390 horsepower

[390owner]

Before too much longer I am going to have another 390 built by a machine shop that I use. Using stock heads with a four barrel intake what kind of horse power can I expect the engine to make. I will use a 600 edlebrock, with headers. The engine I have now only get 4=5 miles per gallon when towing my camper. I would like to get more power and a little better gas mileage. It will get 10 without towing.

[woodboatwayne]

compare your compression ratio and cam to ones listed on a "Ford FE specs" site on line will get you pretty close

[fekbmax]

You should be able to get a hp per cid or a bit better if you choose your parts wisely.  Some mild work to the stock cylinder heads , slight bump in compression , and the propper choice of cam.  Id think it would make a good towing engine.   Jmo.
Id think Barry at survival could help you choose the best parts for your budget.  Id trust him over the machine shop guys. Let an fe guy help with the combo. Let the machine shop do there job at correctly assembling it. Again jmo.

[Joe-JDC]

What vehicle are you using as your tow vehicle?  Weight, tire size, gear ratio, transmission?  All these things will help us give better answers.  Joe-JDC

[390owner]

It is in a 79 bronco. I have 350 gears with 32-11.50 tires and a 4 speed transmission.

[Joe-JDC]

To run on regular gasoline, I would stay in the 9.5-9.7:1 compression range, and use either the Edelbrock Performer RPM heads, or BBM heads with an Edelbrock Performer RPM intake.  Keep the camshaft in the 210-220* range @.050, and good ignition with electronic distributor.  The carb is OK, but may need to be tweaked with these modifications.  Headers with 2.5" exhaust and H or X pipe will help with mileage.  Joe-JDC