Alright you FE Ford Gurus, school me please: I have my '62 Galaxie 390 torn down right now to reseal the motor. I'm contemplating putting a mild rv/towing cam in the mill while I have it apart. I do plan to tow a trailer and my boat with the car frequently and want a bit more wheeze out of the motor too. BUT, every place I look online for fitment of their FE cam says "63 and newer". Is there any reason that a "'63 and newer" cam cannot be used in a '62 block? Is the block not machined to accept hydraulic lifters or something until after '62? I already had to order an expensive ass Cloyes double roller timing chain because the fitment guides said it was the only one that would fit my '62 mill. Woulda spent half the price on a '63-newer unit. Thoughts, ideas?
It's been a long time but there is a difference in the cam thrust plate area. I believe there are 3 parts to convert early style to late and I have them somewhere. It'll take me a day or so to dig them out. Pm me if you want them.
He's right. Been way too long for me to remember what's different either. Seems like you have to drill a hole in the front of the block to convert. It's been about 40 years since I worked on the early style. Boy, does that make me old.
I think on 62 and earlier there was a spacer between the timing chain and the cam, or the cam had an extended nose on it. That would space it out to the face of the thrust plate.The thrust plates are the same. On the newer timing chains the spacer is built into it. You can change it over to the later style and that will give You a much larger cam selection. FEDER
Drilling holes...as in drilling holes for increasing the oiling abilities? The thrust plate differences sound about right, the Cloyes timing chain I got was special for pre-'63 motors, so that makes sense.
I assembled one motor from peices of a '62 and a '63 390. The '62 had a goofy spring thing to hold the cam in place, and the '63 had the thrust plate. I really don't think there was any difference in the cam, but I could be wrong. The '62 block may not have the holes for the '63-up thrust plate. Here's a rundown of how I put the engine back togethor.... '63 block, Comp-Cams 268H courtesy of PorknBeaner. I put the '62 spring thing in first, then found the '63 thrust plate and put that in. So both cam-retaining methods worked on this block. hmmm... I don't know if theres any uneful info in there, but I it helps.
'63 was the first year the 390 came with a hydraulic cam. '62 and earlier 390's were mechanical and do not have the galeries drilled for a hydraulic cam. You will need to go with a mechanical cam...
You can use the '63 and later cam and thrust plate, a '63-up timing set and a '63-up timing cover. Its a better system - time and money well spent. You may have to drill/tap holes for the camshaft thrust plate bolts depending on your block but its a straightforward swap. The post about no hydraulic lifter cams in 390's prior 1963 is hogwash. Ford phased them in on all garden variety FE motors in mid-1958. HP and PI stuff varied but a huge percentage of FEs were equipped with hydraulic lifter cams throughout the family's existence. -Bigchief.
Yes, the cover, timing parts, cam, thrust plate and all that stuff are different on the early FE's. It has nothing to do with Hydraulic/Mechanical (I just had my Edsel's 332 apart)
I know this post is old (much like myself) but here is the explanation- If thumbnail is not not readible, go here- http://www.hotrodders.com/gallery/data/500/FEcamshaft_info.jpg
If your block is original, and has mechanical lifters now, then the oil galleys are not machined for hydraulic lifters. Look at the end of the lifter oil galleys; if there are two expansion plugs in the bosses there, then it is machined for hyd. lifters. If not, then it is not . You can convert a hyd. lifter block to accept solids very easily, but not so easily done the other way around. Also Ford did make hyd. lifter 390s before '62, ie; 1961 390/300 hp. as well as numerous 332/352 versions.
The 332 was used in the EDSEL in 1959. The 361 (390 with 352 stroke) was used in the FORD based EDSELS in 1958. All were hydraulic. The very early 1958 332/352 came through with solids but were upgraded to hydraulics early in the production year. I still know how to start arguments it seems...
