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Originally posted by Ksbsn88
i am new to the forum and i have a 66 thunderbird with a 390FE (with a couple performance parts) i have been building for the past year to show the ricers at my school how pathetic their cars are. So here are a few questions i would like to ask.
1. what the biggest flaws are on my engine were.
After 32 years with FE motors (over 40 if you count my Dad's cars), my biggest complaint about the FE motors has been the way the heads, block, and intake come together. Just about a guaranteed oil leak back in the days before blue glue. So use blue glue on the intake manifold, and go a little heavy on the head surface at the points where everything comes together
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2. is there anything that i can do besides taking off the emitions from the carb. for free cause i'm on a little tiny wee budget since i am only 16.
The 850 is really a little bigger than you need for the 390. http://www.webcalc.net/calc/0766.php will give you one way of estimating carb size, but it seems a little low to me. I like the math:
Engine size (cid) x max. rpm/3456 =cfm
@100% VE (volume efficiency)
Example: 350 cid x 6,000 rpm = 210,000/3456 = 608cfm
Yours works out to about 587CFM at 100% efficiency. Takes a real big cam for that to work, and forced induction to get over 100%. See http://www.secoperformance.com/Tech_Corner_May2.htm for all the details. Too much carb can hurt. I have a friend with a 327 Camaro, big hydraulic cam, 850 Holley, who tells me my 735 Holley on the 428CJ is too small. But I can do 100 ft big smokey burnouts on the shift to second, uphill, with the automatic. Turn 6000-6200 RPM with balanced/blueprinted CJ. You probably won't exceed 5200 until you do some freshening up. Not a problem.
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3. what are the most ineffecient parts on my engine.
I agree with the comment about the exhaust and intake. The 'Birds (I had a '62 and a '64 over the years) have a low hood, so your options on intake are limited, but you can get a 390GT manifold, which is better though still heavy, or an aluminum manifold (shaves about 50 lbs). Exhaust is another issue. I'm not aware of headers for the car, though the Mustang FE headers may come close. That's another tight fit. I'm just not sure they drop low enough to clear the floor. Later Mustang iron exhaust are better than the box units on the mid-'60s big cars, but still not sure they'll fit.
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4. will headers from a galaxy fit on a 66 thunderbird
No.
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5. is it street legal to run an exaust cut-out on an engine that does not need to pass emitions
Not in California, though if you have bolt-on plates over the main flanges, and bring the exhaust out the sides of the collectors to the muffler (or just swing the flange apart and bolt it through one of the side bolts - did that when I wanted to make noise in the past), it's hard to complain. Problem is the valve-operated cut-outs.
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6. is it legal to run a electric fuel pump bolted in the rear wheel well where it has no chance of hitting anything
Probably legal, probably not safe. Look at the sheet metal in front of the tank, center of the car. Probably the safest place.
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7. how hard is it to tub out a car
T-Bird isn't a good candidate. It's heavy and rides low. The low ride is the biggest challenge. Look where your fuel tank and so on are. Expensive in any event. Good tires and, if you have problems, traction bars are better choices.
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8. can you buy drag radials with white walls
9. how hard is it to put a stall torque converter between a 390 and a C6
Depends on whether you have the tools. Drop the trans, swap the convertor, put the trans back in. I'm running stock in the Shelby, but that's stock for the 428CJ. Idles okay at 650 in drive, and comes on about 2500 with authority.
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10. are the stock exaust manifolds as restrictive as they really look and how hard are they to change for headers
11. how expensive is it to get my heads ported by someone who knows what they are doing and do you have to pull the engine to take the heads off
Don't have to pull the engine. I'd look for a set of C8OE-N CobraJet heads, or C8AE-H or other Mustang GT heads. You can tell the Mustang GT heads - they have 12 or 16 exhaust manifold bolt holes, instead of 8. You'll probably need the 16-hole fange, so if you look at 12-bolt heads, make sure there's enough metal to bore the other holes - bottom of the center ports as I recall.
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12. Does the 390 have a mechanical lift camshaft or a hydrolic
Hydraulic, and that's all I'd use in a T-Bird. Valve adjustments are a bear. Look for a cam with a power range that ends in the 5500-6000 range, I'd say, but remember that if the engine isn't known to be pretty good, about 5000 should be your top. I like the 390GT/428CJ cam, which I understand Lunati matches. There are other good choices. Email me if you want to discuss. had a solid lifter cam in a 428CJ years ago, but I like my stock cam just fine.
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13. does the 390 have a dry sump oil pump or a wet sump
14. is a high volume oil pump better than a high pressure pump
Yep. Too much pressure can cause some problems. Volume is another issue. I''m running a blueprinted Melling pump in the CJ, and will match it in the 410-powered F100. Runs 60psi hot at speed, idles at about 20-25. Moves a lot of oil. Top oiler blocks are arguably more prone to starvation, so I like that. And the top-oiler is pretty much everything in the FE range except some 427s. Email if you want to discuss.
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15. how easy is it to change the oil pump because i do not feel comfortable with a 30 year old stock oil pump
16. how do i make my holley "blue" electric fuel pump quieter
My son is also 16. We're building a hot rod for him, and working on a balanced/blueprinted .060 over 410 for the F100. The rice rockets will probably still outrun you - they are light and nimble. But you'll outcool them.