As noted in this post, apparently C5AE 390 blocks were cast with crossbolt bosses similar to the '64 blocks.  I haven't had much luck determining if it is all C5AE blocks or just some.  If anyone knows the answer to this, I am all ears.     Thanks in advance.

I have a '54 Merc that a customer is needing help with.  Generally the customer takes care of most of the maintenance, tuning, etc. on the car and has done an excellent job up to this point.  The customer wants to address issues with performance (customer thinks ignition timing) and slightly low vacuum at idle (15 to 16" Hg instead of 17 to 20) that is affecting the various vacuum operated items in the car.  It has the 256 Mercury V8 with a Holley 2140 "teapot" 4bbl carb. My first step was to make sure idle, timing and valve adjustment were all ok before chasing vacuum leaks since the engine has been rebuilt not long ago. I didn't get very far since the primary butterflies have a tendency to be a bit sticky off idle and the linkage flops around pretty good making it basically impossible to get a consistent desired idle speed for tuning.

At this point I'm looking for someone that can 100% recondition the carb.  When I say recondition, I mean address the issues with the loose linkage and sticky butterflies so the idle speed stays in spec after operating the throttle. The carb is in good shape otherwise. I've done a bit of google searching but haven't come up with what I consider a good place have the work done. If anyone is aware of anyone or anywhere that can do this, I am all ears.    Thanks in advance for any information.

What on earth is this?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/334503348161

I saw a posting in private classifieds looking for Trickflow heads last night.  I checked Trickflow's website after seeing the post and noted their lead time was August or so of this year.  Might have been September or October, but I can't confirm since their website now shows this for availability.  Did we just lose a nice option for cylinder heads?

Didn't want to hijack the post regarding the billet heads soooo..

Here's a block to go with it.

https://www.wolverineengines.com/product/ford-fe-billet-aluminum-block/

Now go build ya one of them 2500hp pro charger FE's..

As noted in the subject of this post, the site Keith mentioned has some FE motor mount adapters.  I stared at them for awhile but for the life of me don't know what their purpose is.  My limited experience only spans FE engines in '62 to '66 Galaxies so I'm sure there are other configurations that would warrant them.  Just curious what that might be. 

Came across these "jewels" while browsing.  Seems like Mississippi and Louisiana is the market to sell FE related items for big $$$.

390 FE Motor - https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/860360632103005 - Has only been overheated once, super rare.

1960/61 352 ford Fe engine - https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2362268337494894 - Strong runner

SIDE OILER FORD - https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/934000044569430 - No additional charge for dirt, chain is extra

In other news, meth addiction in MS and LA has reached an all time high.

I see that Blue Thunder has 3 different Weber manifolds for the FE listed in their catalog.  The standard cut F.E. IDA Weber manifold, angle cut F.E. IDA Weber manifold, and eight ( 8 ) venturi FE IDA fuel injection manifold. Due to lack of information in their catalog and my inability to obtain additional information about the f.i. version of the manifold, I'm making this post in hopes of getting some useful information to determine if it would be a good fit for my project. As always, any information is appreciated.

As noted in the subject, I purchased a lightweight flywheel and new set of pistons and sent the rotating assembly (crank, flywheel and bolts, rods, rod bearings, rings, pistons, and damper) to be balanced again.  I can see that the flywheel was bolted to the crankshaft at some point and I think small amounts of filing might have been performed on the pistons.  The part I'm a bit confused by is the rod bearings still being shrink wrapped in their original packaging.  I'm re-using the rings from the previous set of pistons, so I have no way of knowing if their weight was factored in since they were just tied together as a set from each cylinder and were not packaged like the rod bearings. I don't see any markings on the pistons in relation to the connecting rods either (i.e., #1 piston to be used on #1 connecting rod).

It has literally been decades since I had this assembly balanced the first time so I don't remember all of the particulars, but I think I recall particular pistons being paired with particular rods. The other note of interest is that after the machine shop had the assembly for a month (with no contact of any sort), I called to inquire about the progress and had the rotating assembly back in my shop 2 days later. Either my timing is impeccable, or the job was being ignored until an inquiry was made and then fast tracked to completion. The last experience I had with a machine shop doing work on this engine (different one from the shop doing the current work) resulted in missing oil gallery plugs and the rear cam plug being installed backwards. In short, I have no faith in the local shops (all of the veterans have retired) but figured balancing the rotating assembly should be fairly straight forward.

So my question is, should I be concerned about the rotating assembly being balanced properly?  I am inclined to think the answer is yes.