FE second thoughts???

[court1100f]

ok recently I've read what isn't intended to be but ultimately is negativity towards FE engines I.E. Leaks on Valve Covers/Rear Intake seal/Cam Seal. Horrid Gas Mileage So Honestly How bad are these engines in all reality the 68 in my avatar will soon be mine just gotta find a time to get up there to get it. But with all this business about cam gear teeth having plastic on them getting chewed up dumped into the oil clogging up the oil pickup,all the cooling issues, Parts Expense I'm wondering WTF am I getting myself into.


To clarify in My opinion I think FEs are BAD ASS engines with a Ton of potential and more torque if built and setup right than anybody would need in practical terms Mines got the much maligned 360 which I have no hatred for and think has considerable potential, conversely it's just not cost effective to soupe up a 360 when swapping out the rods and pistons and crank will yield a substancial performance gain and open the door to good compression so I'll rebuild it as either a 390 or Preferably a Mercury Clone 410-416Cid depending on overbore SO what do you guys think are all it's short coming really that big of a deal or are they minor compared to the enjoyment derrived from this engine???

[BobbyFord]

FE's are fine when properly assembled (leak-wise). The plastic coated timing gears are the original gears, the replacements gears are all steel. A moderately built 390 is a strong, dependable engine.

[fordman]

i think the only bad thing about the fe is the fuel mileage. the rest of that is just easy fixes. new gaskets will take care of those leaks. and the timing gear is just a factory timing gear that is plastic. unless you have a low mileage engine or one around 75,000 you probably wotn ever see a platic timing gear. those plastic timing gears stopped working after about 75-85,000 miles. i have a 67 with a 351 in it. and i like it alot better than my 390 truck. it seems to run lighter than the fe truck. it also seems to have more get up and go to it.

[averagef250]

The problem with FE's is they have quirks and too many people have opinions of what it takes to make one run right that are completely backwards (350 chev or SBF logic does not apply). You need a machine shop that is familiar with them.

IMO, any carb big block will get crap mileage used improperly. If you drive it daily for short trips an FE is a very very poor choice. If you tow, drive it on weekends or drive long distances frequently the FE is a great choice.

I put 140K or so on a 4500 RPM high end build 390 and it was a joy to have in a 6500 pound truck that towed very heavy loads and drove mostly long 250 mile+ weekly drives. The truck could get 15-16 MPG on the freeway at 60 MPH, but was usually around 14. Towing up to 10-12K behind it it barely noticed and ran around 12 MPG, towing around and above the legal limit it dipped down to 8-10. If the engine was hot it could get 8-10 around town. If the engine was cold it got 4-5 MPG around town.

Keep in mind it took 20 miles on the freeway on a warm day to get the engine coolant and oil fully up to temp. Once there it was great. Cold mileage sucked.

[trukcrazy]

ok recently I've read what isn't intended to be but ultimately is negativity towards FE engines I.E. Leaks on Valve Covers/Rear Intake seal/Cam Seal. Horrid Gas Mileage So Honestly How bad are these engines in all reality the 68 in my avatar will soon be mine just gotta find a time to get up there to get it. But with all this business about cam gear teeth having plastic on them getting chewed up dumped into the oil clogging up the oil pickup,all the cooling issues, Parts Expense I'm wondering WTF am I getting myself into.


To clarify in My opinion I think FEs are BAD ASS engines with a Ton of potential and more torque if built and setup right than anybody would need in practical terms Mines got the much maligned 360 which I have no hatred for and think has considerable potential, conversely it's just not cost effective to soupe up a 360 when swapping out the rods and pistons and crank will yield a substancial performance gain and open the door to good compression so I'll rebuild it as either a 390 or Preferably a Mercury Clone 410-416Cid depending on overbore SO what do you guys think are all it's short coming really that big of a deal or are they minor compared to the enjoyment derrived from this engine???

Just my humble opinion here. For these trucks, I prefer an FE in any configuration. Second choice would be a 460 or inline 6 and third choice would be a V-10. I guess if I were building my truck for speed, I might would go a different route, but I just think the FE is what belongs in a bumpside. It looks right under the hood and has the power to pull the truck properly. Just my humble opinion. Good luck

[kaptnkaos]

It would seem that we are comparing apples and oranges..

FE's were never really ment to be a "fast" engine... they were designed for low end raw grunt power.
They were designed when gas was about .25 - .30 cents a gallon and all rigs got crap for gas milage.
If you want to compare big blocks compare the chev 427 vs the ford 427 cammer... both the same displacement, but a cammer will blow the chev away in a heart beat.
You'll find the same thing comparing chev 350 boat anchors and Ford 351's...
Compare a chevy 283 and a ford 289 or chevy 307 vs a ford 302..
The Ford engine will win hands down with all other things being equal...

