from a calibrated guage.

Rocker shafts are remanufactured. At idle, the shafts are dripping oil but not "running" oil. At idle, I get an occasional oil light. The engine runs good and there is no valve train noise. Melling tech support advises they suspect engine clearance issues. The original brake-in went bad as a had a cam lobe go flat. On teardown, I found cam bearing #3 totally destroyed. I tore down the engine, cleaned it and installed new bearings, using the poper tools. The new cam turned freely. When the second cam broke in, I had 80PSI, at 3500RPM, at first. As the engine warmed up, pressure dropped.

I suspect that #3 cam bearing is bad again. What are the chances of misalignment? What other problems could be causing bearing failure?

I need to get back on to my twin turbo Mustang Fastback project so I'm thinking about using 20-50W and forgetting about this for a while. The truck is a ranch truck with occasional use. This FE has taken way to much time. I could have rebuilt three SBF fords in the time I spent on this truck engine. What a pain!

I posted this question quite awhile ago....and at that time i figured i had a 390 with a 428 intake on my '66 Fairlane GT...But this summer i have met a couple a guys who appear to "know FE's" at a local cruise night,and looked at my engine...The 1st guy said that it looked like a 428,...pointing out the valve covers (chrome and say "powered by ford") the alt. is mounted "low"..he said like a 428 not a 390..??..also that i have room for 3 belts on the front ?......these last two didn't make any sense to me!...he then said on the outside it looked lik a 428...but added that i would have to tear it down to be sure(I figured that!)...Last week I met a guy.who drove in with a cherry 70 429 cobra jet...After talking with him and finding out he has another 429 engine,3- 428 cj's and a 427 engine at home (wow),I asked him if he would look at my engine,walking over to my GT he said you got a 390 in it huh? I said i wasn't sure..right away he spots the 428cj intake on it...then he looked at the fan and said i have a 428cj fan...I showed him how the heads don't match the exhaust manifolds,he said that the heads were made for a bigger car. and that they were either 390 hipo or 428 heads?and added.that if the exhaust manifolds would match they wouldn't fit inbetween the shock towers...(extra bolt hole in front.on top of the heads) he said an easy way to tell was to look at the flywheel? (counter balance)and tryed to get under the car but it sits a little too low in the front....we kept talk'in ...but he kept peek'in at it....
So anyway this is what i have...intake C8OE-9425-C....Heads are C8AE-H......Exhaust manifold (right side)C80E-9430-A....fan C80E-B...alt. mounting bracket C8AE-10156-A....Can't find any block casting numbers ..but did find date casting..which decoded showed it was cast on Jan.12th 1969..I did try to measure the stroke a couple of years ago...with the wooden dowel method..and came up with something inbetween a 390 and a 428 stroke....but I didn't have a socket big enough to get on the flywheel so i turned by hand as far as i could each way...this last guy suggested taking all the plugs out ...to get rid of the compression,i'll be able to get a full stroke..(never thought of that!)....I know that the intake is 428cj,the heads are "generic" heads used from 68-72? (360,390,428?),and I was told the exhaust is a 390 GT....
So my question is... are these two "experts" just getting my hopes up or is there any truth to what they say,?I'm curious about the fan and the other #'s......I'm just a "rookie"when it comes to FE's!
Thanks inadvance
Mike ,'66 fairlane GT

mild built 390, customer wants to upgrade to new system so we can adjust out the little bit of lifter noise that he hears, i feel it is quite but hey it is the customers money, what have you guys experianced as the best set-up for replacing the rocker arms, shafts and pedestals . the heads are the aluminum edelbrock

thanks

I have a 69 428CJ Mach 1 that I am restoring and I got it in pieces and a lot are missing. Can someone tell me how and where the clutch return springs hook up on it. Or where there may be a sketch or something. Thanks
Joe at JWM59@aol.com

are 66 390Gt cylinder heads classed as medium riser heads.

Hello all,
This is my first posting. I have reviewed the forum and have been impressed with the number of responses and insight that its participants have. I have a question regarding valve train noise that I have been experiencing since the engine was rebuilt. Here are the specs. 1969 Mercury Cyclone CJ. 428 + .040, 10.5:1 pistons, A/T, FPA tri-y, Unilite, Performer RPM Heads, RPM Intake and waterpump, Crower Solid Lifter #16356 level 3 camshaft, std shaft rockers, ball cup push rods, mechanical holley fuel pump, 800 dp.

As stated my engine has been making valve train noise and giving me problems since day one of the rebuild. When the engine starts up cold the noise is barely legible. As the engine warms up the noise becomes more and more pronounced. Just the opposite as one would expect for rocker arm noise. I have always looked to places other than the rocker arms like a header leak, fuel pump or timing chains because of this. This weekend I decided to pull the valve covers with the engine cold and measure the clearance. To my surprise the clearance was around .015 for the intakes and around .017 for the exhausts. This is less than what I set them 2-weeks prior (.020 I, .022 E) not to mention the engine was stone cold. How could this be? I put the valve covers back on and started the car up and let it warm up as it warmed up the noise returned. Then I pulled one of the valve covers again and remeasured the clearance. To my surprise the clearance had grown and in some cases beyond the spec thus producing the tappet noise. It seemed as though the valves I set last had the most clearance. I normally set them from front to back with the engine hot. This time I set them from back to front. As I got towards the frond of the engine the clearances were spot on. I installed the valve cover on the passenger side, started the engine and let it get hot again and then removed the valve cover on the drivers side only to find the same thing. I reset those valves and installed the valve cover and sure enough the valve train noise disppeared and has remained that way since Saturday. I have driven the car pretty hard with several 5800 rpm shifts and it seems to still sound great. Can anyone explain to me why the valve lash would increase as the engine gets hotter? This has me baffled.
Some additonal information. I threw a rod in it in 1984. The broken rod split the camshaft in two and sent parts flying all over the engine. The car sat for 10 years before I was able to get back to it and give it the proper restoration it deserved. My dad is the original owner. I had the same noise with hydraulic lifters when the engine was first started up after the rebuild. That is why I went to solid lifters. I thought that maybe the machinist had removed the restricter at the back of the block that helps keep up oil presuure for the lifters. It also made the same noise with the stock CJ cast iron heads.

I know it probably sounds like I am an idiot and can't adjust a valve train properly but that really isn't the case. I have never run into this problem on any other engine I have worked on. Is it possible that the camshaft is walking or the rocker shafts or arms are flexing as the engine gets hot. Could I have damaged something in the structure of the block that would cause things to move around. During assembly we found that we had to slightly scrape 2 of the cam bearings in order to get the camshaft to spin properly. I have read that this can be required in older engines and is not uncommon. The rocker shaft assemblies are over the counter standard adjustable units with aluminum pedestals. The rocker arms are Ford Power Parts.
Any help would be appreciated. For now I am going to enjoy the peace and quiet and hope the noise only returns after 3000 miles.

i need to know what the best cubic inch to stroke my 390 to. I've heard 410, 427, 445, 456. I need to which gives me the most horsepower and torque. And what crank and pistons it takes to make it.