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390 GT engine |
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ptac85 
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Joined: 23-September-2019 Location: lino lakes Status: Offline Points: 66 |
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 Topic: 390 GT enginePosted: 25-June-2020 at 4:24AM |
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In my 68 torino I have been told that it was an original 390 gt engine. In 1991 -long story short- I cracked the original block when something got sucked into the engine. There was some damage to the heads that I have been reassured on 3 occasions are simply cosmetic (Magnafluxed 3 times) I was sold a 360 block being told it was the same as my 390....and rebuilt the motor. Ran great. Early part of 2012 ish...I had a professional shop rebuild the motor and have had nothing but problems with it since. Now in 2020...I am having a professional repaint the car---and is telling me the engine is coming out for the paint job. Its a foregone conclusion in my mind that the engine is being replaced or rebuilt. My questions are----Should I keep the gt heads...or go lighter weight aluminum? Recommendations? Also...any recommendations on a rebuild shop in the twin city metro area would be appreciated. I want this to be the last time I have to invest time and money into a rebuild.
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tp
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californiajohnny
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Joined: 05-October-2013 Location: winlock, wa Status: Offline Points: 14566 |
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Posted: 25-June-2020 at 5:27PM |
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i think the block is the same? 390 was stroked more??? also a 428 was available in the FE series
 from what i understand you want to go through the heads with good guides and hardened seats good seals and springs stock they are kinda junk but with proper upgrades they are great! aluminum will flow better and are lighter and will probably have all those good upgrades already depending on what level you buy... |
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JOHN
74 GRAN TORINO S&H CLONE 74 VETTE CUSTOM 90 S10 BLAZER 4X4 LIFTED 77 CELICA CUSTOM 75 V8 MONZA SUPERCHARGED 79 COURIER VERT. SLAMMED 75 VEGA V6 5 SPD 70 CHEV C10 P/U 68 MUSTANG FB CONVERSION |
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Big Bird
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Joined: 25-August-2013 Location: New York Status: Offline Points: 4194 |
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Posted: 26-June-2020 at 7:20AM |
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360 is a 390 block with a 352 crank. Hopefully all you have is the bare block from the 360, and not the entire short block. (That would explain why you were unhappy after the rebuild, 360 is a Lo-Po truck motor with next to no compression-the 351M of the FE world) Ford wanted to make one less part and the 352 had a bore 0.050 smaller than a 390. Aluminum heads and intake would be the way to go if you are not happy with your current heads. intake alone will be a massive savings in weight. I don't think the GT got "special" heads anyway.
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"What we do in full frontal view, is more honest than your cleaned-up mind."
Randy 1979 T-Bird 2005 F-150 STX RCSB 4.6, 3.55 LSD How the Heck does a REGULAR CAB SHORTBED weigh over 5200 pounds? |
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Rons73
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Joined: 22-November-2018 Location: Alberta Status: Offline Points: 146 |
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Posted: 27-June-2020 at 8:26AM |
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If your stock heads need any work, money wise it may be advisable to simply get new aluminum for the weight savings and better flow out of the box.
390gt heads do have the staggered bolt pattern, which may affect exhaust options. Otherwise not much difference vs the other standard FE heads. I don't know your plans but if you are not worried about keeping it original, I would go aluminum heads and intake, as the stock "S" 390 GT manifold was pretty poor for performance as cast. If you want to keep things original, you can improve the heads and intake with porting, but this may get costly if you have to pay someone to do it. If I was doing it non-stock for a fun street application: Stock block (bored as required) 390 crank and rods (for ease of availability unless you wanted a stroker) cast pistons supporting a 10:1 ish compression ratio (if you want nitrous or +6000 rpm go forged) Edelbrock Streetmaster or Performer RPM intake (based on availability/cost/performance) Edelbrock Performer RPM 390/428 heads 750 sized vac secondary carb Competition Cams Extreme Energy 218/224 hydraulic flat tappet cam(apparently my old 268 fav is no longer produced?) Headers to fit chassis and 2.5"dual exhaust There are other brands and options, I picked these as available examples of stuff that has worked for me in the past. If you want a serious FE, check out Survival Motorsports for ideas...
