big block in fox

[jacob_9249]

i am putting a 390 fe into a 1985 fox body.and i am thinking about supercharging it .what is the most boost i can put to it ,without hurting it?and also what is the best and cheapest charger for this application .any suggestions?

 

[SadbutTrue]

i am putting a 390 fe into a 1985 fox body.and i am thinking about supercharging it .what is the most boost i can put to it ,without hurting it?and also what is the best and cheapest charger for this application .any suggestions?

Is it stock? Are you putting in aftermarket pistons? If so, what compression are you running?

I don't know much about FEs but there are guys here who do. They'll prolly wanna know all that and your other general engine specs.

I would say that if you're planning on keeping it at or near 390 cid, it probably won't be as good an engine overall as a 351w. Won't make a ton more power and is a ton heavier, not to mention more expensive and more difficult to fit and work around in an engine bay. Of course, if you're gonna stroke it out that changes...

 

[57fairlane]

unless you're set on the fe . . . I think the 429 series has much better options.

Not to mention a 532/557 kit is going to be as cheap or cheaper than any decent rotating assembly for a fe

 

[D.Hearne]

Is it stock? Are you putting in aftermarket pistons? If so, what compression are you running?

I don't know much about FEs but there are guys here who do. They'll prolly wanna know all that and your other general engine specs.

I would say that if you're planning on keeping it at or near 390 cid, it probably won't be as good an engine overall as a 351w. Won't make a ton more power and is a ton heavier, not to mention more expensive and more difficult to fit and work around in an engine bay. Of course, if you're gonna stroke it out that changes...

I see you've never had an encounter with a 390. Even a stock one. The Chevy guys used to get spanked by em, just due to underestimating the 390's abilities. I used to take em regularly with my 67 fastback. And that was before I swapped in the 427. Raced a 69 Camaro one night, he had everything but the kitchen sink in his 350, plus a 4 speed & 4.11's. The 67 had nothing done to it, other than a 428CJ (iron intake) and a 750 Holley, backed by the original 3 speed Toploader and 3.00 geared 9" rear. I didn't blow his doors off, but gradually out pulled him the whole way thru the 1/4 mile. Then we turned around and repeated the race when he couldn't figure out what happend the first time. The FE's were heavier, but the head design was vastly superior to the Windsors. And I'm only talking about the stock 390 heads. The 427's got even better heads in the Medium riser, High riser, tunnel port and SOHC heads.

 

[jacob_9249]

finally somebody has run a 390 before.i know it was in a 1973 ford truck and it was baaaaaaad.we stomped every chevy around.we decided to junk the truck it was ate up with rust.and pull the 390 and c6 out and put it in a 1985 fox body.i know if it was baaaaaaaaaaad in the truck.the mustang should be a rocket.i will keep yall updated

 

[D.Hearne]

About the closest engines to compare to a stock 390 are the 383 Chevy strokers and the stroker Windsors, topped with something like AFR185/205 heads. The FE weighs a bit more (but not if you replace the intake and heads with aluminum pieces), the stock heads are comparable to AFR's 185's. It's always been underrated due to it's "pickup truck" pedigree of the late 60's-to mid 70's. Before the 427 came along, it was once Ford's Nascar motor.

 

[havi]

not to mention those Tbirds with the tripowered 390's. IMO, weight can be overcome by torque, and the 390 certainly has torque. I'd seriously consider SFC's, torque box reinforcements, and the like.

 

[D.Hearne]

Yea, gobs of torque, so much so there was a medium duty truck engine based on it...the 389/391's.

 

[SadbutTrue]

I see you've never had an encounter with a 390. Even a stock one. The Chevy guys used to get spanked by em, just due to underestimating the 390's abilities. I used to take em regularly with my 67 fastback. And that was before I swapped in the 427. Raced a 69 Camaro one night, he had everything but the kitchen sink in his 350, plus a 4 speed & 4.11's. The 67 had nothing done to it, other than a 428CJ (iron intake) and a 750 Holley, backed by the original 3 speed Toploader and 3.00 geared 9" rear. I didn't blow his doors off, but gradually out pulled him the whole way thru the 1/4 mile. Then we turned around and repeated the race when he couldn't figure out what happend the first time. The FE's were heavier, but the head design was vastly superior to the Windsors. And I'm only talking about the stock 390 heads. The 427's got even better heads in the Medium riser, High riser, tunnel port and SOHC heads.

