1963 Mercury Monterey 390 engine

I need some guidence and advice. I have been looking to change out my points in my distributor but would like to change it to electronic pointless, my question is whats a good brand ive looked at petronics, excell, mallory and there are a few options, how do i go abouts choosing the right one.
I have the originale mercury 390 in it (1963 mercury monterey breezeway).

im also looking to change from a 2v to a 4v carburator, what is a good set up? im not looking to race my car but would like something better than stock.
At some point im looking to rebuild the engine. what are some mild modifications i could do with the internals to gain some power ?

thank you all in advance for your help.

 

I used a Pertonix Distributor in the 352 out of my '62 Monterey. Looks and Works great.

 

Beautiful looking engine Frozen! I picked up a set of those valve covers for my 63 Monterey.

I'm not a fan of electronic ignitions on older cars for one simple reason. Electrical systems may be faulty. If they are, they can wreak havoc on the modules. I've had them in two cars - both failed eventually. I should have double checked the electrical.

The 63 Merc I have had them in, but the alternator had failed just before I got it. They lasted - I would guess - a total of three hours of running before the module went out. I had no idea it had one until I tore the distributor apart trying to figure out why it wouldn't start.

Points work well and are readily available. I would suggest you keep a backup distributor / points set up handy if you do swap.

I have a Edelbrock 1405 on mine - its the way it came from the PO. Original Owner had put this on - along with the Edelbrock alum intake - and it ran very well (until Petronix went out).

 

rprice76 makes a good point about an old wiring harness causing problems with a new electronic ignition module. I am completely replacing everything that is electrical on the Merc, so it shouldn't be a problem.

As far as the 4 barrel swap. Almost any stock Ford FE 4 bbl intake will work well for a daily driver, other wise I would highly recommend the Edelbrock Performer RPM intake. It has good manners, but can also support alot of horsepower if you end up building the old 390 up over time. If you pay attention, they often end up at various swap meets or auction type websites for around $200 - $250.

 

that engine just made me drool !!
im going to start making a wish list for my engine.
headers
intake manifold
4v carb
cam
ect ect.. for when i finally pull the engine out for rebuild.

i actually ordered this set up last nite
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251270522841?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

That should work. Be sure - SURE - you get clean power though! I may just go back to points / condenser to be sure I'm good with power before I get another module.

Is your Merc running? If so I'd get it going and check it out with a volt meter just to be sure before I install. Or - if not and "spark" is your only problem, I'd go pick up a set of points and a new condenser from NAPA just to be sure - they're pretty cheap still.

As far as the 390 and options - there are tons of options! Thats one of the things I've learned about the FE since getting my 59 Edsel. They came in MANY flavors and combinations and there are a LOT of options for modification. They stock FE's that came in the Monterey in 1963 were:

390 4v low compression
390 2v
390 4v
390 4v interceptor (high compression I think)
406 4v
406 6v

That comes down to basically, 390 low compression, 390 high compression, 406.

There are lots of others. The 390 to 410 conversion seems popular as well - and I am considering it for future builds. I thought a 410 would be nice for the Wagon - now I'm thinking it would be awesome for the 2dr merc!

 

i just spent my morning reading ( which i hate to read) links on ford fe engines and yes lots and lots of variations.

 

The FE was used in trucks thru '76, so you can get a Duraspark distributor for a '75 -'76 360 or 390. It can be used with the Duraspark control box, or trigger an aftermarket one. Probably want to change the weights and springs to recurve the smog timing advance to a more performance oriented one.

 

I run a Pertronix set up in the stock distributor. Works very well! I'm also running a stock original 66 Merc 410 Maurader and I'm very pleased with how it moves my 62 Monterey! My understanding is that the 410's had 10:1 compression, 330 hp and 444 ft lbs of torq.

 

thank you everyone i appreciate all the input

 

I run a pertronix in my 62 galaxie xl.It has a crane rv cam holley 1850 600cfm 4bbl carb FPA long tube ceramic coated headers .300 hp.If you run a pertronix you must byp*** the pink resistor wire. I completly rebuilt my 390 in 07 its got about 500 miles on it since no problems n runs great!

 

im starting to think i should of went with pertronics. dohhhhhhh
but for 60 $ for the mallory 502m lets see if i score success

 

crazy,
Have you already dropped cash?

