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tomNE 
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Joined: 13 Sep 2009
Location: dorchester, ne
Points: 1214
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 Posted: 24 Nov 2022 at 5:40am |
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your not going to get any better mileage out of an FE, no matter what you do! I just worked on a ton of them, when they were Fords "go to" motor. I actually preferred them to that next generation of engines like the 400 and 429. they had some weaknesses just like every other engine. always needed to have the cam retimed and the lifters were all junk and the distributor's were borderline. then getting to know the block was recast between 64 and 65 from 2 bolt motor mounts to 3 bolts, always came in handy in the olden days. I would imagine now, that someone makes a mount that fits both.
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LouSWPA
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Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Location: Clinton, Pa
Points: 24021
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Posted: 24 Nov 2022 at 12:58am |
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don't buy the 'better fuel milage with a four barrel myth'.
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I am still confident of this;
I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Ps 27
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tomNE
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Location: dorchester, ne
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Posted: 23 Nov 2022 at 10:26pm |
invest in an aluminum intake. you'll never be sorry. front end weight is only magnified by a cast iron manifold!
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DaveKamp
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Joined: 12 Apr 2010
Location: LeClaire, Ia
Points: 5637
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Posted: 23 Nov 2022 at 9:55pm |
The intake, exhaust, and chamber volumes all have to work in concert, with camshaft and compression ratio to match... changing any ONE may make some improvement, or it may make it worse, depending on the rest of the factors.
Since you're bumping it to 390, that means boring it by 0.050" and swapping to 3.78" stroke... that means your piston velocities will be higher, hence the airflow velocity through valves will need to go higher. Will your valve surface area change? What's happening with your camshaft profile?
Car guys will jump on it immediately, but in your context, the 4.10 ratio may not be out of reason, that totally depends on the tire diameter that you'll be running... but your highway RPM under that circumstance may be high enough that you won't be able to economize at TODAY's interstate speeds. If you're swinging large tires, pulling a trailer, and staying under 60mph, that ratio may be fine, but again, it's about having matched volumes, appropriate cam choice, and a compression ratio that'll provide the airflow rates that the piston velocity and valve area need.
In terms of choosing, if it were something you planned on driving every day, I'd suggest adapting a Rochester TBI-220 throttle body from a 93'ish 5.7L GM, a 15psi electric fuel pump, and a MegaSquirt controller... a simple injection system like this will outperform ANY carbeurator in basically every aspect of operation.
The intake manifold you choose, for a carbeurated application, will need to have provision for carb base heat. Oklahoma has environmental circumstances that lead to carb icing during warmup, even on a sunny 75F day.
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Ten Amendments, Ten Commandments, and one Golden Rule solve most every problem. Citrus hand-cleaner with Pumice does the rest.
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CrestonM
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Joined: 08 Sep 2014
Location: Oklahoma
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Posted: 23 Nov 2022 at 8:43pm |
 steve(ill) wrote:
I had a 1989 F250 (351 V8) with the ZF 5 sp manual... Low gear was about 6 to 1 so GOOD for pulling from a stop... and HIGH gear was about .75 to 1 ............ and it had a 4.11 rear end, but with the OD it was equal to having a 3.25 rear end.... best of both worlds.
top speed in 1st was about 10 MPH and on the highway it would do 90 MPH pretty easy.
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That really does sound like the best of both worlds!
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steve(ill)
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Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Location: illinois
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Posted: 23 Nov 2022 at 8:28pm |
I had a 1989 F250 (351 V8) with the ZF 5 sp manual... Low gear was about 6 to 1 so GOOD for pulling from a stop... and HIGH gear was about .75 to 1 ............ and it had a 4.11 rear end, but with the OD it was equal to having a 3.25 rear end.... best of both worlds.
top speed in 1st was about 10 MPH and on the highway it would do 90 MPH pretty easy.
Edited by steve(ill) - 23 Nov 2022 at 8:30pm
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Like them all, but love the "B"s.
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dp7000
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Joined: 26 Sep 2021
Location: Winchester Kent
Points: 132
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Posted: 23 Nov 2022 at 8:18pm |
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I’d stay old school for all around economy. I’d try to find a used 4bbl intake (cast or aluminum) cheap. Holley carb used and put a kit in it. Not sure what rear end is in the truck but probably try to find another one 3.25 ratio. Lots of Ford 9 inch around and bulletproof. As long as you keep your foot out of it and cruise/coast it’ll get fair gas mileage. Other options sound expensive to me. Cool project for sure.
Edited by dp7000 - 23 Nov 2022 at 8:19pm
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CrestonM
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Location: Oklahoma
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Posted: 23 Nov 2022 at 7:49pm |
Michael V (NM) wrote:
I don't know if you checked yet, but that FE manifold is kinda hi dollar...
Unless the newer hollies are better, I'd steer away from them, one little hiccup and they blow the power valve...they may be better now, I don't know..
