Is the Proformanceunlimited 400HP 390 Turn-Key a fair deal?

[ezernut9mm]

we must have pics of a large burnout once the engine has been broke in. (extra points for video). . cangrats and have fun. hp is addictive.

[robroy]

Update: I spoke with Steve and explained the gearing and vehicle use conditions (that the truck would be used mainly for fun on the weekends). He said he'd give this information to Doug for cam selection, and that Doug would probably select a medium intensity cam.

I asked about the idle characteristics and heard that it should idle between 900 and 1,000 RPM and have a medium idle (between smooth and rough).

Is this idle characteristic typical for a performance FE? Or do the characteristics vary widely between engine builds?

Thanks folks!
-Robroy

[DuckRyder]

Trouble with idle characteristics is that one mans "choppy" is another mans "barely noticeable".

That said mine idles between 900 and 1000 in gear and I am going to search the archive and post the link to the exhaust videos in the flowmaster thread.

I would say that shooting for 400 horsepower the idle is going to be noticeable but shouldn't be "choppy" unless that is what you want.

[robroy]

'Morning Robert,

I see what you mean. Thanks for your advice!

-Robroy

[robroy]

Update: I got a call from Proformanceunlimited today--#50's new engine is complete! They'll ship on Monday and it should arrive on Friday.

I asked for some photos of the build and finished product; I'll post them here!

-Robroy

[DuckRyder]

Excellent!

[robroy]

Okay, here she is!!! She'll be waiting for me at the UPS yard on Friday or Monday for pickup!



Here are links to view the other associated photos. Since these photos are large I only directly linked one of them in to this post.

http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/P9300795s.JPG
http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/P9300796s.JPG

And here are the super sized, original images I received from Kim at Proformanceunlimited. These will really crawl on to your screen over my Internet connection, so you'll want to kick them off and go for lunch.

http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/P9300792.JPG
http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/P9300795.JPG
http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/P9300796.JPG

I'll post a link to the live run video when I receive it! And many more photos when the engine's in my hands.

-Robroy

[sideoilerfe]

Why did they paint it yellow?

Congratulations on your new engine. It should give you plenty of fun miles. Ain't nothin' like firing up a fresh engine!

Seriously, yellow???

[robroy]

Hi Sideoilerfe,

They painted it yellow 'cause yellow's my favorite color; I asked them to. I guess it's a little unusual for a Ford engine.

About firing up a fresh engine, I've never done this before so I'm in for a treat!

-Robroy

[DuckRyder]

Very nice, we can't wait to hear how it runs...

Firing off a brand new one will make you sweat a bit, but it is a good kind of sweat...

[sideoilerfe]

Well if you asked for it to be yellow than that is cool. I was just bustin' your balls a bit. Again, congratulations. Did you get your new exhaust installed yet or are you waiting for the initial engine break in to do so? New engines run hot at first and if you've got brand new headers on a brand new engine being fired the first time it's not good for the headers.

[robroy]

Hey Sideoilerfe!

I heard from the shop that they already did the initial break in on the bench, so I'm free to install my headers without worry.

According to Steve, the main thing that ruins headers is when the assembly grease initially in an new engine works its way out the exhaust ports and manages to ignite inside the headers.

But since they did the initial break in already there should be very little of this grease left in the engine, so I think I'm okay. I guess I'll know after a few weeks of running it!

Thanks Sideoilerfe!
-Robroy

[sideoilerfe]

Cool! I didn't know they already did the break in. Again, congratulations and enjoy your new engine. When I did mine it was fun to drive it for the first time. I wish I would've saved more and did it better though, such as adjustable rockers (or rollers) and aluminum heads and intake. All in all, It's got power and it'll pull a lot of weight...and burn a lot of rubber.

Just curious, Did you get the cam specs?

[robroy]

Hey Sideoilerfe!

I just got the cam specs, but they don't mean much to me since I'm not experienced with camshafts; here they are as I heard them (my units are probably off but I think you'll understand):

Make: Tom's Cams
Specs: 562/565 Lift, 230/236 Duration @ 50, 110 Center

I asked Steve for a mild-to-medium (heavy on the medium) cam since I enjoy the sound of the idle more on these types of engines than on engines with wild cams. Based on the specs, would you agree that this is a mild-to-medium cam?

I also asked him about torque specs, since I hadn't heard anything about this yet. I heard that they don't advertise torque specs since they change quite a bit depending on which cam is installed, but he calculated it for this exact setup and came up with 463ft/lbs at 4,000RPM.

I also heard that the calculated horsepower rating for this exact engine is 436HP, which is 36HP higher than their advertised spec. Steve said they always treat their advertised spec as the lowest possible HP the engine could produce depending on cam selection and the method used to measure it. This also explains why some places on their web site list this engine as "400" and other places "425."

Lastly, I heard that this engine has 10:1 compression.

That's the update! What do you think?
-Robroy

[Thunderfoot]

we must have pics of a large burnout once the engine has been broke in. (extra points for video). . cangrats and have fun. hp is addictive.

Can't wait to see that and pics of it installed in #50