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Original Message
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| First off, it's not a 390GT engine. |
| By Dave Shoe - 09/27/2001 1:51:05 PM; IP 12.2.11.131 |
It's a 390IP engine. This engine lacks the cam of the GT engine.
You will really wake this engine up with FPA headers for a 390GT Fairlane (Yup, even FPA mislabels their headers a little), a nice camshaft kit, an intake manifold, and an oil pan.
The smartest intake manifold to use would be the Edelbrock Performer RPM. It's nearly perfect for this application. A cooler-looking intake would be a C7AE-F 4228PI aluminum intake, thoug these are not always in the best shape nowadays. A 428CJ iron intake is the cheapest way to make the power you want, but the extra weight is better suited to trucks or Galaxies which are heavier vehicles to begin with. Other neat options include the older Edelbrock F427 intake. One thing for sure is if you keep the stock S-marked intake, it's gonna eat up some power.
Specing a cam is over my head. I can pick my own, and they work well for me, but I don't know WHY they work well. Obviously, when replacing a cam, you MUST toss out the used lifters, and you'll probably have to replace the springs and retainers. A new-technology cam requires you to install rockershaft end-support stands, lest you bust the crap outta your old rockershaft. Since you're into the engine this far, you might as well install some CJ-sized valves to those C8AE-H heads.
Toss a 3.50:1 rear with some sorta traction-type differential (avoid the older Equa-Lock, look at Traction-Lok or maybe the hairy Detriot Locker as the way to go) in there and some sticky street tires and you'll be in the high 13 second bracket.
Since you're bumping the horsepower, and no doubt bumping the RPM range you'll be running this engine at, you really need to take the engine down to the bones and inspect everything. If the bearings and journals look good and measure out OK, then you can optionally reuse them. Note that you should NOT replace the rod bearings unless you verify the rod "big end" meets the roundness specification. New rod bearings installed in a stretched-out rod guarantees a spun bearing sooner or later - usually sooner.
Lastly, a performance oil pan is REQUIRED on all 13-second FE cars, as the stock front sump pan is guaranteed to run dry at the worst of times (for example: In the traps at the end of the quarter). A healthy 14-second FE can oftentimes live with just a sixth quart in the oil pan, and a 15-second FE can live OK with the stock 5-quarts (assuming a HP pump isn't installed and oversucking the pan dry).
Hey, you've got a great engine at the core of that car. It doesn't take much to make it outrun a stock 428CJ.
Shoe. |
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