Some how or other I managed to loose 1 head off my 64 Merc Marauder 390 engine. It iss a 4 barrel engine. What I need to know from one of you Ford gurus ( I am a lot more versed on early Hemis than ohv Fords) is if the Marauder head was any different than any other 390 head and what year span I can be looking for.
There is a part number on the existing head on the out side between the center 2 spark plugs. Just get one to match.
Drat-- The car is still in Las Vegas , so I cannot right now check the casting nuumber on the other head. I would guess it was the 300 HP engine. So what I am hearing here is that there are other 390 heads and they are different?
I'd agree that the C4AE-G casting is the one I'd be looking for in this case. C1AE-As are nearly identical as are some C3 castings.
I agree with the above assuming the engine is original. You could always look for a pair of C4 heads just in case. Then you would have a spare.
The engine is original so probably I need a C 4 head or a pair. Are the C1 or C3 castings close enough that I could use ONE of them and not cause any problems? I am sure if I used either a C1 or C3 in pairs all would be well, I am not trying to hot rod this motor just get it rebuilt so I can make this Merc a semi-daily driver.
C1AE-As are close enough that you could use one without any issues. There are a couple different C3 castings as some of those were on either 406s or 427s and those may be a little different. I've heard of much later heads on one side (C8 or D2) and an earlier on the other side. The motor will run ok in most cases. I know when I was 17 or 18 and had a 352 in a 1966 Galaxie that dropped a valve. I replaced the one piston because of the damage with a new one but that new piston was lower compression than the original. The motor ran fine as I recall. Using a different head would be about same thing...
Check with a couple of old machine shops. Often, they have single heads laying around. A C1 should work. Pick up a copy of the book, How To Rebuild Your Big Block Ford. It has tables with all the head casting numbers, chamber cc, and valve sizes. Very good book to have as a reference.
Barstow--53 thanks for the help and advice , I will know more about what I need in a little over a week , my son is going to Vegas and bring the car up here. Just everybody hope for decent weather , he will be driving a BIG rental truck stuffed full, towing the Merc on my trailer and there are a couple of almost 12,000 foot passes to be crossed on the way . Don't need a bunch of SNOW!
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