390 short block ????

[blykins]

George, don't drill anything out.....you don't want to enlarge the hole going from the mains to the cam....just flare the ends to match the bearing holes.

[TimeWarpF100]

You are on the wrong forum if you keep bashing the FE, and Jay's adapter.  I have ported all the intakes for a FE over the years, and most every Cleveland intake, small block ford intakes, and even EFI intakes and cut apart EFI plenums and ported them and welded them back together.  A Cleveland Tunnel Ram is not '60s technology by any means, and the cross sectional area promotes good velocity on a larger engines.  A Victor 427 intake will flow over 500 cfm when ported properly, and the RPM 430+cfm, Streetmaster 360+cfm, Street Dominator 370+, Blue Thunder 4V 390+ cfm, Ford Sidewinder 375+cfm, Ford PI 360+ cfm, CJ iron 350+, Ford 6V 340+, 8V MR 430+, 8V Tunnel Wedge 500+, Performer 300+, Blue Thunder 8V 430+, Dove 4V 500+, Motorsports Victor 500+, and Jay's adapter with Cleveland 4V over 500+cfm.  Need I go on???  There are more intakes I have ported over 45 years, but those came to mind for the FE after reading your cutting remarks about the FE.  I like other Ford engines as well as the next guy, but I do not bash the FE, especially on a FE forum.  Not cool!  Joe-JDC

I'm hardly bashing the FE or Jay's adapter. Just stating observations. I'm a non denominational engine builder. I don't see labels and don't have loyalties that blind me to what's at hand. I'm sorry if that offends you. And I've never ported an intake for cfm. Quick way to ruin a good intake.

If you don't port an intake with cfm in consideration, you don't know what you are doing.  Just won EMC with my ported, cfm controlled, modified intake manifold.  Anything else is just leaving horsepower and torque wasted.  Joe-JDC

LOL... really? Congratulations and good for you, but I don't consider EMC as the holy grail of engine performance.
You might want to do a little research on what I do, and what I've done before you start making stupid statements like that. I will never tell someone else they don't know what they're doing. There are WAY too many ways to skin this cat.
When you're ready to learn something, let me know.

You mentioned to look you up so I did.

82,000.00 $$ for a 385 series engine and it blew up in short order?  All I did was type your name into google.

$82,000.00 for a engine you built and it lasted for 11 passes?


 Scott Foxwell.
Like · Reply · 2 · Jun 1, 2016 1:32pm

Barry Wiebe · Winkler, Manitoba
Well I ran the engine down the track 11 times and broke a piston because they were fit way to loose and wrecked the whole engine and does not look like they are giving any warranty at all $82000 down the tube
Like · Reply · Jul 3, 2017 8:20pm

[scott foxwell]

You are on the wrong forum if you keep bashing the FE, and Jay's adapter.  I have ported all the intakes for a FE over the years, and most every Cleveland intake, small block ford intakes, and even EFI intakes and cut apart EFI plenums and ported them and welded them back together.  A Cleveland Tunnel Ram is not '60s technology by any means, and the cross sectional area promotes good velocity on a larger engines.  A Victor 427 intake will flow over 500 cfm when ported properly, and the RPM 430+cfm, Streetmaster 360+cfm, Street Dominator 370+, Blue Thunder 4V 390+ cfm, Ford Sidewinder 375+cfm, Ford PI 360+ cfm, CJ iron 350+, Ford 6V 340+, 8V MR 430+, 8V Tunnel Wedge 500+, Performer 300+, Blue Thunder 8V 430+, Dove 4V 500+, Motorsports Victor 500+, and Jay's adapter with Cleveland 4V over 500+cfm.  Need I go on???  There are more intakes I have ported over 45 years, but those came to mind for the FE after reading your cutting remarks about the FE.  I like other Ford engines as well as the next guy, but I do not bash the FE, especially on a FE forum.  Not cool!  Joe-JDC

I'm hardly bashing the FE or Jay's adapter. Just stating observations. I'm a non denominational engine builder. I don't see labels and don't have loyalties that blind me to what's at hand. I'm sorry if that offends you. And I've never ported an intake for cfm. Quick way to ruin a good intake.

If you don't port an intake with cfm in consideration, you don't know what you are doing.  Just won EMC with my ported, cfm controlled, modified intake manifold.  Anything else is just leaving horsepower and torque wasted.  Joe-JDC

LOL... really? Congratulations and good for you, but I don't consider EMC as the holy grail of engine performance.
You might want to do a little research on what I do, and what I've done before you start making stupid statements like that. I will never tell someone else they don't know what they're doing. There are WAY too many ways to skin this cat.
When you're ready to learn something, let me know.

You mentioned to look you up so I did.

82,000.00 $$ for a 385 series engine and it blew up in short order?  All I did was type your name into google.

$82,000.00 for a engine you built and it lasted for 11 passes?


 Scott Foxwell.
Like · Reply · 2 · Jun 1, 2016 1:32pm

Barry Wiebe · Winkler, Manitoba
Well I ran the engine down the track 11 times and broke a piston because they were fit way to loose and wrecked the whole engine and does not look like they are giving any warranty at all $82000 down the tube
Like · Reply · Jul 3, 2017 8:20pm

LOL...well that didn't take long.
What can I say. Just remember, there are ALWAYS two sides to every story.
This engine made excellent, winning, record setting power. It ran on our dyno, it ran on their dyno and it ran a full season winning every pull but one against some very big name very expensive engines and we never heard a single complaint. Over the winter they decided to do their own maintenance, make their own changes and they go out, pull twice and stick a rod through the pan. They basically destroyed a very very nice engine and now they want someone else to pay for it. It's as simple as that.
And it was NOT $82K. Hardly.
I'm not commenting on this any further.

