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Original Message
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| RE: C3AE-Cs? |
| By Mike McQuesten - 12/23/2001 2:51:53 PM; IP 63.50.108.241 |
I was afraid you'd ask Jim. I will try to be succinct which is obviously difficult for me. But I'm workin' on it.
Okay here's what I know about the C3AE-C. A very short time ago I thought the C3AE-C was a early 406/405 tri power head only. It has a "tight" combustion chamber listed in various publications with a cc-volume of 56 - 61. They also were factory equipped with the standard intake valve, 2.02, and a new 1.66 exhaust valve. Along with factory machining for valve spring cups. They were unique to the early '63 406 tri power engine thus the last of the factory 405 horse 406. The 4-V 406/385 was still equipped with the '62 head, C2SE-C. I "think" this all factual and true.
Now, here's where it gets crazy. Last summer, my FE fanatical cohort, John Saxon, finds two sets of these C3AE-Cs in a pile of FE heads at a local engine rebuilding company. He picks up both sets for a very reasonable price. Good friend indeed, one set is for me. Strange thing about these heads.....standard small valves, 2.02-I/1.55-E. No machining for spring cups. What gives? The combustion chamber looks like the tight ones I've seen on genuine 406/405 heads. John takes the time to cc 'em and gets a actual 64 cc with the standard size valves.
I post to this forum to ask what gives. All kinds of response that these heads are farily common as found on many 1963 390-4Vs. But no one has ever seen them on anything other than '63 390-4Vs. Here's our humblie opinion:
FoMoCo was still building the '63 390 with the dished piston introduced in 1961. The '61-'62-'63 390 which was only offered as a 4 barrel (in standard hydraulic form-NOT HP - which is a unique 390 from block on out) was built with this engine which was offered with a 9.5:1 compression ratio in '61 & '62. In '63 the compression ratio got bumped up to 10.5:1, true premium fuel range. The horsepower rating on the standard 4V 390 did not change - 300 horses. So we figure the engineers saw an easy way to get more power out of the 390 by using the C3AE-C heads and their small cc combustion chambers with the dished pistons that they had a warehouse full.
By 1964 things had changed. Again, I don't understand what or why. I'm sure it may be that pistons were cheaper to produce than heads. A change was made in '64 to flat top pistons for the 390. The heads used? I've seen C1AE-A and C4AE-G on both 390s and 352s starting in '64. The compression ratio for the '64 390 remained at the new for '63, 10.5:1.
What am I going to do with the cheap set of C3AE-Cs I have on the shelf? Easy decison, I'm going to have them machined for spring cups, machined and pocket ported for 2.09 Intakes and 1.66 Exhausts and there you go.....a nice set of high compression heads. |
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This thread, so far...
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