Here's the rub, The 223 in my '59 is getting real tired, It never has had enough power for all of that weight, I am gonna put a 390 in it but what should I look for; i.e. When did ford start putting all of the smog equipment on 390s?
I think there was an air pump on some as early as 68...but they didn't start getting real weezy until 72 73. First letter = decade. C= 60's, D= 70's After the letter, is a number designating year. I.e. C8 = 68. I believe there are some deck/head differences between the early years vs later years. Someone way more knowledgeable will hopefully chime in.
For some reason I am thinking 64/65 is when it started to crop up on FE's with the Thermactor business....
My understanding is that it was 1968 in California and a couple of years later everywhere else because what ever happens in California usually effects us all later.
My vote would be 1968 as well. Then we had the 360's ( belonged in a corn picker) and they never came back. I am not really a Ford guy , (had a 396 67 Chevelle) but the 1966 390-335 hp in a Fairlane was a kick ass car for sure....
1967 was the first year to have smog pumps on 390 heads. Look for an engine with heads that don't have holes (for smog injector tubes) next to each exhaust exit. Although if you find a stock 390 ('67-70) with a big 'S' cast into the 4bbl iron intake, that is the 325hp GT model. But really any 390 with a just a few extra parts can exceed 325hp easily.
California was always ahead of the rest of the country in smog equipment. I'd say that in general, it started with the PCV systems around 1968 or so. By 1973-1974 the Fords started getting cluttered up. By then the 390 family block was largely out of passenger cars and into the truck line. To me, a good 390 vintage specimen would come from around 1966-1970. Bob
Seems to me (and I'm not an FE expert, by any means) that in the early '70s, Ford started retarding the cam timing from the factory, and a Ford loving friend of mine said that it was beneficial to replace the timing gear setup with one from a '60s engine.
All of that stuff was shit canned as soon as we could get it off anyway so the engine underneath is basically the same. It was in the middle 70s when they started to de-tune the engine to run on unleaded gas required for the catalytic converter. If you find one with an air pump do what we did. (you might be able to sell it to a restorer on Ebay) I'm assuming your are just going to use the basic engine with a better intake (lighter) and carb. Don't let the presence of some smog equipment scare you away. You don't want a high compression engine anyway if you plan to drive it on today's gas. I'm putting a 66 352 truck FE in my 56. It won't be good on gas but it should pull my 56 around town nicely. I did add a mild cam for a little lumpy idle but not for racing.
All American engines went in the toilet in '73, California engines went sooner. The hottest Fords came in 1971 and before.
find you a 400 ,much better engine,ran one in 68 ford pickup,pulled 6 horse trailer alot,plenty of power and drove it 6 years,sold it and its still going strong. just an idea.ran a 2-barrel carb and got 18 mpg
On the truck 360 and 390 (not sure about 352) they reduced compression by putting the piston top about .120" down the hole. The heads still have small chambers, but the lack of quench and poor flame travel significantly reduces power and efficiency. If you come up with a truck 390, put some car pistons in it to make it come alive.
The Ford FE is a great choice. Almost all the stuff is interchangeable from 352-390-406-410-428 like heads, intakes, cams even some of the 427 low riser goodies. I would suggest going to fordfe.com There is a wealth of info and knowledgeable people that can help. Good luck!
I had a '68 Torino GT and a '68 Mustang GT at different times, both with 390s. I don't think either had a smog pump. The 390s had stump-pulling torque. What really woke mine up was an Edelbrock Performer 390 manifold and headers.
I recall my 66 t-bird with a 428 having a bunch of not needed charcoal shit on it. Dont remember a smog pump.
My 67 ranchero with a 390 doesnt hve any smog equipment on it. I know its all original because i have owned it since day one.
At least 69 My Cobrajet had a pump and pipes into the head. My 67 390 Mustang did NOT. California cars had them first before other states.
California engines had air injectors starting in '67, the rest of the country came a couple years later.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest a 352. A 352 should not be that hard to find and it was offered in 59 in a police and HP version. It was offered in trucks from 1965 to 1968. As far as pollution stuff you should be safe with a 352. Many will dump a good 352 in favour of 390-406-427-428 or even another engine family. I think that is a shame because a 352 can be a very respectable performance engine. Their loss could be your gain.
most on here are correct...Cali went smog first...all I can add is my 65 F350 wrecker...my 71 F350 bobtail and my 76 F250 pickemup all run factory FE's and they're hard to beat and still running strong...the 76 truck motor never had smog...but I'm down here in Tejas...
My 67 Galaxie with a 390, 4 barrel had all the smog Junk in a box in the trunk. An airpump with Some little manifolds that screwed in near the exhaust. Wound up having to remove the bolts and reinstall the smog junk because the smog guy who used to just pass it without an underhood inspection (it passed at the tailpipe) retired. I can't say that the air pump took away much performance, but why have it if it was fine without it.
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