There are several books that have been published over the years, most though, are now only available at swap meets or used book shops. For the basic dimensions. clearances and torque figures I would suggest checking at the library for old Motor manuals or Chilton publications. They have all the specs. The Haynes and Clymer manuals leave a lot to be desired.

Ted
If you stick with a 390 stroke, your stock block and rods are fine at the 5800 to 6000rpm range you want to run or higher.
Put your money into headers, heads and intake. You can make well over 400HP and easily push your car into the 12's at the strip.
An aftermarket set of aluminum heads will save some weight, and the trouble of finding factory heads and spending money on the valve and port work to make them turn on.


Ed

The 390 or 428 crank will work great. Use stock rods with ARP bolts, internal balance the engine so you can use the easy to find 390-427 flywheel. Use the LR 427 heads with a PI intake and some headers and you will have a great combo. Let me know if you need parts. I have the LR stuff.

sounds like you have a 410 ci motor.

Here's the bulk of what your ID tag says:    428    66    1    5-K     401 S This boils down to: a 428 "Q"-code engine of change level #1. It was built at Ford's Dearborn Engines & Foundry  plant in October, 1965, for installation during the 1966 model year. Basic engine ID 401 S was generic, meaning its not exclusive to one car line, but was always set up for use with A/T. To learn more, please visit our "Obsolete Engines Textbook". You can click that link, or use the ENGINES button found on every page of this Forum. Hope this helps.  :-) Mr F

if it is what he says it is then you have a good deal on your hands.others can give specifics on what to look for.

It sounds like a good deal. I don't know a lot about the 406, but it should have HP cast in the side, and it may or may not have cross bolted mains. Remember, the 406's were the precursor to the 427.

Some 406's also got machined combustion chambers, while earlier heads had cast chambers. (I think)

Anyway, it has the same bore as 428's, so all you need is a 428 crank, and you have a cross-bolted 428.

Or, keep the 406 crank. Either way, it's a neat engine. Well worth the $600 if it's in decent shape.

the trans will take the power easily. you will have to change the input shaft or build a spacer though as the input shaft length is longer on the small block trans. dan williams top loader, or national drivetrain should be able to help you out.

Your trans is from a '68 Fairlane or Falcon. 289 or 302 cid, it's a wide ratio gear box and will handle the power of most 390 engines. You will have to shorten the pilot portion of the input shaft about 3/8 inche or so (if I remember correctly) or it will bottom into the end of the crank. Careful cutting with a cut off wheel and a bit of chamfering will make it just like the 390 trans..

if you decide you want a different tranny i have a toploader with numbers rug-c2. this comes back as a 66-67 fairlane,comet etc. with a 390. if youre interested email me.

Don't use the 289/302 trans if you are not willing to shorten the pilot portion of the input shaft. I've already tried the spacer method and there are several reasons not to. First there is the less than secure mount, the sleeve that supports the throw out bearing needs to seat in the bell housing, then there is the matter of the throw out bearing possibly hanging on the end of the sleeve and next, the splines of the input shaft should be fully through the clutch disc which may not happen using spacers. The RUG C2 is a close ratio trans and is very good but, it works best for highway use or with 4.10 or better gearing otherwise I suggest using the wide ratio that you have.

Of course it's always best to replace them as a set considering age but it's not absolutely necessary for a good running engine. Check them closely for wear etc and if they aren't damaged you don't HAVE to replace them. I would only because I'm a 410 lover, this motor was only made for 2 years making it a fairly rare find. I have one in my '67 Marquis and wouldn't trade it for all the 390s out there. Long live the 410 and TORQUE :^)

If they are pitted where the rocker pushes the valve to open it, that would be a wear mark that some times gets pretty deep. They can be resurfaced by the shop that grinds your valves as most of the machines in the better shops have the attatchment for this.

n/m

i have a set of fe heads that dont have a part number where the part number is usually found there is a set of numbers 2143 and 375. Any chance this engine is pre-'60? That would make sense with those casting numbers. If I'm right, then its a good bet these heads are from a 332CID....maybe even a 361 FT. I'm not as familiar with these early parts so it took awhile for me to catch on.  Mr F

The harmonic balancer P/N C8AZ 6316-B is the one on your car. This balancer has a casting number of C8AE 6316 A 2. The part number refers to the finished part with packaging as kept in FOMOCO's system. I think you should remove the transmission dust cover and check for the proper counterbalanced flex plate. Your balancer is the right one for a 428 CJ or 390 or 1968 427. There is no imbalance in any FE balancer, so it wouldn't matter which one your car had it would not cause a vibration.

Keep us posted,
Royce Peterson
68 Cougar GTE 427 (two of them)
68 1/2 Cougar 428 CJ Ram Air