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Rockatansky
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Joined: 30-July-2010 Location: On The Road Status: Offline Points: 5940 |
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Posted: 27-June-2020 at 9:41AM |
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Ed heads are on sale https://www.summitracing.com/search/department/engines-components/section/cylinder-heads/part-type/cylinder-heads/make/ford/engine-family/ford-big-block-fe/brand/edelbrock?N=brand%3Aedelbrock&SortBy=Default&SortOrder=Ascending Comp 268H for FE is still going, it's just the Edelbrock, Comp, Crane and who knows how many other web pages are so  they're unusable. i go directly to Summit and hope for the best. works so far excellent street performance / daily driver cam for stock driveline combos https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-33-224-3/make/ford is the Streetmaster a single plane? i wouldn't pair it up with a 268 cam, i'd use the 7105 or equivalent dual plane
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-7105/make/ford |
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72 GT Ute
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Big Bird
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Joined: 25-August-2013 Location: New York Status: Offline Points: 4194 |
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Posted: 27-June-2020 at 2:17PM |
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Don't freak out if you see the pistons with .080 over stamped on them. 390 starts as .050 bigger than a 352, and some 390 rebuilder pistons are marked like they are 352 pistons .080 over, instead of 390 .030 over. Good for a WTF moment the first time you see it.
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"What we do in full frontal view, is more honest than your cleaned-up mind."
Randy 1979 T-Bird 2005 F-150 STX RCSB 4.6, 3.55 LSD How the Heck does a REGULAR CAB SHORTBED weigh over 5200 pounds? |
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Rons73
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Joined: 22-November-2018 Location: Alberta Status: Offline Points: 146 |
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Posted: 28-June-2020 at 4:13AM |
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Great news about the 268H! Wonderful truck and cruising cam. Very satisfying throttle response. Hard on tires...I mention the old streetmaster because it works surprisingly well with the FE iron heads, and is often available fairly cheaply. Something to do with port velocity and swirl. Works really good with nitrous too
 May not be as pronounced with the aluminum heads. But it is really hard to beat the Perf RPM, always a good choice.Had not seen the pistons marked that way, good tip. Would definately be scrambling for the mic once noticed lol!
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ptac85
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Joined: 23-September-2019 Location: lino lakes Status: Offline Points: 66 |
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Posted: 28-June-2020 at 4:59AM |
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It is just the 360 block as everything else was transplanted from the stock 390 when I built it in 1991. When I had it "professionally" rebuilt in 2010 ish....they did away with the cast iron intake and distributer set up. While the car itself is 95% stock... Since I cracked the original block...I am willing to go with what is best in 2020 ----over what was best in 1968. I appreciate the feedback and think Alum heads are the way to go and already run an edelbrock intake. I am looking for a driver with a nice idle that can run the various vacuum options on the car ---but I wouldn't mind A LITTLE bit of attitude. I just have to find the shop that can help me with the build. Yes I could do it....but I want someone else to blame if something went wrong! Thanks again
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tp
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Rockatansky
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Joined: 30-July-2010 Location: On The Road Status: Offline Points: 5940 |
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Posted: 28-June-2020 at 7:10AM |
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268H has that little bit of attitude and makes vacuum works best with stock converter and gears, drop it into a more aggressive combo and it gets lost you're near Tim www.tmeyerinc.com Meyer, maybe he can point you to a shop as he's busy doing .... something
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72 GT Ute
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californiajohnny
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Joined: 05-October-2013 Location: winlock, wa Status: Offline Points: 14566 |
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Posted: 28-June-2020 at 7:43AM |
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i'd say 268, 270, or a 280 max! will have a good sound, good vacuum, and good off the line streetability, and a dual plane intake! aluminum heads, 2 1/2" dual exhaust, should work out great
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JOHN
74 GRAN TORINO S&H CLONE 74 VETTE CUSTOM 90 S10 BLAZER 4X4 LIFTED 77 CELICA CUSTOM 75 V8 MONZA SUPERCHARGED 79 COURIER VERT. SLAMMED 75 VEGA V6 5 SPD 70 CHEV C10 P/U 68 MUSTANG FB CONVERSION |
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Hiriser75
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Joined: 19-October-2020 Location: Pacific, MO Status: Offline Points: 14 |
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Posted: 24-October-2020 at 1:11PM |
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If your in Minneapolis area, machine shop called R & R Machine is a good ford shop.
ALso, may check on the FE Power.net forum. Jay Brown in Minnesota is a FE specialist.
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Hiriser75
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