[rollenhard]

Need A Little Help Im Helping A friend Rebuild His 390 Engine In His 1966 Ford Galaxy 500. My Question is Whats A Good Quality Complete Stock Rebuild Kit To Buy? With Felpro Gaskets,cam,pistons,rods,bearings,timing, exedra exedra
Where can i find one.
Thanks

 

[timothale]

don't mix bolts

There is a spot on the front of the engine where the wrong too long of a bolt can push on the cylinder wall, cause distortion and a hot spot, mabe even damage the rings.

 

[rollenhard]

thanx for the tip timothale

 

[cdminter59]

390 Ford

Check out this website for your Ford parts. 1966 Ford 6.4L Master Kits. If they don't have the kit try here Federal Mogul Premium Engine Rebuild Kits MKP601F-400 - SummitRacing.com.

 

[techinspector1]

More than likely, you will have some machine shop work to do to the motor. Counsel with the shop owner concerning the source of parts. Oftentimes these guys will have a source that will work for you. A reasonable price to you and a little parts profit for the shop owner. Win-Win.

Also, you and your friend should read this book by Barry Rabotnick, who has probably forgotten more about an FE Ford than most of us will ever know.
http://www.amazon.com/Build-Max-Performance-Ford-Engines-Performance/dp/1934709158/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359232667&sr=1-1&keywords=ford+fe+engine
After all.....you don't know what you don't know!

 

[rollenhard]

Thanks for the info guys

 

[kleen56]

I've never seen it come as a complete kit? I always order the Felpro gasket kit which comes with all gaskets, seals, etc. Then you have choices to make on pistons, valves, cam, etc. There are companies like TRW that sell the complete engine kits, but not with the gaskets. I've used TRW and had good luck with them. They're a good product for stock rebuilds.

 

[rollenhard]

Thanks kleen56
That looks like the path im going. Another quick question im new to the ford scene what is an FE engine is the 1966 galaxy 500 an FE?

 

[75gmck25]

The Ford FE series of engines was available in a variety of sizes and used in many Ford vehicles. The sizes offered were 332/352/390/428. The 390 and 428 were used in many cars, and had both plain vanilla versions and high performance versions, with the 428 Super Cobrajet at the top end. Ford used these engines in many vehicles because they were relatively inexpensive to produce and they made good power for their day. Some folks like them (I do) and some don't.

Bruce

 

[rollenhard]

so is my buddy's a FE?

 

[timothale]

Fe

FE name meant the engine was designed to be used in Fords and edsels.starting in 1958 . Ford also make High performance 406 and 427 displacement, as well as a 410 used in mercury and trucks.360 truck, 361 edsel. . Ford Motor also had Mel engines, different engines used in Mercury, edsel, and lincoln. I think the small displacement was 383, then 430 and 462 displacement. There is some info here on hotrodders WIKI, in the engine section covering Fords from 1932 to present.

 

[rollenhard]

That should get me started
thanks for all the help

 

[Mr. P-Body]

FE is a great engine. Literally millioins made. Parts are still readily available from "normal" parts sources.

Any Sealed Power dealer can provide a "master kit" with pistons. Some warehouses (we deal with Liberty out of Charlotte) will "make up" a kit for you including an aftermarket cam, higher level timing set, etc. We just "did" a 390 a few months ago. Both cast and forged pistons are available in the kit.

It's not a good idea to bore the 390 beyond .040". A sonic test can determine if there's enough wall thickness to go to .060", but the majority of FEs I've seen wouldn't "like" it.

Static compression should be reduced to 9:1 for 92 or 93 octane. Most pre-72 390s were 10:1. A small "dish" turned into the piston will do the job.

The connecting rods are quite narrow for the diameter (big end) as well. When resizing, the machinist needs to KNOW what they're doing. ARP bolts are a good idea. Rebushing the small end of the rod is also necessary. All FEs are "floating" pins. There's a "conversion" piston out there with a much larger pin diameter, making them "press" fit. It's a "rebuilder" trick (to save them money in a production environement) and not recommended.

Jim