Technical Ok, Ford FE gurus let’s talk

There's some on fleabay.. and some sellers are pretty proud of them, too..

 

my previously mentioned FE Cal Customs on my 390.. with my 428 PI intake that I've had nearly as long..

 

With all of this info. I have one question. How reliable is the FE platform?

Mine will be the stroker version 445 cid. Mild hyd roller cam with good parts. Not a stoplight racer, just a good tow rig. I need to be able to drove this bad boy anywhere.

 

I'd say ask Enzo Ferarri.....Seriously, although I don't have an FE, I had cousins that had a hopped up 390/3-2's in a farm truck that got beat on mercilessly and never gave up. They were Fords "go to" big inch engine for over a decade, used in every conceivable application. The basic design is very rugged, and thanks to the fake Cobra guys, parts to keep them alive are still available.

 

I grew up with y blocks and fe's. Both are reliable until the miles pile up. But that was before efi and different crankcase ventilation. The unknown for me is if the block will be strong enough for the stroker. I have run both series a hundred thousand miles before they were using oil and had low oil pressure. I used to change oil every 2 to 2.5 thousand miles. With today's tech using narrow piston rings and better honing procedures, a sealed up engine should not have any top end issues. Bearings still wear out.

 

Are these repro?
The lettering is kind of weakly defined:

 

I spent some time on the phone with Brent Lykins and he is pretty well sold on the combo. I figure at max, we would put 10K miles per year. I have owned a few anemic 360's over the years, but times were a lot slower back then and we didn't rack up the miles like we do today.

 

My experience with FEs: I learned to drive in my Dad’s ‘59 T-bird and dated in my Moms ‘63 station wagon in the ‘60s. Both 352s, smooth, powerful and reliable. Never any problems. Myself, I had a ‘53 F100 with a 390 and my own ‘60 T-bird also a 390. Both were always reliable. I just bought a ‘67 Ranchero and intentionally sought out a 390/C6 version, so far so good. The Rancho engine was rebuilt about 5000 miles ago and runs great but I’m considering upgrading the heads, cam and intake manifold in the near future just for a little performance boost. I’m watching your thread for some input. Needless to say I’m an FE fan.
In my high school years I had two friends with mid-50s Fords both with swapped in 390/C6 combos. Kirk’s stock looking ‘54 ran high-to-mid 13s with a bone stock 390 and street tires, Howie’s ‘56 had a solid lifter cam, Edelbrock intake with a Holley and custom headers that I made. His ran mid-to-low 12s on Caslers. I loved the sound of the solid lifter cam. Again, neither had any problems running at Lions and horsing around on the street.
I’d say it’s a pretty reliable engine for a working truck.

 

So, I have a 360 coming soon. It was in a 74 F100 and thre price is right.....free. A buddy has one down in DFW. I just have to pick it up. I'll wait for the crappy weather to set in and then I'll go get it. It's a D3TE casting, but with FE's that doesn't mean a lot.

 

If the block is good, that will make a damn fine 445.

 

Who knows until we tear into it. I need to get it to the machine shop and get it in the jet blaster.

 

"Late" model truck block. Unless it shoved a rod out the side, chances are pretty good it will be useable.

 

Supposably, a 1974 360 truck block. Supposed to have been a running driving truck. But, they all are...right up until they quit.

 

The D4TE should have the reinforced main webbing that first appeared on the high performance and industrial blocks.
Standard on left, reinforced on right.

 

So, I figured for a low buck, driver quality 445, I would go with the Edelbrock aluminum heads. Thoughts?

I have been trying to research the options, but on all of the FE sites, it turns into a brawl usually. I don't need a pair of $5,000 heads for a fairly stock FE.

One of the issues I see is that all FE companies that specialize in this kinda stuff have super crappy websites.

 

Two years ago, I would've told you to run ProMaxx Maxx Series, as I've got those on a couple engines with great luck. They are, honestly, "overseas" casting knockoffs of Edelbrock Performer RPMs, but are assembled here in the U.S. with good parts. They haven't given me a lick of trouble..... But that was a couple years ago and a fella could've gotten them for about $400 less than the Edelbrocks. Now, it's only about $100 difference. Honestly the ProMaxx castings are "nicer", but I'd buck up the extra $100 to get completely made in the U.S.A. Edelbrocks. Your 445 is going to be more about torque, anyway, so you don't need big CNC ported high zoot deals. The Performer RPMs are going to work great, just clean up the casting flash and spend an hour or so doing a little clean up on the pocket.

 

Thanks for the info. Kinda what I was thinking.

 

The 438 (4.05" bore x 4.25" stroke) that I am finishing up right now got a pair of Edelbrock Performer RPM heads and intake. It is going into a big '60 T-bird that will never see a minute of track time, and I would be surprised if the owner ever revs it past 4500. They are the perfect head for a long stroke motor that will be tasked with getting a big, heavy, luxury barge moving in a fairly smart manner.

The other upside is you can't hardly refurbish a set of iron heads for less money these days. By time you do new valves, cut in new seats and guides, and purchase the springs, keepers, rockers and seals, you have quite a bit more than a new set of Edelbrocks into the old iron heads.

 

Wouldn't that be a 445? Just curious if not why that particular combination? Why not the 445? Or did you bore to std?

 

4.080" bore creates a 445 (360 / 390 + 0.030"). I started with a 352 with a stock 4.00" bore. I had only wanted to take it out to a 4.030" bore originally, but the piston manufacturer made a mistake and produced 4.050" pistons, and I didn't want to wait around for them to come up with another set of pistons. Unfortunately, this engine will never be able to be bored out again, but I would be surprised if it gets more than a couple thousand miles a year so it should last for a long time.

 

Gotcha.

 

I always wanted a FE cam ground on a Y block firing order

 

Roothawg, I built a 428 Cobrajet, basically stock back in the late eighties and put it in my 1974 One ton long wheel base dual wheeled flat bed truck. This truck had a 4:10 Traction loc rear end with 16 inch tires and a 435 four speed transmission. I built this engine to haul cattle from Oktaha to OKC from our ranch! It was our main hauling truck and made many many of those trips over the years. The only reason it doesn’t any more , is because we now rent out the ranch!
That combo would out pull the diesels of its time on Tiger Mountain and I would get 8 miles to the gallon round trip pulling a gooseneck full of cattle! The trailer empty, weighed 6000 lbs! I could top Tiger Mountian on I-40 at the speed limit , full trialer and not have it on the floor!
Your properly prepared 445 should out do my CJ for pulling!

Hope this puts your question about the FE to rest!

I bought a 5 speed over drive transmission, but never got around to putting it in! It was for the unloaded trip back from OKC!


Bones

 

Does the block have the “ backwards 105” on it? It should. That’s considered a good thing in FEs.



Bones

 

One thing in my world, custom engine builds are always a little exciting. They may be good or disappointing but creating something besides stock always interests me.

 

Root, have you zeroed in on some choices for a hydraulic roller cam yet?

 

I spoke with Brent Lykins, he spec’d out a mild cam for my application. Basically, an idle to 4500 rpm’s cam. Mostly for towing and daily driving. I just wanna be able to pull a hole out of the ground…

 

https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=2525044934368456

 

I see Tommas's adjustable rockers on Ebay at reasonable prices.