I was wanting to know did the 62 have a thrust washer on the cam (like a spacer) or was the gear all the way up against the cam. Thanks
You can tap the holes that are already there, use the thrust plate and screws from the later blocks. I did this to a 62 406 a while back. Yeah, the thing about 63 and late being drilled for hydraulics is bs. I raided two 59 Thunderbirds for rocker shafts a while back. Both had all original 352s in them, one had adjustable rockers, non-drilled galleries, the other had hydraulic lifters, non adjustable rockers. Both `59s, both 352s. My current `61 390 is hydraulic, being converted to solids though. I also had another 390 block that was not drilled for hydraulics, prob an early 390 or 390 HP. Pretty much have to remember with FE Fords, there are really no absolutes.
i tried everywhere about 3 months ago for my 61 352 and found absolutely nothing. i just left the stocker in it because i wasnt disassembling the short block and was too scared i'd get metal shavings in the oiling system while drilling/tapping the holes. i needed to build a 390 anyway......
The procedure(s) for updating the cam retainer is fully described in the tech sheet I posted above. If you cannot find take-out or NOS OEM parts, ISKY supposedly offers the parts in a kit. When running the tap, coat it in grease and it should pull the cuttings out with it. MEL also updated their cam retention system in 1961 similar to this. The only mechanical blocks were early production 1958 352, the 60 352/360, 61 390HP 390PI (early sixties) and of course the 406 and 427. If one found a solid engine in a 59 BIRD it was a transplant (I have documentation on a 58 BIRD with a 352 solid).
i called ISKY and just got a confused "what do you need again?", was on hold for 10 min and finally came back and told me it was no longer avail.
Yep, just install the later thrust plate setup, and use the later timing cover- a one-time conversion, and not that difficult And X3 on the '63 & up hydraulic bs thing
Figures... I found their PN 350AW Call these people- http://www.dscmotorsport.com/asp/Products/popup_PartDetails.asp?PartID=795 Source- http://www.dscmotorsport.com/Engine/index.htm They also have the attaching hardware. It is either this or gets yours reground. Good Luck with it...
why pre 63 cover wont fit ? rockauto com sells old style camshaft. But I decided to go modern way, edelbrock performer plus cam + their lifters + edselbrock timing kit. ooooops , I am edsel fanatic, edelbrock easily transforms to edselbrock, LOL
Doing this exact thing on a 61 T-bird-390-special right now. yeah, three holes with plugs in em; i just pulled em out and im gonna tap (probably 5/16). this thread was especially helpful.
im building a C2AE 390hp; no thrust plate, yet lifter galleries drilled. looking for a better reference out there for ford part#s/castings, i did find that -though its not perfect- the [hpbooks-708] Big-block Ford engines was a great ref for the info. like i said, not perfect, but he's got a lot of info in there. threads like these are what fill in the gaps that technical data books leave out!
Reviving this thread...I'm looking at using a Lunati Voodoo cam in my B9 352 block. Summit says it's good back to '58 and Lunati says '63 up. On the phone, Lunati tech said there's a difference in the distributor gear for the early FEs, he made no mention of the thrust plate or timing cover. So any truth to the different tooth pattern?
I had an ex-state trooper 390/330 HP that was a solid lifter engine in a 63 2door. Would that be of any benefit to know??
The cam will work fine in your '59 352 block after you do the thrust plate conversion. Survival Motorsports sells the thrust plate, take out the oil plugs and drill and tap the two holes. Piece of cake. I am not aware of any difference in the distributor gears. Not saying there isn't a difference, just not one that I am aware of. I replaced the distributor in my '62 352 with a Pertronix unit, and it worked just fine with the later style cam.
So then is the '63+ timing set and cover necessary to use with the thrust plate or just a good idea to upgrade at the same time?
Nope, the older timing cover will work fine. If my memory is worth a damn, you will likely have to remove the spring, or the spring retainer, but that is it. You will have to change the timing set, cam gear only really, but who changes a cam with out putting a new timing set in???
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