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| Cylinder not firing -- Tim P., 09/06/2002
Just getting my bored and stroked 390 going again after a rebuild and the no. 8 is not firing. This was happening before the rebuild which led me to believe bad spark plug wire or distributor. Today I started it cold and immediately put it in gear and made it misfire/not fire for 15 seconds then I touched all the header pipes and one was noticeably cooler, so I put a new spark plug in and a new wire on and tried again with no luck. Then I pulled the hose off the vacuum advance and plugged it and tried again with no change. Is it time for a new distributor? Coil is pretty new, cap and rotor are also pretty new and look normal. I'm running the stock distributor with a Pertronix unit. |
| | RE: Cylinder not firing -- Ron D. Maxwell, 09/06/2002
Tim, Have you checked compression on the bad cylinder? Try using a known good spark plug grounded to the engine while someone cranks the engine for you. AND always remember the KISS principle (Keep It Simple S-----) |
| | RE: Cylinder not firing -- Pete, 09/06/2002
When you have "a" cylinder not firing, it must be in the secondary ignition system. If you had a sporatic miss, it could be from the primary, but this is not your case. Therefore if it is an ignition problem, it must be either the plug, the wire or the distributor cap. If these are good, then you have a mechanical problem. Do you have a timing light? If so, attach it to the number 8 cylinder. Shine it on the hood and see if that cylinder is firing. Also make sure the wire is not run close to other wires, strange things can happen. |
| | | RE: Cylinder not firing -- John, 09/07/2002
The most common problem is the distributor cap. Inspect the inside for carbon tracking and cracks. Likewise the top and underneath of the rotor button. Take out the plug and ground it with the ignition wire attached. Is there a spark? Sparkplugs may fire with this test, but not under cylinder pressure. Swap the plug with another and see of the problem changes cylinders. (Dead cylinder is identifiable if removing the ignition wire doesn't affect engine idle..be careful...shocks are no fun) Swap ignition wires and see if the problem changes cylinders. Do you have too much clearance between the Pertronix sensor and the magnetic ring? Maybe one of the magnets is of less strength and won't trigger the sensor. Remove the valve cover and plugs and rotate the engine. Do the valves operate up and down properly (no sticking, broken springs, worn cam lobe, etc.) A compression test should be done which will tell you the same thing...maybe more. |
| | RE: Try this. -- Gerry Proctor, 09/08/2002
With the engine running and you wearing a thick set of isulated gloves or an insulated plug puller, slowly pull the plug wire off the plug. Once the metal connector in the socket leaves the plug's contact, the engine may smooth out. If this happens, your problem is going to be in the secondary system. Either a plug that is blowing out or a bad wire. |
| | RE:Compression? -- R Shannon, 09/10/2002
Agree with Ron, need to do a compression check to see if it's got a change to fire or not. New motor should be producing 150 to 180 PSI across all cylinders. |
| Looking for a F.I. or boat timing cover... -- Mike Braun, 09/06/2002
any F.E. fanatics out there have an old Weiand, Moon, or Algon fuel injection timing cover they'd be willing to part with? I have seen some boat timing covers that would work as well. I need to drive an oil pump off of the cam. Thanks in advance, --Mike |
| | RE: Looking for a F.I. or boat timing cover... -- Louie, 09/07/2002
I have a cast iron that I think probably came off a big truck. If your interested, email me and I can send some pics. |
| crank -- William R Lee, 09/06/2002
I would to ID. 2 cranks 360 or 390, I was told by a mech. the 390 has a moon shaped notch on the ring where the flywheel mounts besides the small sq. notch. both have 2U on the balance. |
| | '2U' designates 390 truck engine, 1966-73. [n/m] -- Mr F, 09/06/2002
n/m |
| | RE: crank -- William R Lee, 09/06/2002
Mr F: Had you ever heard of that moon-shaped notch before? If so, does it mean just car cranks, or both? |
| | RE: crank -- William R Lee, 09/06/2002
PS-Mr F: Please explain what the (n/m) means after the years 1966-73.