[George vega]

George, don't drill anything out.....you don't want to enlarge the hole going from the mains to the cam....just flare the ends to match the bearing holes.

I read that they should be 5/16 dia.they say that 2,3 and 4 feed more than one rod therefore they need to be drilled while 1 and five only feed one rod and can be left the stock size. Is this wrong?

[blykins]

George, don't drill anything out.....you don't want to enlarge the hole going from the mains to the cam....just flare the ends to match the bearing holes.

I read that they should be 5/16 dia.they say that 2,3 and 4 feed more than one rod therefore they need to be drilled while 1 and five only feed one rod and can be left the stock size. Is this wrong?

If you are referring to the holes between the cam bearings and the main bearings, don't drill anything.  You will weaken that area.  At the VERY MOST, blend in the very ends of the oil passages so that they match the bearings.  You don't have to do anything else there. 

[George vega]

Yeah, I meant the passage from the cam bearing to the main oil gallery at top. Ok then I'll leave them as they are. Thanks

[Jim Comet]

Now I you have me worried about my 390 block. I drilled all the oil passages to 5/16 from the saddle to the cam bores. I am hoping to make a power upgrade to near 500hp soon. If a block does crack there does it just loose oil pressure or can it cause catastrophic failure? I would hate to throw away a fully prepped/machined block because of it. I never turn it over 6300-6400rpm. Jim

[jayb]

Jim, if the block cracks there the oil pressure will go out the crack and you won't have enough oil for the mains, rods, and cam bearing at that position.  Are you going to use the block in your race car?  Stick or auto?  Rory McNeil has seen this problem with his 428 blocks, at about 500 horsepower with dropping the clutch at high RPM.  An automatic would make this less likely, and street tires less likely still; anything to minimize stress on the block will help keep the crack from starting.  Crossbolting the block will also minimize the possibility of a problem.

[blykins]

Most likely you will just lose oil pressure. 

You can get carried away opening holes up.  I've never drilled out even one of those holes before, just a small blend at the very top of the hole. 

Here's what can happen on a sideoiler block:

[Jim Comet]

It has a C6 and a 4000 stall that I foot brake. It does have main studs if that is any help. Jim

[jayb]

Most likely you will just lose oil pressure. 

You can get carried away opening holes up.  I've never drilled out even one of those holes before, just a small blend at the very top of the hole. 

Here's what can happen on a sideoiler block:

Wow, I've never seen that happen with a crossbolted block before.  Any idea how much power it was making Brent?

[blykins]

No sir.

A customer brought me that block to use as a foundation for a build.  It was nasty dirty when I got it and still had the bearings in the mains.  We stripped it down and then baked/tumbled the block.  Cracks stood out like a sore thumb then. 

I don't necessarily know if it was horsepower that split the mains, but since it was the middle 3 mains, the chances are high. 

As you can tell, the feed holes have all been opened up, and instead of a blend at the mouth of the hole, they have been hit with a mill, which stepped the holes down....without any smooth transitions.

What stunk is that I had to call my customer and tell him that his prized possession S/O block that he had been saving for years was nothing but a paperweight. 

Separate story....I had another guy bring me a block that had been machined.  It had HUGE holes between the mains and the cam bearings.  They were drilled and tapped for Holley jets.  I told him there was no way I was going to use that block. 

[scott foxwell]

No sir.

A customer brought me that block to use as a foundation for a build.  It was nasty dirty when I got it and still had the bearings in the mains.  We stripped it down and then baked/tumbled the block.  Cracks stood out like a sore thumb then. 

I don't necessarily know if it was horsepower that split the mains, but since it was the middle 3 mains, the chances are high. 

As you can tell, the feed holes have all been opened up, and instead of a blend at the mouth of the hole, they have been hit with a mill, which stepped the holes down....without any smooth transitions.

What stunk is that I had to call my customer and tell him that his prized possession S/O block that he had been saving for years was nothing but a paperweight. 

Separate story....I had another guy bring me a block that had been machined.  It had HUGE holes between the mains and the cam bearings.  They were drilled and tapped for Holley jets.  I told him there was no way I was going to use that block.

Are you or is anyone else here a fan of a main stud girdle for the standard FE block?

[blykins]

I have set one up and it's a tremendous amount of machine work.

I'd personally rather have aftermarket cross bolt main caps.

[jimeast]

Do you know what year the block was made?  Was that a flat end mill or a ball nose end mill that opened up the  oil line? 

No sir.

A customer brought me that block to use as a foundation for a build.  It was nasty dirty when I got it and still had the bearings in the mains.  We stripped it down and then baked/tumbled the block.  Cracks stood out like a sore thumb then. 

I don't necessarily know if it was horsepower that split the mains, but since it was the middle 3 mains, the chances are high. 

As you can tell, the feed holes have all been opened up, and instead of a blend at the mouth of the hole, they have been hit with a mill, which stepped the holes down....without any smooth transitions.

What stunk is that I had to call my customer and tell him that his prized possession S/O block that he had been saving for years was nothing but a paperweight. 

Separate story....I had another guy bring me a block that had been machined.  It had HUGE holes between the mains and the cam bearings.  They were drilled and tapped for Holley jets.  I told him there was no way I was going to use that block.