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I am a Ford man. I will work on anything, and there's very little I can't fix. I have a '62 Ford stepside, amongst several others. I was wondering if I could develop more horse pwr from a 400 or a 390. I have both, with mild performance parts, and wondering the best route. I would like to run the 1/4 mile occasionally, but mostly a cruiser beyond that. Thanks, Dan
Why not a 460 if you have room for a big block?
I like both the 400M and the 390 and I believe they are close in HP and Torque.
The same closed chamber heads that came off the cleveland will work on the
400M. In 1961 and 62 there was a Hi Perf 390 with 10.6 to 1 that made 375HP.
Now the 400M only came out with 9 to 1 compression with 260 HP with a 4V.
A 390 with 9.5 to 1 is 265 HP so you can see that the numbers are close.
But take some after market closed chamber cleveland heads and a good carb with
after maket intake and headers and I believe the 400M would make the Hi Perf 390 look sick. If I had a choice I will allways take cubic inches though. Kurt
Welcome to the forum. I agree that for the most bang for your buck, a 460 is hard to beat, but there is nothing wrong with a 390 either. I'm not so nuts about the 400 M engines, and speed stuff is not as available.
Don
Some of us will not hold that against you :LOL::LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by triple d
Welcome to this site, there are some real knowledgeable Ford guys here.
Ken
ditch them both for a lima motor ..
I was just trying to be thrifty, and respect the good american steel that is still out there after all these years, working fine. However I am a nut for h.p. and maybe I can find a 429/460. What do you think of these two? is one a better block and crank than the other? Thanks again, Dan
oddly enuff i have had both in my stang and the 460 bottom end performed greatly better than the 429 .. both had all other same add ons ..