|
| | RE: crank -- salid, 09/06/2002
the half moon is found on the 360 crank. If I remember correctly, it has to do with drilling oil passages on the shorter throw 360 crank. I don't remember the logic behind the rectangular cut out on the longer throw cranks. |
| Part Number Location -- Doug, 09/06/2002
Does anyone know where the part number is located on a 428 crank? |
| | Look for ID stamp on #1 or #7 counterweight. [n/m] -- Mr F, 09/06/2002
n/m |
| | | RE: Look for ID stamp on #1 or #7 counterweight. [n/m] -- Doug, 09/06/2002
1UB is stamped on #7 |
| | | | | RE: Should be the '69-'70 428PI & '69 CJ part. See... -- Doug, 09/06/2002
Thanks... That is good news it came out of my 69 Cobra,the heads are wrong on the motor but everything else checks out. |
| | | | | | Coomon - CJ heads are prone to cracks. [n/m] -- Mr F, 09/06/2002
n/m |
| | | | | | | RE: Coomon - CJ heads are prone to cracks. [n/m] -- Doug, 09/07/2002
Sucks for me I wanted to restore to orig...but will have to go with after market . |
| | | | | | | | RE: Coomon - CJ heads are prone to cracks. [n/m] -- Bob Sprowl, 09/07/2002
They are not prone to cracking any more than standard heads in my experience. They are expensive and somewhat hard to find, however. |
| 427 cam question?!? -- Josh, 09/06/2002
I am building up a standard bore 1965 center-oiler, with medium riser heads, Edelbrock RPM intake, and holley 850.
My builder has a NOS Ford cam but I am affraid that it will not come alive until 4500 RPM. The engine is going in a 3500lb, close ratio 4-speed, with 3.25 rear gears.
The cam specs are: Ford part #: C4AE-6250-B (solid lift cam) Intake Duration = 324 degrees Exhaust Duration = 324 degrees Lift Lobe = .248 Lift Valve = .500 Overlap = 112 degrees
Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks, JC |
| | RE: 427 cam question?!? -- Rick Thompson, 09/06/2002
You also need to consider vacuum for power brakes and other stuff, if you have them. My 427 cam has 650 lift and a little less duration than yours, and I have 5-7 inches of vacuum. PB require 16 inches. |
| | RE: C4AE-6250-B cam -- Mike McQuesten, 09/06/2002
There were two C4AE-6250 cams......help me out here kevin! Both were over the counter. One was a radical thumper that was not suitable for most street apps whereas the other and I think it's the B grind is the one that works well on the street and on the strip.
Kevin posted great info on these two cams last spring. I printed it out and of course it's at home in that FE tech file! If kevin doesn't respond to this I'll check it out and make sure what I tell ya is correct.
I ran a C4AE-6250-B cam that was offered by Wolverine in their old Blue Racer line. Before I bought it I checked out all the specs I could find and it looked exactly like the one that Ford had offered, i.e., 324 d and 500 lift/248 lobe & 112. It turned out to be an excellent cam for the application which was in a 3,800 lb. Galaxie, 2.32 C-ratio top loader & 3.89 gearing. It idled reasonably smoothly with a nice lope and it would make a lot of torque and pull hard from 2,000 to 6,200 easily. This was in a center oiler '64 427 with C4AE-G heads/CJ-LR size valves & tri power.
Again, I believe the B cam is the streetable one. The other C4AE-6250 is the thumper you may not want. I'll check later tonight and if someone hasn't responded, I'll thumb through my file to make sure I'm not leading you astray and re-post with correct info. You may want to take advantage of that NOS cam your builder is offering. |
| | | RE: B = bad -- Mike McQuesten, 09/06/2002
Upon research, meaning I looked back to a post from kevin, 4/2/02, the C4AE-B cam would be a poor choice for Josh's application. I'm basing this on his concerns about this cam not making usable power for a heavy car under 4,000 rpm. You're right. According to kevin's information, which I trust a lot, the C4AE-B cam is the "LeMans" which was ground on 106 lobe centers thus making it a poor street choice.
However, you said that your builder said the cam he's offering you is ground on 112 lobe centers? You need to research this a bit.
The Wolverine cam I ran in my 427 was 245 @.050 both intake/exhaust; .524 lift, .303 at the lobe; ground on 114 lobe center. Again, this was an excellent all around high performance cam. I liked it a lot anyway.
You might want to search "B" cams here and you should be able to find kevin's excellent explanation of the differences & variations of the 427 Ford solid lifter camshafts.
