Ford 390 FE build, a few questions

Hey guys, I purchased this motor about a year ago for a project car and slowly building up parts. This is going to be a straight cruiser, but I keep buying performance part after performance part so I need some help. I want to Port and Polish the heads myself (or have the kid next door do it, he does it on the side for other people and his work is nice). On top of that it currently has mechanical lifters and a solid cam (the oil galleys are plugged which lead me to believe that). I have 2 questions

-Should I pay the other guy port and polish these heads for me for 200 bucks? The kits alone are 50 bucks and I know its atleast 16 hours worth of work. What do you think? If i do it alone I know I will definitely be nervous grinding down that one Thermactor bump.

-I found a really good deal on a Hydraulic Cam and Lifters, but I am currently running solid/mechanical. How hard is it to convert to a hydraulic cam? Do I simply remove the oil galley plugs and be done or is the process more difficult. Edelbrock 2601 is the kit I found for a deal

Here is the current list of parts
-68 code 390 bored .010
-Polished Edelbrock intake manifold
-Custom long tube headers from Crites
-Mallory Ignition
-Holley 750 CFM w/ vacuum secondaries
-C6 transmission Automatic
-Stock Rear


Also any tips, tricks, suggestions or suggested parts are WELCOMED! PLEASE! Thanks guys

If he has experience, and you trust him.. then yeah, pay the 2 bills and move on. imho... If you're really building a cruiser then stay with that, don't drift off and buy parts that won't work good together.. A little porting will help the FE heads anyway..

fwiw, ymmv,imho, yada yada yada.. 8-)

Sounds like you probably got a hp 390 (375hp)------porting /polishing the heads won't help you much and because of the unleaded gas these days is a waste of time/money---
if the cam doesn't have any flat lobes/or musrooned tappets and rocker arms are adjustable, just freshen the hone/rings, bearings, timing chain set the valves to .027 for that wonderful tappet music, 38 degrees total timing and go kick some butt

My question is how do I convert my current solid cam and lifters to use hydraulic cam and lifters?

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Originally Posted by 2 Amigos

On top of that it currently has mechanical lifters and a solid cam (the oil galleys are plugged which lead me to believe that). I have 2 questions
-I found a really good deal on a Hydraulic Cam and Lifters, but I am currently running solid/mechanical. How hard is it to convert to a hydraulic cam? Do I simply remove the oil galley plugs and be done or is the process more difficult. Edelbrock 2601 is the kit I found for a deal

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Originally Posted by 2 Amigos

My question is how do I convert my current solid cam and lifters to use hydraulic cam and lifters?

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The plugs do need to be exchanged for a orifice plug, they need to allow oil to travel to the top end. I just don't remember the sizing right now... maybe Jerry will check in and know what it is. If not then I'll have to look it up.. or ask the guys here - FordFE.com

The galley plugs in the fe ford engines if drilled / removed will only allow oil pressure to hydraulic lifters--it doesn't feed the top end--the top end ( rocker shaft assemblies) is fed by a passage from the number 2 and # 4 cam bearing to a passage up to the head and then on to the rockers----

If you have the adjustable rockers, solid tappets and cam I'd suggest using them as that engine was rated at 375 hp and put out considerably more

By "top end" I meant the lifter galley.. out of curiousity, do you know/remember the orifice size? I haven't done much of anything with FE's since the late 80's. If you don't use it you loose it... crs???

I have drilled out a few to .080 each side to pressurize lifters--(that was on some solid lifter blocks((police interceptors)) other high performance blocks generally weren't drilled to oil lifters---I also did a 427 block for one of our tow trucks where I fabbed two tubes in the lifter galley area and put 16 #3 an hard lines to the lifter bosses--worked good

And you can---use edm'd hole lifters for a windsor type , feed the top nd thru hollow pushrods, and the edm holes lube the cam lobes pretty good

All good info! Thanks Jerry!

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Originally Posted by jerry clayton

----porting /polishing the heads won't help you much and because of the unleaded gas these days is a waste of time/money---

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Agree with Jerry here......
I wouldn't let anyone mess with my heads that couldn't show me before and after flow numbers. Then I'd pay him on the percentage of increase. On a cruiser motor, just clean everything up cut the heads for exhaust valve seats and bolt it together. While you have it apart, cc all the volumes so you can figure the static compression ratio. You'll need that to choose a cam. With a good set of headers, use the Edelbrock Performer RPM intake manifold. It'll make another 40 hp over the low-rise Performer where you can use it on a street motor. Use a whole mess of air cleaner too, let 'er breathe (14" x 4"). If you don't change much on the motor, it's going to be fairly high static compression ratio, so you want to match up the cam pretty closely to close the intake valve at the right time. I'd be trying to figure the squish at 0.045"-0.055" to prevent the motor from detonating on pump gas.