My dad raced a 427 fairlane wagon with a 4 spd in stock eliminator for years. I remember him winning class run offs against big block camaros and 400 firebirds. To me then it was just the way that it was. Today I realize a station wagon should not have been beating cars that weighed 800- 1000 lbs less in class run offs. Set up is everything. The FE will always have a special place in my heart. Love the FE videos.

Big fan of the FE content.

Ford was the first to experiment with port placement and height for efficiency . They used a 352 of all engines but it was a mid-displacement engine and made a good mule. That’s why the had so many heads for the FE( low,medium and high risers, tunnel port and SOHC to name a few. The FE engine is legendary and its racing heritage is beyond reproach.

That dyno pull is worthy of a 3rd. encore ! Nowadays it seems like the 427 and 428 CJ bad boys get all of the attention but this 390 Cobra Jet beauty can go head to head with the best 🏁

My grandfather loved 352 police interceptor engines & would overhaul them & ibstsll them in modt ever Ford he drove. I was young, but remember being sucked into the seat when Grampa would accelerate. Best feeling ever. Sounded nice & pulled like a bandit for a full-size automobile. I dont know the difference between the standard 352 & the police interceptor version's, but there had to be in the heads, compression ratio, and camshafts I would think? Nice FE for sure.

What a sharp looking motor.

love those 390s i ran them for 40 years before i got my first 428 about 8 years ago

Great build, always loved the FE engines.

Nice! I’ve always been curious why these FE motors aren’t more popular considering what Ford was able to accomplish with them on the track. Thanks for the look at your builds

Thank you for sharing. Keep putting the videos out because we are definitely going to keep watching

Brent Thank you for your videos!

I wish you had been making these videos in the mid 1960s when I was replacing the left head gasket on my 1962 Galaxie 406 every week.

We used Ford lightweight valves and the exaust valves needed to be X Rayed before using them because they tent to snap off .

Mine had a 40 over bore flat top pistons 600 intake lift 610 ex blue racer cam 428cj rods and 428cj crank 427 heads Edelbrock intake

Hello 👋🏻, Thank you. Way, nice build 👍, you're awesome!!

I had hydraulic cammed 428CJs that I shifted @ 7300. 300 degrees duration and 520” lift with 76 degrees of overlap was the specs used back then but it was an optional CJ cam. It made the difference between a docile engine or a fire breathing monster. CJs were decent street engines but with this cam it was worth almost 2000 rpm and over 200 horses. Big horses! Thanks for keeping the FE alive. I actually finished one last year with a solid lift shaft(customer requested) and it’s a beast but if I had done it for myself, I would have gone hydraulic and with todays grinds there’s no telling how much power could be made? The one I did last was going in a 64 Falcon. Should make a fun little straight-liner. They are a little tricky to drive with all the weight one the nose but it’s manageable.

Back in 66 my friend bought a Cyclone and built a 427MR for it. Full race build solid roller hi comp. It ran 11.70's at a big 127mph. Traction was hard to get back in 66.It was a bad looking motor scooter with those Jardine headers hanging down. With it weighing 3450 with driver. I figure it made about 650hp. Your 390 numbers look right.

Thanks for video Brent, Always good stuff!

Awesome video. Thanks for sharing

Very nice build ! ❤️🔥😎

I wonder what a better smaller runner I take would have done? The tq was in and high for almost 3,000 rpm. Very nice.

Imagine how it would’ve gone with a more appropriate intake manifold. Fantastic build Brent.

Brent you weren't kidding when you said it sounds that good!

Another great video!

Love them 390's had a few when I was younger in Cougar's and Fairlane's aways ran good although mine were not anywhere as nice as yours, 7500 rpm wow nice!!