Actually, I have. I have a friend with a fresh 390 in his 65 Galaxie... mild cam, 4 barrel, exhaust. The thing didn't do very well against my then stock, 2 bbl 351w Granted, it was in a huge Galaxie... but when I mean it didn't do well, I mean 'bus lengths'. And I was running a completely and totally stock 69' 351w... nothing to write home about.

Most historical accounts I read, even Ford biased ones, say the 390 was just put in the 67 Mustangs as a stopgap measure to compete with big block Chevys and Mopars. The 428 was when they got serious about it.

That, of course, doesn't mean you can't make one fast. With $$ you can make anythign fast, and there are far worse engines than 390s. But I do have experience with 390s, and that experience tells me unless he strokes the thing out, he should go with the lighter, cheaper, and comparable-displacement 351w.

For another comparison, another friend had a 67 Galaxie with a 429, and that thing was a completely different animal.

 

[D.Hearne]

While I agree with you about going with a 351W based stroker in a small block based body, your comparison of a 351W in a 66 Stang vs a 66 Galaxie, is apples and oranges. You're comparing a 2800 lb car vs a 4200-4500 lb car. My 67 Stang ran high 13's before I ever did any mods to it. That was with the 3 speed manual and the 3.00 rear. My 68 Merc Monterey ran mid 14's with a nearly stock 390. Only mods were a 428PI intake, 750 Holley Crane 272 Energizer cam and 3.70's in the rear. And it weighed 4200 lbs without me in it. Try again next time you run across a 67-70 Stang that's a got a 390 in it. And with a driver that knows how to make it talk. Half the race is won or lost due to the driver's abilities.

 

[SadbutTrue]

While I agree with you about going with a 351W based stroker in a small block based body, your comparison of a 351W in a 66 Stang vs a 66 Galaxie, is apples and oranges. You're comparing a 2800 lb car vs a 4200-4500 lb car. My 67 Stang ran high 13's before I ever did any mods to it. That was with the 3 speed manual and the 3.00 rear. My 68 Merc Monterey ran mid 14's with a nearly stock 390. Only mods were a 428PI intake, 750 Holley Crane 272 Energizer cam and 3.70's in the rear. And it weighed 4200 lbs without me in it. Try again next time you run across a 67-70 Stang that's a got a 390 in it. And with a driver that knows how to make it talk. Half the race is won or lost due to the driver's abilities.

I only brought up the Galaxie(s) because I needed to disprove the idea I had 'zero' experience with Ford big blocks, FEs in general, and 390s in particular. I don't have much, true, but I did have the two aforementioned big block Galaxies to look at. And the 429 made a pretty solid difference, comparably equipped and in the same car compared to the 390, so I still say if you're gonna bother with a big block, go 385 series or find a 428 (or make your 390 into a 428 or other stroker combo).

For what its worth, the 429's mods consisted of a performer intake, an edelbrock 800, and the least aggressive cam the local build shop had for the 429/460. Which isn't much, if any, more aggressive than the mild cam, 4 bbl, holley 750 powered 390 my other friend had, and the 429 probably had 10 times the wear and tear (i could show pics of the two engines, that 429 looked like it had been through vietnam while the 390 looked pristine). The rest of the 429 powered car was similary beat.. a slipping transmission, a posi with fried clutches, and primered ghost flames on one side of the car only Yet it still scared the piss out of everyone that rode in it, while the 390-powered Galaxie was more of what you'd expect in a floating, reasonably mannered big block cruiser.

Well, while I wouldn't call an intake/carb/cam/gear car stock, I'm not arguing that they aren't fast or wouldn't make a good motor in the bigger mustangs or the full size boats. 390s definitely make power and can make a ton if you invest in them. But if you're gonna build one, why keep it a 390? Big blocks should always be in the 400+ cube range anyway

I just don't think the extra 100 lbs, extra money involved and extra inconvenience due to size/making it fit and work with the rest of the car is worth the 39 cubes. And I also think if you're gonna bother with a big block, spend the tiny bit of extra time/money and go for the one Ford designed to match up with 427 Camaros/440 six-pack Mopars... the 428 (or 429, if you wanna go 385).

Otherwise, build a 408 stroker and call it a day, especially in a car as light as a Fox.

Just my 2 cents... which have probably 30 years less experience two them than D. Hearne's 2 pennies, though I like to think I learn faster than average