boring / stroking the 390 FE

[Dominik]

boring / stroking the 390 FE from 3.78" to 4.08" to get a 428 from a 390

option to my thread regarding turbocharging the FE would be to stroke an in South-Africa easily available 390 by 0.3" to 427 to go along with the decal on my fender (bore to 4,08").

could the crank be ground offset by 0.15" to get this? which would be my rod journal diameter and which rods could I use then?

reducing the rod journals from 2.438" by 0.15" should result in 2.28" giving in an increase of 0.3" of stroke to get 428 cui, if I am right.
would the bigger stroke cause the rods to hit somewhere?

the Chevy BB features 2.2" rod journals. so the crank could be ground to accomodate the Chevy rods. but what is the rod thickness compared to a FORD FE rod?

thank you,

dominik, cape town

[Sizzler]

I believe a common combination is Ford 400M rods on an offset stroke 428 crank to 4.125"

Since the 3.98 428 crank only goes out to 4.125", I think the 390 crank is probably limited to 4.00 or so.

[Dominik]

thanks,

resulting in 418 cui with a 0.030 over, if I am right. - almost there!
let's see what replies may follow.

dominik

[A Snake]

Dominik,

Your 418 is with 3.98 stroke + over bore.

4.125 stroke on the crank yields 428CID

Yes all of the above will work, but that long stroke engine won't rev worth beans. It will make scads of torque up to about 3,500rpm and hp up to maybe 4,200 if you're lucky.

That combination is basically meant for very heavy vehicles where torque is more important than rpm.

Why go through all that when 428 blocks are not that hard to come by?

A late FE service block with ribbed sides will often take the over bore of a 428 and the cranks are still out there at regrinders.

In my humble opinion, you'll spend a lot of money and not be very happy with the results.

Just an old timer with FE's talking.

Al

[Dominik]

thanks Al,

I take that advise of "low revving"... that is bad.
to understand the situation: in south-africa there seems to be no 427/428 FE engine left. I ruined the only SO.

people here earn about 2 to 3 times less than in the US, and than comes shipping and customs in addition.

the logical answer would be to use a 351 and maybe stroke that one, but I wanted to keep the FE looks of the car and to have the displacement.

thanks, low revs okay. but that low? rather not.
battling to push that submit button - again... as well as corrections. I can't even go backwards.
and that's not for beeing here. it was like that a year ago in Germany also.

who is interested in creating a CCX registry?

dom, cape town

[bmalone]

Dominik, sounds like bringing in parts won't work for you. But just in case, Flatlander makes stroker kits for the 390 (416 and 430).

Flatlander

What happened to the 427?

I am a fellow CCX owner--sure, why not?

[Dominik]

bill (gashole),

you you are also one of david samson's buddies ... :-)
the427 is a very sad story for me. I defenitely did my best and took immense care ingnition - wise, but a (3/8" bolt) rod went throught the block.

two guys had built the egine at 5000 ft. so I adjusted by retarding to 32 deg total at sea level, plus rejetted from 66 to 70s in dual carb application.

I hoping for someone in the US to start the CCX registry, because nobody knows me.

I woild have time to sort them out if people come with their chassis numbers.

cheers,

dominik

[bmalone]

Well Dominik, I am sorry for you and feel your pain. Good luck with the new engine.

I'll ask around; if anyone has already started a registry.

[Dominik]

ok bill.

[Michael C Henry]

Why stick all that into a 390? why not start w/4 bolt mains maybe side oiler.I messed w 406 and 428s 30 years ago. Oiling system will not let it last if you ever get carried away.If you start w/390 you stil have a glorifired 390.When I got drafted in 69 my parents were sure that the local auto parts store was likely to go out of business.

[kountzecobra]

Dominik, are there any 391 Ford Truck blocks available in SA? If so, many have been bored out to 428 bore size (4.125") Also, I think a stroked 390 would make as good an engine as a stroked 351. The oiling system is not near as bad as many say with careful prep and assembly. Limit rpm to 5500 or so. Not sure about valve clearance in cylinder bores for big valves but Edelbrock heads should work well. Hopefully FE building gurus will fill you in with details. To me it would be much better than a 351. Also, you could reuse many parts you already have. Just my opinion.

[Jack21]

Some months back, Street Rodder Magazine did a series of articles on bringing the 390 FE up to par. Tweaked a 390 FE out to 434 CI and got some surprising HP, and TQ numbers. Check it out.

[Pete C]

Dominik,

A built 390, while not a 427 SO, is awful damn fast in a 2300 lb car. And in the bargain it is the "right" look and they are cheap and easy to repair or replace.

Cheers, Pete

[KobraKarl]

dominik

sory to hear of another s/o biting the dust ,what kind of r's were you turning when your rod let go?
i think it would be great to have a registry if only to find help sorting the peculiarities of ccx'ers and sharing look for's and watch out's. Karl

[Dominik]

I keep it short because my buttons do not work as always.

a 427 is unavailable in south-africa. in general people earn 2.5 to 3 times less than in the US. and than add shipping. It seems like I blew the only SO here.

I revved it to 4500 when the (390) rod went, revved it to 5500 at the drags three days before that.

a 351 stroked would be the answer for another cobra, now I want to salvage parts and the looks.

registry: let's go, I can gather the data, but nobody knows me.

street rodder mag: cannot get it here.

391 blocks: have to check.

thanks all,

dom (cape town)