Thread: new to site, have FE questions

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Hi, I'm new here, and I have an old FE out of a truck that I'm going to have built this fall/winter. It will be a 390 c.i. , or perhaps stroke it and get more torque. It will be in a 1985 f-150 4x4 chassis with the np435 tranny. it will see mostly daily driver use, and alot of off road on the weekends.

1.What is the biggest stroke that I could put in it and keep everything safe?

2.I saw that mass flow had a cool E.F.I. setup too. Do they work well for an engine such as the FE?

3. Is it possible to get 400 to 500 h.p. and 500+ft.lb. of torque on this engine with a streetable compression ratio and the mass flow E.F.I.?

4.What is the maximum amout of power a streetable 390 or 440 stroker (if possible) can make?

5. How long do these engines last with that much power, and How reliable/durable are they?

6. This will have forged pistons, and good rods, but do I need a forged crank too? How strong is the stock one?

7. are the edelbrock heads a good investment?

- I really would prefer to set it up with the fuel injection, so I can tune each cylinder independently and maximize my fuel consumption as much as possible. I know it may not help much, but I'd rather have the E.F.I. anyways. This build will be a good one, but I don't know very much about the FE. Thanks for your time.

FE's are hell for tough, and they last forever, but you don't hear many people mentioning one regarding fuel economy! They like their gas.

Welcome to CHR great place to get info ,some pro builders are here as memebers . I also have a 390 and some thing I have found is they dont like to spin fast . One guy had told me to keep it about 4500 rpm and it will run along time . But as said I'm still learning . Mine from factory is rated at 325 Hp and 427 Ft Lb.s

A stroker works good in the FE's,,, build the engine and select the cam to make optimum torque at the lowest rpm possible.... I like the Edelbrock heads, they're good right out of the box but even better with a bit of port and flow bench work.... The entire Edelbrock package including cam, lifters, intake, and heads would be a good consideration as the pieces are designed to produce good torque numbers at low rpm... Don't worry about the horsepressure numbers, concentrate on increasing the torque, in a big heavy 4x4 pickemup, it's going to take big torque to make it work..... I'd go with the forged crank, with a low revving engine it's probably not essential, but IMO the added strength is worth the extra investment.....

Welcome to the Club, have fun with your build and keep us updated!!! We're all a bunch of suckers for some good pics, too!!!!!!!

Stock cubes are the cheapest, I'd go looking for a rebuildable 428.

im gonna tear into it tonight. ill let you know what i find. this project is in its infancy, so any help with these engines is appreciated. thanks alot!

Scat has several cranks for the FE, maybe other manufacturers too. A 428 crank and a modest overbore will net you around 416. That is referred to as a 410 motor and Merc made them for a couple years.
I don't know much on injection, Hotrod mag did a fuely FE build a few years back, used a Holley pro-jection I think. I know some bad reports on that system. I always thought a throttle body from a GM would be a nice street able setup.

Also on the aluminum heads, you should be able to run a point higher compression with them I.m told.
I drive a stock 390 every day. I really need to let it go for some better mileage but it's hard to.

With the way gas prices are going (down for now, but the market found its honey and it'll go back up to $4.27 for 87 octane again), and if you plan on using the 4x4 drive much you might be just as happy as stealing the huge diesel engine out of a 89 ford f250. You already said you will be doing alot of 4X4 on weekends. My friend has a stock one, does plenty of driving, rarely refuels and doesnt bust his wallet at the pump Hell, he doesnt even need 1st or 2nd gear. These guys are telling you to go for torque with the 390, so why not go for torque with a diesel instead. You could even throw a turbo on it and increase power and mpg, or just do the normal, easy mods to the stock diesel engine (upwards of 7 liters). In the long run, heading to the junkyard and finding the huge diesel might make you happier in the long run. Save that 390 for a future project.

Hoping I dont seem like an idiot, just an army mechanic by trade and a hobbiest mechanic in my off time. For a truck I honnestly think that you would be happier going this route, just make sure you have a STANDARD transmission behind that engine.

What do you guys think? We're all FE fans here, but ask yourselves if it would be better for him going my way or yours.