Why not use a 428 crank for 447? Then standard FE rods (stronger than 400 rods). Thats what we did and it was a heck of a motor

Here's a stroker article for you to read. It sounds intresting to me, execpt for the block filler. Stroked a 3.78 crank to 4.02 He even uses a FT block
http://members.tripod.com/lyc_42/443/443.htm

or you can do what i am and build a 410 out of a 390 fe block. remeber there are stock strocker options that can be utilized without grinding out any of that precious historic metal and its toally reversible. just some ideas.

The "S" marked manifold (on the #1 runner) is not similar to the Ed Performer. They're both in the same performance category, however this category hangs around te 200 to 300 HP region.

A CJ, PI or Ed RPM intake would be a good second step. A cam kit a good third step. The first step, in case you were wondering, is to remove the Fairlane/Mustang type exhaust manifolds and put some FPA Tri-Y headers on the poor motor. NOTHING will help that motor until that pair of cast iron factory exhaust restrictions is removed. Nore that C8AE-H heads have low-positioned exhaust ports and they need headers with low-flanges. FPA offers both hi and low types.

400HP will be a breeze with that motor, once it's converted from being the environmentally friendly citizen it presently is. It can be really smooth and silent with that kinda power, too (if you're into the stealth thing), until you step on it.

Shoe.

It's standard practice for distributor rebuilders to use a rolled spring pin in place of the original solid pin when assembling the distributor gear.

These rolled pins are not strong enough to reliably work with a HV or HP oil pump. They often shear.

You need to see about getting a solid pin installed into your distributor. It should NOT be a hardened steel pin, but other than that I'm not sure what type of steel it's supposed to be made of.

If you have a stock (skinny) oil pump drive shaft, it's probably working a bit harder than it should, too. You might want to inspect it to see if it's twisted at all - they're supposed to be a straight hex shape, not a barber-pole twisted hex. A HP shaft is a requirement when you run a HV or HP pump.

You may not be able to access your drive shaft without removing the oil pan, as yanking it through the distributor hole might cause it's retaining clip to fall into the pan. This is not a disaster, but I just hate knowing there's an extra chunk of loose metal sitting in my engine, even if it is in a relatively inert location. If the drive pin follows the distributor up when you pull it, the previous builder didn't install the clip. This is fine, too, but I seem to recall you stand the chance of dropping the whole shaft into the pan if you don't handle it carefully.

I hope you retrieved the remains of the sheared pin OK.

Shoe.

What weight oil are you using. Does it shear the pin when it's cold, or after the engine is warm?

n/m

And it's going into what king of vehicle, and your going to do what with it.
Makes a difference if it's a lightweigh Mustang at3100# or a F-350 Dually at 5000#,and are you going to cruse the local Stake& Shake or try to set a national record inSS/C.

Sounds like alot of work for little gain, What's wrong with the heads on the 360? If you're just going to use till the 390 gets done then I'd leave it along. Another thing is the CC volume and your dished pistons, you may loose compression if the CJ head's volume is bigger. But on the other hand if it's smaller then it could raise compression a half to a point. Which could be a good.

Thank you for the help.
I guess for the time being I will just put the 4bbl intake on it and run it till the 390 is finished. I will also talk to the engine shop that rebuilt it to see if they know what compression it should be. Maybe I'll just wait and put the 428Cj heads on the 390.

You've got crossfiring.

It could be caused by your cap, rotor, or spark plug wires.

Oh wait. If it only happens when you take your foot off the gas, it's an exhaust leak near the manifold. OK, it's not that.

There's a teeny chance it could also be from a blown head gasket between two cylinders (easy ID with a compression tester, as two neighboring cylinders will be low), but it's not. Still, a compression tes will also reveal whether you have badly recessed, cracked, or leaking exhaust valves.

I blame the wires, personally.

Still, the cap is cheaper, so pull it off and look for powdery crap inside it which tends to hang around the HV leads. This stuff is sorta conductive and can somtimes build-up to the point of causing problems. Also look for a crack or a black trail that resembles a crack.

Do the same with the rotor. Just sorta look at it like you know what you're doing. If it has a story to tell, you'll see it.

Put the combo back on and see if it helped. Don't tell me the answer, yet.

Next, try moving every wire to a different cylinder, and maybe do it so that no two neighboring wires remain neighbors after it's over. It doesn't really matter how you do it, just so long as you unclip them from the hangers so they flop around differently than before.

Now try driving again and see if it helps. Again, keep the answer a secret - for now.

Next, go to the nearest NAPA dealer and get their cheap set of FE-compatible plug wires (their cheap stuff is made of highly satisfactory BELDEN wire. Their better stuff is more than you need, and the wrong color, too). Also buy their cap and rotor.

If a NAPA ain't near by, go to a dealer which sells quality auto parts, not a big franchise that just sells flashy looking stuff in artsy packaging - I've gotten too many bad sets (that crossfire right out of the box) of "latest-hype" brand wires to even play that game anymore.

Now replace everything you just bought., because it was all old and worn out anyway.

Now, take your truck out for one last test drive. At this point I don't wanna know if it helped, because if you spent the money, it damn well better have worked or you're just gonna yell at me.

Shoe.

ok
i can rule out wires, timing and the like because that was all replaced not too long ago(pre-winter tuneup!)
to clarify some, if i go out and start it up now, it will run but i think maybe 1 or 2 cylinders ane NOT firing because i can visibly see rich exhaust smoke coming from the tailpipes. it becomes even more obvious if i 'gun' it. if i go to drive it,, again it will run but not run cleanly--misfires at certain RPMs its only when it gets hot does the thing really start to backfire and totally go nutso! if im lucky enough to make it off to the side of the road, ill shut it off for a few, then go back and start it and again, it runs 'semi-ok' UNTIL it :
a)gets hot again
b)i really load the engine down--ie accelerate under power
if afraid to drive this thing until i get it figured out--tired of walking.......in snow that is LOL
thanks again dave for yr input

Sounds like the dist. to me, remove the module and have it tested again. We would all like to know what to replace when something is bad, but, it just don't work like that some times. You know what's new and what's old, some time you just got to go with you gut feeling and start replacing till you find the problem. We've all been their and have old good parts laying around from trial and error. Test what you can at the auto parts store and start replacing something.. or put up with the problem.

Check the engine with the valve cover off. Make sure it is running and hot and missing. Put on a glove and take a rag in hand and push down on the rocker arm on the push rod side of the suspect exhaust valve. What you want to do is collapse the lifter and let it pump back up several times to clean it out. It may have a piece of dirt keeping it from bleeding down properly. Sounds kind of like a valve not closing properly. Good luck!

Kinsler in Troy, MI does a lot of offset distributor, crank driven distributors and 90 degree distributor drives. I've also seen the following advertisement, don't know too much about them though. Good Luck.

Here you go:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=569208839

It's not as nice as a nostalgic piece, but it's new, and it may fit.

I think www.cobracountry.com is working on a kit to mount 2 paxton's on an FE. They are supposed to be trying to duplicate the setup on Bill Cosby's car.

Or, you could buy the stuff from Vortech for a carbureted engine. They have the airbox, blower, hoses, etc. You'd have to design the brackets and crank pulley, but that's about it.