My first FE was a 390 with 428CJ heads, that I had a local Ford Super Stock racer build for me, in 1976. I had 2 issues, first was I could never get the header gaskets to not leak, it was not until I pulled the engine out and checked, that I realized that the headers that I had started with, that I modified to fit 390 in my 64 Falcon, were made with the low exit exhaust port location, and my CJ heads had the higher port location. Between that, and the Mr. Gasket header gaskets,that didn`t fit either properly, there was a major mismatch that could never seal up. Also, for whatever reason , my brand new Mallory YL distributor has a bent shaft, and when I tried to remove it in the car, it would not budge. I ending up wrapping a chain around the base, and using a rented engine hoist, managed to lift the front wheels off the ground before the distributor finally popped out, causing the engine hoist upper bar to whack the hood as the car came crashing back down to earth. That 390 ran 12.60s at 110 MPH in my 66 Fairlane GTA with a C6 and torque convertor that only stalled to 2200 RPM, and later ran 11.9s in my 64 Falcon, with a 3500 convertor. That was pretty decent for a couple of street/strip cars back in 1977 and 78, for a 390 with a hydraulic cam, thru the mufflers. That first 390 started this 40+ year FE affair.
