Sounds like a '67 390 engine...if it hasn't been apart. The heads are common to Mustang and Fairlane 14-bolt exhaust bolt pattern. Without the ID tag or other particulars of the engine, it could be anywhere from 275 to 335 horse 390 engine. I'll readily admit, I'm not a casting numbers guy. Others may offer other possibilities, but it's not going to be a 427 or 428 if that's what you may have been hoping for.

Well, I have the same thing. Thought was 390 too. But mine was purchased in pieces from a guy with allot of fe stuff. If its not apart it prob is a 390. But mine is a 428( 1U crank) with gt 390 heads. It bothered me allot until a got a fe guy to look at it to make sure what I had.

Eagle makes a supurb h-beam rod for FEs, Jason. You can get them through Jeg's or Summit for about $600.00 for a set. Alternatively, if the Eagle rod isn't good enough for you, then you can step up to a set of Carillo rods for about three times the price.

cork gaskets compress over time...you just need to keep re-tighnening the valve cove bolts...twice a day for about a week. These engines have the intake manifold form part of the valve cover sealing surface with the head. There is frequently a discontinuity between the intake and the head at the joint. This can cause the gasket to be to compressed in one place and not enough in another. I have the same trouble and my valve covers are cast aluminum which should be more rigid and therefore be less prone to leaking. I use Gasket Shellac on my gaskets (looks like thick molasses, or like tar), but there are better products out there. A friend uses a blue gasket sealer made by either Loc-tite or Fel-Pro with very good results...I will try to find out what it is exactly. Also, with stamped metal valve covers, it is possible to overtighten and distort. One other thing, did you restrict oil to the heads?....these engines will build a lot of oil in the head area which will invariably cause oil to leak from the valve cover gasket right above the exhaust ports.

PS: What did you find that was wrong with your engine...good to hear it's running fine.

Are you sure that the covers are absolutely flat? Did you put a small dab of silicone on the intake/head union, both front and back, on both sides of the engine? They rarely meet in a level union. Thirdly, is the head gasket sticking up and cutting into the gasket?
I speak from experience. I too had a hard time getting my '67 GT500 to stop leaking. And, yes, kep tightening them...........a very little at a time. Overtightening will worsen the problem. Good luck. E mail me if you need further help. Good luck. Be patient. Having straight covers is an absolute must. If you did not check them, they are probably warped.

Dan

You didn't mention this but use new lock washers on the bolts. If your bolts continually need re-torqued, you need new lock washers.

I tried both cork and rubber gaskets and all kinds of gasket sealers and rtv on my aluminum valve covers trying to get them to seal. What finally worked for me was the load spreader bars. I use them on the lower 2 bolts on each side. They are chrome and you can hardly see them on the motor (428 in 67 Mustang).

I guess I was just lucky. I use black rubber, Felpro I think, gaskets. I've got studs which seems to help keep the gaskets aligned. I've got the pentroof valve covers w/out spreaders. I don't use rtv, or lock washers - just the flat washers that came with the arp studs. I've never had a valve cover leak, and I've had the covers off several times. I've reused the gaskets each time, and they're in pretty bad shape, but still, no leaks.

Sorry, no help.

I've had success with cork only putting the RTV on the valve cover and sticking the gasket to it. As mentioned above lay the valve cover on a flat surface and tap with a hammer till reasonable flat. I've also tried rubber, just got to ask for it at the parts store (even the rubber will leak too), I never use any RTV against the head. Usually most tighten too tight and smash the gasket not compressing it, I used a torque wr. on a tuff set, torqued it to 30 in lbs. Mine leaked too till I took the hammer to them.

Will,

I'm using the rubber ones as well. I've had mine off a number of times with no leaks. Both Fel-Pro and Mr. Gasket make them. I use the Fel-Pros due to he fact they don't comp[ress as badly as the Mr. Gasket. Go to your local shop and they'll show two part numbers.

Best of Luck

My opinion The intake gaskets at the front and rear can be a problem. Without knowing what cam you have it would be hard to get a baseline of minimum vacuum pressure. I would suspect the duel carbs. maybe part of the problem, make sure you don't have any leaks especially at the base of the carbs. and all the ports below the top base plate of the carbs. are capped. Usually stock FEs will pull 17 to 20 inches of vacuum. With a high lift cam and No leaks or carb. problems I would think you should be able to pull 8-10" of vacuum. The best thing about duel carbs. are the looks, other than that they are a pain in the @@@ for a street driven car.

Hi Steve,

I also have a 67 GT-500 (03217). And I experienced the same issue with low vacuum. I felt the brakes could work beeter and we suspected low vacuum. We tested in idle and it had 11 pounds. We dropped in in drive and if i recall it dropped down below 7 pounds. Keep in mind that depending on the shape of the holleys you may have vac leaks there also.

Are you experiencing any backfiring through the carbs?

Sucking up over hear, but sturing up over their!

I believe Lentech has what you're looking for.
www.lentechautomatics.com

Sean the 428 and 390 are both Fe motors and share external dimensions. The only real differance as far as fitting them into the chassis of your 67 would be that the bolt patterns on the exhaust manifolds are different. 14 bolt for 390gt and 16 bolt for 428CJ. The standard 390gt heads are somwhat limited in air flow potential and the 428are the better choice as they lend themselves better to preformance modifications. the only other point of interferance would be that the 428CJ intake is slightly taller than the 390Gt and could possibly cause problems with hood clearence. Or not

The 429 requires some mods before it will fit the '67-'70 Mustang.

A 428 fits just like a 390.

Shoe.

n/m

.n/m

The 427 has a shorter stroke and a bigger bore. The block is thicker, stronger and has cross bolt mains. The 427 was mainly designed for NASCAR racing, but has huge success road racing and drag racing. As it evolved it was more reliable and made more HP. The 428 has a longer stroke and a smaller bore and was cheaper to produce than the 427. With several compression ratios the 428 can in many models From the ground pounding 428 SCJ to the wagon version. The bolt patterns are mostly the same Beings they are FE series. I would say most FORD FE Lovers dream of owning a 427 Which to me was the KING HP in the 60's on all tracks. And FORD really had nothing to prove after the 70s, it was all down hill after then. Even today the 427 cobras are still consider the faster cars ever produced. Not bad for a 36 year old engine. Now this should get you plenty of disscussions on this subject.

n/m