Hope I've helped and not confused. Camshaft selection.....always a tough area to make recommendations without knowing all the facts and desires. |
| | RE: 427 cam question?!?... Duel Pattern Cam -- Ray, 09/07/2002
I think is highly recommended with timing around 214' int, 224' exh, @ .050 .525/.550 112 lobe center it's good for a heavy car. My dyno said 435HP @ 5000, 510 F,P, of Torque @ 4000. I have one in a 428 65 galaxie, it runs 103 mph and is a good driver. Ray |
| | | Use the "B" cam...... -- kevin, 09/08/2002
if you are contemplating a Medium Riser. This is if you are running streetable compression. It was designed for 10-1 and works well. This is if you want the baddest sounding idle. You need to have a good set of headers, and you will really like it with them open. You did not say what car it is for, but good quality big tubes will allow you to have 475-480 HP out of a stock MR. The B cam can come on as early as 3,000 RPM's depending on your combo, but with the lower compression, it will be more like 3,500. It will hang on to 7,000 no problem. Your combo will have peak torque about 4,700-4,800 with that intake. The 112 overlap figure is not the same as the cams ground lobe centers of 106 for this one (B), and 114 for the factory installed 427 8-V 324 original that came in all Low Risers (which is 96 degrees of overlap). In the MR Ford used the 306 cam to achieve the same power level as the LR using the 324 (street cam, not the LeMans). You dont need a dual pattern with a MR near as much as you do with other FE heads. I do however suggest you re-think your gearing. I can pull 17 MPG out of an all stock 427 (highly blueprinted, and 200 hrs of work in the heads, my specialty) at 3,700 RPM's with the street 324 cam in a LR 64 Galaxie with 3.70 gears. This was a jump over the 3.50 gears by 2 MPG at only 250 more RPM's. An engine offers the best milage at peak torque, but the MR was never intended for that, and you need another engine if thats your intention. The MR did however average 4.5-5 MPG at LeMans, and was awarded the honor of the best MPG out there by the F.I.A. sanctioning body. Strange how it beat out the Ferrari's and other engines that had OHC's and such. That is a testamonial to the work by the Ford engineers that were working on it for months around the clock to satisfy Henry II's demand for a win. I have had a lot of the B cams in every kind of combo, and am rarely disappointed. The ramps on it were designed for longevity, and set the exhaust (sodium filled) down at a gentler rate than current cams would. Sure you can go with another grind that makes more power, but then you cant say "Its all stock". The MR is about the most powerful engine ever built "all stock", and can whoop ass on most anyting. You are fortunate to have it, so prepare it with great care. I have five MR's left, and am not wanting to use them in the racecars anymore due to the value. I will be thrashing other combo's that are not nearly as valuable/rare. The cost of these today is enormous to duplicate on the concours level. |
| | | | RE: Use the "B" cam...... -- Mike McQuesten, 09/08/2002
Excellent explanation again on FoMoCo solid lifter FE cams kevin. Another "printer" for future reference. Thanks. |
| FE swap -- Keith L., 09/06/2002
Hello,
I'm sure you guys have lots of experience and have done this swap lots of times...I need some advice installing a 428 or other FE in my '65 FB, if I actually decide to go through with it.
The way I see it I can go one of three routes:
1. Weld on from cowl forward from a big block year, fit the '65 body to it and the rest will be easy as pie
2. Modify my existing engine bay to accept the gnarly beast
3. Completely fabricated tube front end. I really want to keep the car looking more stock than this, and would rather be able to bolt in the Total Control products, but it is an option, albeit one I don't want to take. Handling is more important than the quarter (Then why not use a small block?? BE-CUZ!, That's why!)
I lean toward the as-stock option (#1). Something really nice about a stock appearance. I really wouldn't be that hard putting on the '67 front either, although I just spent hours upon hours welding up the 65 front frame rails and engine bay, but it's no biggie to redo it. However, I just wanted to hear from someone who's done option 2 to see how it went, what problems were encountered, has it held up well, etc etc etc....
Thanks,
Keith |
| | I think you'll find that's not a common swap.[n/m] -- Mr F, 09/06/2002
n/m |
| | RE: FE swap -- Bob Sprowl, 09/06/2002
What is a '65 FB? Foot ball? Fuzzy Bunny? |
| | | I presume he means a '65 Mustang fastback. [n/m] -- Mr F, 09/06/2002
n/m |
| | RE: FE swap -- Charlie, 09/06/2002
We just finished an fe swap into a 67 fb and have started a second swap. I can't remember for sure, but I don't think an fe will clear a 65 shock towers w/o some cutting. Keep in mind the shock towers usualy need a little reinforcing to start with, both of the ones we worked with had cracks, mostly around the original welds. Also fe motor mounts are different. Its common in the 67 to redrill the frame mount to work with the fe if you have the small block ones already. The engine should fit under the hood though, I don't think my 428 cj sits any higher in my 67 than the 289 or 351w, or 351c did. Yes my 67 really has had 4 different engines in it, the high school drag racing days were'nt kind to it. Any way I'll measure the distance between my shock towers, keep in mind there is virtualy no clearence between my headers and the shock tower, if you want to compare with your 65. Charlie |
| | RE: FE swap -- Pete, 09/06/2002
You need the 67-70 shock towers. or you can contact Crites Restoration and buy a kit to modify you existing towers. I believe they have some thing fo that. I am doing it to my 64 Fairlane; to fit a FE. |
| 292 - 390 Swap -- Rich Larsen, 09/05/2002
I am getting ready to replace my 292 for a 390 in my '62 F-250. Is this forum strictly for Mustangs or could I ask you good folks for help on this project as well? Thanks, Rich |
| | RE: Mustangs only! -- Mike McQuesten, 09/06/2002
Sorry Rich, I just couldn't help it. I liked your comment, "Is this forum strictly for Mustangs.....". I don't think it is but it may appear that all things Ford started sometime around 4/17/64. Alot of us liked Fords & cars in general before Mustangs & Camaros.
