Wow... You guys are good...
I agree with you all about the
oil mods...I was always under the impression that the chamfer job on the crank and the mains was a neccessity... possible
oil journal alignment, because I've heard there have been some pretty scary FE castings found when the motors get broken down. I was getting a little confused when you go through some of these forums (not necessarily Club Cobra ones) and they start talking about blocking cam passages and opening up these passages ect... To me, blocking or restricting passages is kinda like "robbing Peter to pay Paul". Evenually, Peter will get tired of being screwed...ha ha ha
As far as
oil pans, will the "Cobra" aluminum deep-sump pans fit in an A.C. without dragging on the ground? Are these pans any good or do aftermarkets work better?
I was definately going to upgrade the con-rods (which I have always heard were the weak spots in Hi-Po FE's). I was looking at the Eagles but with Sizzlers comment, maybe I will look into Skat..?
Does anybody make .010 over pistons for a 390? Like I said, my motor is very clean for its age and I was only going .030 over because I thought this was the first step up from stock bore...?
Are you guys that are running Edelebrock heads getting them ported or just running with the factory ports? Would it be worth it to increase the valve sizes to 2.19" intakes & 1.73" exhausts which Edelbrock says there is room for...? This may be overkill for fairly infrequent zips to 6500 rpms but what the heck. Do it RIGHT the first time is my motto...
I was going to use a Hyd. roller cam...which is something "new" to me... When I sold my last go-fast car ('68 Mustang coupe; 302 4speed) roller cams were just starting to really hit the market for hot rodders and I know of all the advantages of them I have just never played with them. I don't need to worry about any special oil mods with it right? My engine guy grinds his own cams so he says basically, "tell me what you want it to do..." Any suggestions on cam profile & lift? I don't want to have to fight the thing to idle but I would like as much power as possible. Somebody told me the lopey idle had more to do with lobe centers than duration/cam profile and to keep the centers at about 110 degrees for less lope...? While I understand the jargon, that's a bit over my head....
This intake mainfold thing has me bit confused. On my old 'Stang, I had a dual plane mainfold that I trimmed the plenum down about 3/4" to get a bit better high-rpm numbers. My engine guy, and the Dove guy that I talked to still recommended a single plane design for what I intend with this motor... THEY said that the real differences between the 2 are in the 1800rpm and down range and that the single plane kicks the dual planes butt from that point UP... Hell, 1800 rpms is barely much higher than idle, especially with a manual tranny. Is dual plane STILL the way to go for a redline at 7000 or less?
Gene, did you build your whole Everett Morrison kit? Would you recommend them? Will your AC with the 390 beat a Viper or Z06 Vette when the light turns green? Are the Tremec trannys TOUGH or are the Richmond 5 speeds a better deal?
So Many questions...I feel like I'm getting married all over again...!
AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!! Thanks for all of the help guys...