Very Impressive results!!! 👌👌👌👌👍👍👍👍👍👍😎😎😎😎

Gosh, I wish I had the patience to get in line and have you build my 390 for my 69 Mach1. I had it done by a local machine shop in Indy. Wiped the cam upon break in. Took it to another shop and I’m disappointed in the power and the oil pressure does some weird and scary things.

just love it

Me and a buddy put a two barrel 390 out of a one ton F350 in a 73 F100 with a three on the tree when we were in high school. He would side step the clutch at wot and ran a to b passes with 1st and 2nd gear. That truck won races on the street due to its quick 60 Foot launches from the 5500rpm heavy flywheel.

Awesome

My Tri power 390 back in the 70s had no problem hitting six grand and higher, Solid lifters,,1.76 foctory adjustable rockers,,,just need a good oil pressure and valve springs.., however I did shift the automatic trans at 5800 RPM

Too bad NASCAR no longer uses production motors. In the 60's when stock was basically stock and the cars actually used production body parts, that was real racing. That's when the FE shined and even though it will never be as popular as a Chebbie it is good to see these motors being used in various formats. Thanks for the details of the buildup and that marvelous sound!

Heads, cam, fuel system is all ya need.

Nice build Brent. Two questions. Would a set of TFS heads with 11/32 valve stems have given you any advantage due to the port and chamber design, or do the 7mm intake&5/16exhaust stems in the Cobra Jet heads negate that advantage? Next question is would the BBM tunnel wedge be the choice on a 500-511" engine, or would the TFS version be a better choice on an engine with a rev limit of 6800-7000 rpm? Thanks for your time. And keep the vids coming.

Impressive work mr Lykins! I've never seen my powerbands go north of 6K with my hyd rollers. What oil viscosity did you use there?

Good evening. Question...when you have the factory iron heads ported, do they or can they do much or need to do much with the exhaust port? I've always been curious about that. I built a few of these engines years ago but they were just basically stock setups for pickup trucks, never got into much in the way of performance with them. Thanks for your videos, really enjoy them! 👍

Needs a BLUE 🧢.

Hey, if you live in Kentucky and own a olds , does that make you a good olds boy? Asking for a friend. Thanks for doing the FE videos Brent, been an FE guy for the last 40 + years , have done lots of 391 engines, most of mine were in what we referred to as frost fans, basically a big wind machine in an orchard. Also used to run a 410 that I custom built back when I was about 19 years old in a 67 ranchero.

My brother bought our neighbors 66 Ford Custom that's all it said on the car it had a 390 .but on the speedometer it said calibrated. My brother tore everything up but the engine

I'm interested in your input on water pumps for the FE, especially in a high rpm build like this. Have you seen/looked for signs of cavitation after teardowns. What do you prefer to use mostly (stock style, edelbrock, or whatever). Thoughts on mechanical vs electric.

We turned our 406 and 427 factory motors 6500rpm.....no sweat.

Have you seen the David Vizard. Channel. 503 HP 289.

I have a 390 block that I want to build, but I’m not nearly knowledgeable enough about them, as you are. What would you guess the engine build would cost for a similar build, but a single 4 instead of 2-4’s? I know there are many variables. Thanks.

Question! Why not use snap rings to retain the wrist pins????....🧐 Much easier to install and remove in my opinion....

👍🏻

What the hp you got out of a fe?

It was singing

Hey Brent,why are the piston skirts so long?,i'm new to the FE world thanks

I think that's killer horsepower for that motor. With the pistons being that tall looks like you have plenty of room to add stroke to that modor.

I built a 390 and i got it to 8.000 rpm on it

Stainless and not titanium valves? How come?

Ford sold a zillion 390’s. They were designed for heavy cars and truck applications. Does anyone really think that beating a Chevrolet by two tenths in the quarter mile was a consideration?

7500rpm is NOT screaming ! My little 327 turning 11,000rpm is screaming ! There is a Nova that screams 12,000rpm on KZfaq It's a 265 or 283

The 390 is my least favorite Ford engine. I saw way too many 390 powered cars get beaten by virtually every other big block Mopar and GM. Too bad Ford put it in so many cars.

Copy cats

I am a Fe fan but your snooze videos are snooze worthy. Good info if you can follow

Here and talked to like watching paint, dry too much dead air