I've never 'converted' a 292 pickup to FE but I did a '61 Starliner this way. It took only a week of driving the Galaxie with the 292 and that was all for that chunk-o-iron. The Y block and cruiso were replaced by a 428 CJ/C-6. It was an extremly easy swap. But a '62 Ford pick up is a different deal I think. I'm going to check a few things this weekend to make sure but it seems to me that the Y block in a pickup had a different mount system with a mount up front and a rear engine mount as part of the transmission mount. It seems that you have to fabricate a cross member with integral mounts for the FE. I just hope someone jumps on here and gives you some specifics on doing this swap.
I do have an old magazine article from '62 that provides decent pics of how a guy installed a 406/405 hp and cruisomatic into a '62 Ford Pick up. What is obvious is that he removed the entire front engine mount cross member from a early sixties full size Ford and welded to the frame of the '62 pick up. And then he used the full size car automatic trans cross member/mount to run the cruiso. So if you want a copy of that article send me your snail mail address and I'll send you a copy. Still no scanner for me. |
| | | RE: Mustangs only! -- Rich Larsen, 09/07/2002
Thanks MIke! YOu are correct about the mountings in each case concerned. The 292 has a front cover/motor mount. The rear motor mount is incorporated into the bellhousing. This used to be a very popular swap and some aftermarket companies made conversion bellhousings. Or, if you are lucky like I think I am, you stumble across a bellhousing used in their heavy duty cab-over trucks that married the FE to the T98 or T18. So if I am correct, now I have to worry about the front of the engine. Do I seek after a FE front cover/motor mount that were made, use one of the conversion crossmembers offered by JCW or fabricated some myself? The easiest would be the JCW route, but I really like the idea of having the oil pan so available if I go the front mount or custom build side mounts. I wonder if FE's were offered in trucks before '67? I could possibly copy that mounting system. Sorry to be so long winded. Thanks again for your reply, Rich |
| | | | Go here www.ford-trucks.com -- Greg, 09/07/2002
www.ford-trucks.com |
| | | | | RE: Go here www.ford-trucks.com -- Rich Larsen, 09/07/2002
Thanks Greg, Actually that is where I started out but either people aren't too interested or they don't know for sure. I was just looking for other avenues. But I do apprecaite the help. Rich |
| | | | RE: '65 first year for pick-ups/FE -- Mike McQuesten, 09/08/2002
You probably already have learned that the FE was first available to pickup buyers in 1965. They use a "normal" side engine mount system.
Your project is a definitely do-able. It seems like you have a grasp of what's available to you. Again, I do have some decent shots of how a guy did this installation back in '62 by using a full size Ford/Merc cross member welded to the '62 frame. And he used a cruisomatic with the 406. A rather odd combo for the time. |
| | | | | RE: '65 first year for pick-ups/FE -- Rich Larsen, 09/08/2002
I would love to see those pics! How do we do that? |
| | | | | | RE: '65 first year for pick-ups/FE -- Mike McQuesten, 09/09/2002
Just send me your snail mail address to my e-mail and I'll copy the entire article and contribute a stamp toward your worthy project. Mike |
| Bored out 390 displacement? -- Randall Dias, 09/05/2002
I've had my 390 engine rebuilt and bored out "40 thousandths"over stock. The stroke was not changed. Just out of curiousity, I'd like to know what the cubic inches of this engine is now. |
| | RE: Bored out 390 displacement? -- BobSprowl, 09/05/2002
398 |
| | bore X bore X.7854 X stroke X numher of cyl -- mustangoldtimer, 09/05/2002
4.090 X 4.090 X .7854 X 3.78 X 8 = 397.30064 cu in |
| bore a 390 to a 406 its only .0082 ? -- bill bradley, 09/05/2002
is there enough metal to bore my 390 .0082 to the size` of the 406.? |
| | your math is wrong, it is .080 not .008..... -- hawkrod, 09/05/2002
probably not, but get it sonic checked and find out. hawkrod |
| 427 sohc -- Steven Hall, 09/04/2002
I want to have a 427 single overhead enging built. How can I get tech sheets and specs. |
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