I have a 64 390 that is currently stock. I plan on trying to get a little power out of it over the winter. Cam, aluminum intake, headers, springs and roller rockers. what carb would you guys recomend with a 4bbl and if i go with a dual quad what carbs would be good enough for that setup?
I would check out this site: http://www.network54.com/Forum/74182/ If you are going to use primarily to cruise I would run an Edelbrock Streetmaster 390 intake with this: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-M08750VS/ or a Holley R-3310 750 CFM vacuum secondary.If you are looking for headers and the 390 is in your Merc,Crites is about the only game in town.A better investment than the dual quads would be these: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-60069/Application/?prefilter=1
A 750 cfm Holley 4 barrel would be more than adequate unless you're planning to have something really wild. A 650 cfm 4 barrel is as small as I would suggest. Get one with vacuum secondaries if you are running this on the street more than the strip. Steer clear of the "double pumper" for street use as it has mechanical secondaries. The double pumper flows more, but isn't nearly as well mannered. I found a used Holley 750 4v with vacuum secondaries in the paper. I bought it and put a carb kit in it, and it works great. I have less than $100 bucks in it. I don't know what dual quads you would want. I don't think you will gain any measurable benefit from dual quads, but it sure would look cool.
Thanks for the input. I also plan on swapping in a c6. It is by all means a cruiser i will not be racing the car. just want a good performing/sounding car for the street.
I honestly dont even know what carb is on it. Are there serial numbers on the carb to tell me what it is? Thanks for the input
I ended up using a 600 Holley on my 390 in my 66 Fairlane with a C6. Very mild cam and tube headers, essentially a stock FE. It never missed a beat in all the time I had it.
Usually there is a metal tag screwed to the carb that is in plain sight if the air cleaner is removed. They're in some kind of cryptic language that I can't decipher. Here's an example. If the tag is still attached, and you can clean it off without defacing it, someone with a little knowledge could probably tell you what it is exactly. Is it a 4 barrel?
Not saying you should do the following..........however: Our shop truck is a 1968 F-100, about as aerodynamic as a brick. The engine is from a passenger 1966 390 with 1967 Mustang 390GT cylinder heads, camshaft, and a set of cast iron header from some earlier Ford engine. The transmission is a truck 4-speed. I ordered an Offenhauser dual-quad intake new (you never know what mods have been made to a used one until you try to install it and it doesn't fit!). I started with 4 carburetors (I had the cores to start with, so no large investment here for me): (2) Carter 4759s 625 CFM competition series AFB's, and (2) Carter AFB's from a 1965 Lincoln 430. The comp series AFB's were completely disassembled, and cleaned. The Lincoln AFB's were completely disassembled, and cleaned. The throttle arm on the comp series primary shafts (Chevrolet) were removed, and the throttle arms from the Lincoln installed on these primary shafts. All steel parts were sent to the electroplater that I use. Upon return of the parts, the carbs were "married". I used the castings, external throttle linkage, manual choke and linkage, etc. from the comp series carbs; and the venturi clusters, jets, metering rods and fast idle assembly (rear carb only) from the Lincoln carbs. Fabricated linkage such that both carbs operate simultaneously. Footfeed may be floored from idle in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd and the engine will pull continuously to WOT with no hesitation. In 4th, cannot floor from idle, have to be running at 1000 RPM to floor. Mileage at 70 was 22 MPG before ethanol; now 19~20 with ethanol. Looks (advertising for us), power, and economy; BUT the initial price tag would be significant if you did not have the cores to start with as I did. Jon.
If it is stock it will no doubt have an autolite carb and there should be a tag on it to give you CFM rating. A lot of your carb requirements depend on your cam shaft. I ran a tricked 600 holley on the 390 in my '65 Galaxie and it was all the carb it ever needed. I was running an edelbrock RPM cam. I tried a 700 edelbrock and never could make it run like it did with the Holley. if you are running a lot of cam you need a lot of air and if you are not you don't.
A 3310 Holley 750cfm carburetor will work great on a mildly built but upgraded 390. If you are looking at doing an intake go with the Edelbrock Performer RPM. These two together will work very well. If you can swing it a pair of Edelprocks Performer RPM heads p/n 60069 and one of their matching cams would really wake it up. By the time you freshen your existing heads you will have almost as much $$ in them as a new set of Edelbrocks. They work well right of the box and are brand new....
If you are just going to use it for cruising, consider keeping the Autolite carb on it. Summit now makes a carb that is a version of a Holley which has the same design as the Autolite and they are good carbs. I am running one on a 355 Chevy. SUM-M08600VS
I have 2 "Ford" 735 cfm Holley carbs that came off a '68 Mustang or Torino GT with 390 motors... So, a 750 Holley will work great on a 320 horse 390..
20 years ago when I thought Fords were great and messed with fe's, the first thing we would do is shit-can the heavy cast iron intake and get a performormer run a quadra-jet (yep, QJ!) and RV cam ... and put a programming kit in the c-6 ... no problem chirping tires in all gears.
There is math that tells a person how much carb an engine can use. Simple rule of thumb for it is CFM of the carb is about = to 2X the displacement of the engine, - 10%. Since a 390 is almost 400, 2X 400 is 800 so less than 800 cfm is the most your engine could use. There is also engine efficiency, rpm, etc., but that is a simple way to calculate carburetion. If you wanted to go dual carb, which doesn't give you anything more than a single except for cool factor, you can see here that you get ~400 cfm per Autolite 4100 series carb. A pair would look nice and they are fine carburetors. http://www.fordfe.info/Autolite4100Test.htm You could also get 2 Holley 390 cfm carbs often used for flatheads if you want dual carbs. It would probably be eaiser to get the right power valves and get them tuned for your purpose than the Autolite carbs. Barring that, I also recommend Edelbrock Performer intake and Holley or equivelant 750 cfm vacuum secondary.
its like a domino effect. the best solution in my eyes is to figure out all the mods i want to do first then buy accordingly. i understand the fact that a 390 isnt a power house but im cool with that as i am building a bagged cruiser. i want a rough idle and a little more power. dual quads are out of the question for me as i dont see the need for them plus i could use the extra cash for an aluminum intake or cam. thanks for all your input guys!
To help you get the most "bang for your budget" you might want a couple of these: http://www.mre-books.com/engine/bigblock.html
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