Ya might want to look into an aftermarket EFI
If your jus crusin, and not pulling a trailer, I'd stay around a 3:50 rearend ratio,, any pullin or hauling, I would stay around 3:73..heavy hauling on a steady basis, keep the 4:11
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Yeah I've seen they carry about a $500 price tag. I don't know much about the Holleys myself, so that's good to know. What else is there? Edelbrock? EFI sounds nice but the pricetag of those makes me cringe a little. I'll see how much the rest of the build runs and go from there. It will be a daily driver just cruising most of the time and doing running around the farm. Will pull a trailer occasionally, but probably nothing heavier than my 8N for the most part.
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CrestonM
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Location: Oklahoma
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Posted: 23 Nov 2022 at 7:45pm |
Ed (Ont) wrote:
First thing you want to do is get an overdrive trans or change rear gear. Unless you want to spend a whole bunch on fuel at todays prices. Go 3.50 with over drive trans or about 3.25 if you want to stay with 4 speed. Is that the same family as 390? So can you just change crank or how are you doing it? Next get an aluminum intake and Holley 4 barrel with vacuum secondaries 600-650 cfm. No bigger! Then go and have fun.  |
Yes, a 352 and 390 have the same block but different rotating assemblies. Going to bore the block and install a 390 crank, rods, and pistons. I've thought about a ZF5 transmission, and there are kits out there to do the swap. The thing I read that made me start to reconsider though is this...correct me if this is wrong....an article was explaining how these old carbureted engines perform at maximum fuel burning efficiency about 3,000-3,500 RPM. By using an OD transmission and dropping the RPMs, the engine is burning fuel less efficiently and the MPG actually drops. Is this in any way right?
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Michael V (NM)
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Location: NM
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Posted: 23 Nov 2022 at 7:00pm |
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I don't know if you checked yet, but that FE manifold is kinda hi dollar...
Unless the newer hollies are better, I'd steer away from them, one little hiccup and they blow the power valve...they may be better now, I don't know..
Ya might want to look into an aftermarket EFI
If your jus crusin, and not pulling a trailer, I'd stay around a 3:50 rearend ratio,, any pullin or hauling, I would stay around 3:73..heavy hauling on a steady basis, keep the 4:11
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NEVER green
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Joined: 28 Feb 2013
Location: MN.
Points: 6465
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Posted: 23 Nov 2022 at 5:04pm |
Ed (Ont) wrote:
First thing you want to do is get an overdrive trans or change rear gear. Unless you want to spend a whole bunch on fuel at todays prices. Go 3.50 with over drive trans or about 3.25 if you want to stay with 4 speed. Is that the same family as 390? So can you just change crank or how are you doing it? Next get an aluminum intake and Holley 4 barrel with vacuum secondaries 600-650 cfm. No bigger! Then go and have fun. |
Holley is no longer on the top.
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2-8050 1-7080 6080 D-19 modelE & A 7040 R50
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NEVER green
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Posted: 23 Nov 2022 at 5:03pm |
I would go with the modern four barrel, just because of the advancements for tuning and fuel economy, nobody really messes with two barrel. Know people with 427 medium, high, tunnel port heads, 390 GT heads, no issues with aluminum intakes warping, unheard of.
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2-8050 1-7080 6080 D-19 modelE & A 7040 R50
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Ed (Ont)
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Location: New Lowell, Ont
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Posted: 23 Nov 2022 at 4:56pm |
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Get a 2 plane intake not single plane as you want to make torque. Install a stump puller cam or rv cam since you are into the motor anyway.
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Ed (Ont)
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Posted: 23 Nov 2022 at 4:54pm |
First thing you want to do is get an overdrive trans or change rear gear. Unless you want to spend a whole bunch on fuel at todays prices. Go 3.50 with over drive trans or about 3.25 if you want to stay with 4 speed. Is that the same family as 390? So can you just change crank or how are you doing it? Next get an aluminum intake and Holley 4 barrel with vacuum secondaries 600-650 cfm. No bigger! Then go and have fun.
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CrestonM
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Location: Oklahoma
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Posted: 23 Nov 2022 at 4:11pm |
Hey guys! Starting work on the Ford 352 in my 1965 F-250 that's being turned into a 390. Currently it has a 2 barrel carburetor with cast iron manifold, but a few mechanics have suggested going the 4 barrel route, with the idea it would help highway cruising speed fuel economy, so long as the foot feed isn't just stomped down. The truck will be a general use daily driver, but it will see 65 mph highways. Whether the truck goes that fast or not is doubtful, but yet to be determined. It's coupled to a four speed New Process 435 transmission with 4.10 differential gears. Curious what the thoughts are here...2 barrel vs 4 barrel, and if switching to 4 barrel, is it worth it to go with an aluminum performance intake such as one from Edelbrock, or stick with cast iron? I know the iron intake weighs about 80 lbs, but that's not an issue that will sway the decision for me. I'm just concerned about air flow and warpage of the intake. I've heard the aluminum intakes have a higher likelihood of warping?
Thought? Thanks!
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