A lot of the fellas use petronix ignition and I have used it with good success myself. I am partial to mallory unilite though and given a choice I will go for it nearly every time.

There is an option that no one has mentioned and no doubt that you have not considered. An MSD box with your points will work as well and any electrinic, your points last a lot longer with this setup as thay are only a trigger. And yoy have an added bonus that no one considers at all. It the box takes a dump about 30 miles the other side of Stayl Sandwhich or Pig Snarf all you do it byp*** it and cruise home on your stock ignition. No extra parts to carry.

 

i already purchased the mallory 502m. i do plan on having the original parts in my car, since im not lacking space to store anything.
but that is a great idea there good thinking

 

another question for me is what type of spark plugs should i use ? does one type make a difference over another?

 

I've had no experience with the Pertronix conversions but I know that some of the electronic ignition upgrade kits were a little fussy about having a specific voltage available and having a clean, stable source of current. Some required, or at least recommended, using an electronic voltage regulator. Older electro-mechanical regulators were prone to going out of adjustment and output voltages could fluctuate. Points didn't mind it so much but electronic modules aren't always so tolerant.

If you convert to an electonic ignition follow the mfr's instructions, don't cut corners and you should be fine. If you don't want to get bogged down in the details then buy some good brand name points and a condenser and you're good to go.

 

any thoughts on the 390 intake manifold? is it a good choice or not?

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/pts/3800344789.html

 

i got a few goodies today just to give the Merc some love.

 

That's a low RPM intake that will perform like a stock cast iron FE intake. $150.00, is a fair price for one that has not been "worked" on ,but I would be curious what sort of "porting" work was done to it!!!

 

The Performer 390 is basically an aluminum version of a stock 4v manifold. The biggest advantage is it's weight - about 50 pounds less than the cast iron one.

The porting on one side is interesting.. I wonder if they were opening it up to match the early heads like you would have stock on your motor. The newer ports aren't as tall (and the bottom is wasted in many opinions anyway).

 

I'm running MAllory, works just fine.

 

Stay away from the regular performer series intake, the stock lump 4bbl out performs it. There's a HUGE weight savings (you need 2 people or a cherry picker for the stock intake) with an aluminum intake. Go with the Edelbrock RPM or Victor or old streetmaster 390, Weiand stuff is ok but stay away from offy stuff.

More reading on intakes:
http://www.network54.com/Forum/74182/message/1143436444/Final+Results+-+First+Great+FE+Intake+Comparo

I went with an streetmaster, old carter afb comp series 625 cfm (drivers side feed) and a pertronix dist. Cal Custom valve covers and air cleaner....I know the K&N is too tall, but Amazon had it on sale for $24 NEW sale only lasted a few hours.

 

thank you guys for the advice and help . Ill just wait till i see a Edelbrock Performer RPM: #7105 at a good deal, i got time before i need to pick up an intake manifold and carb.

 

are there pro's and con's to keeping my stock valve covers. i actually like them.

 

Make sure they're straight so they don't leak and run them.

 

FWIW: I had a '68 Galaxie with an X-code 390 that I bought in 2001. The first thing I did was put a Pertronix in it and ran it until I sold the car in 2008. It was my daily driver for six of those years, never a problem. I had an Edelbrock Performer 390 manifold, and of all things a 390 cfm Holley 4160 4-bbl, Mustang cast iron headers and dual exhaust through Flows. Not only did that car sound great, it drove perfectly, I was really impressed with its performance. The carb is small, but it propelled that 3,800 pound car effortlessly. I've gotten really good mileage out of it and had the car over 110 mph on those great arrow-straight farm roads in Washington state.

 

was looking at plug wires and amazon has an amazing sale on accel 8mil plug wires (accel 4046) 12.49 +5 shipping?
anyone have like or dislike these for any reason? other than they are ugly yellow?

 

I'm using Accel wires on mine....but they're black.

 

i believe you have 5046 accel wires then

 

Hah!...You just brought back an old memory of mine. I had a '64 Mercury Montclair in my senior year of highschool...1975. I did a valve job in auto shop. I clearly remember standing on the fender wells, bent over with the intake in my hands and giving it everything I had to be sure I positioned the intake correctly during re***embly. And I did a lot of weight lifting back then!