KaptnKA S

[court1100f]

eh I won't own anything produced by Government motors formerly known as Garbage Motors they aint worth a damn. as for Comparing Garbage Motors to Ford a Ford 390 will kick a 396s ass as will a 460 kick a 454s ass GM is Garbage I've dealt with two the first was a 80,000 mile gently driven Vehicle that the engine blew up in at 80,000 miles by tossing a piston the other a GMC Caballero which was constantly screwing up for one reason or another and had 144HP and got 13MPG when well tuned for the limited time it'd hold a good tune. As for my Post Yeah I like FEs I'd venture to say if remaining stock isn't a consideration or a limiting factor they could be quite fast with ground shredding torque as for Gas Mileage yeah I could live without the piss poor fuel economy but I want the tire shredding torque. Just don't want it to be leak prone is all. as for timing Chains when mines replaced it presently had 49,746 miles on it,it was a farm truck I plan on going with a Gear Drive and being done with it. when I convert to 390 or 410 I'm shooting for between 9.5:1-9.8:1 compression ratio a different intake and 4 barrel....I wish Weiand Stealths were available for these engines but ohwell.....Yeah I like the FE just Fine for the 68 F100 Ranger..............Conversely Yeah a 351W can be a Rocket if built right hell a stock 80 something F150 I had once with the Variable Venturi Turd computer feedback carburetor hauled ass and it always ran like crap and had a leaking(as in like a siv) AOD behind it with dual exhaust so YEAH next to FEs a 351W is my Favorite ford V8

[papabug71]

I was in your shoes about 6 months ago. I will keep it simple. Im a huge fan of the FE motors. I would love to have one. But, keep in mind the last FE was built in 1976. The FE along with the 335 series motors are now considered extinct by many & finding everyday parts for them is going to become harder & harder as the years pass. Keep that in mind if you plan on keeping it for a long time.

With the aftermarket support for the Windsor series motors & 385 series, the choice is clear.


The 390 vs.396 comment would be a good duel. Keep in mind the 396 was a true Gm performance motor. It was only offered in cars & was never watered down for use in a truck like the 390 was.

[floyd67]

i love my 390, parts are easy to come by and i can can beat the snot out off it and i know it won't die on me. generally the only problems i have are self created

[averagef250]

I was in your shoes about 6 months ago. I will keep it simple. Im a huge fan of the FE motors. I would love to have one. But, keep in mind the last FE was built in 1976. The FE along with the 335 series motors are now considered extinct by many & finding everyday parts for them is going to become harder & harder as the years pass. Keep that in mind if you plan on keeping it for a long time.

With the aftermarket support for the Windsor series motors & 385 series, the choice is clear.


The 390 vs.396 comment would be a good duel. Keep in mind the 396 was a true Gm performance motor. It was only offered in cars & was never watered down for use in a truck like the 390 was.

There is a flip side here.

IMO, GM has never built a truck engine worth a salt besides the tall deck 427. Ford actually built truck engines for trucks and they work great using a truck as a truck. A non-egr 2V truck 390 is a pretty potent setup with a bunch of weight behind it. Before EGR and emissions fodder, they were built for brute low end torque with very strong mid range. The FE has seen more varied uses than any other engine in history from what I've seen. FE's have been used successfully in stationary pumps and generators, medium duty trucks, heavy duty trucks, Chris Kraft boats, performance cars, light trucks, made a joke out of the 426 Hemi in Nascar and still one of the most respected engines in drag racing. FE's have had low riser, medium riser, tunnel port, Hemi and SOHC cylinder head designs to cover just about any use imagineable plus all the FT stuff.

I love FE's and do not feel they are much harder to get lots of smiles from than any more common engine. They can make gobs of low end torque, more than any other similiar displacement gas engine I've seen and have thier own slightly unique burly exhaust note. You can almost always pick a healthy FE sound out from the crowd.

[court1100f]

Yeah I like the FE thats one of the appeals of the 68 to me is that big Ballzy Big Block hunk of Ford Muscle under the hood. and at 410Cid or if bored .040 over 416Cid with that tall 3.980" Stroke torque would be awsome and going off memory if memory serves me correctly the 410 produces it's torque at a lower RPM than a 390.....ofcourse there always the option of getting an ever longer torquier stroke with a 4.25" Stroker rotating assembly;)

[Vinniesempire]

360+iron 4 barrel+ comp 260+MSD 6-al+headers+3.31 gears+c6+carter 650 in a two-wheel drive longbed 76 with 28" tires= 17 city 19-22 hiway

[Vinniesempire]

and dual 2.5" w/x-pipe and magnaflows and 1" 4 hole spacer. heads and intake port matched

[Vinniesempire]

and moly rings

[papabug71]

[quoteby papabug71 on Thu Jul 30, 2009 5:23 am For the record i'm not trying to be a dummy and I do love ford but i gotta clarify on some missinformation here. The Chevy 396 was offered in the trucks just like the 390's. How do i know? My best friend owns a 69 chevy pickup with an origional 396

I was under the impression the 67'-71' 396's in GM's truck line were actually 402's rebadged as 396's. GM started badging them as 402's (a 396 with factory .030 overbore) in 71'. Matter of fact I read that in a super chevy mag just the other day. Hmmm.