Bought These Today

[davbell22602]

2 390's for $250 that need rebuilt. The one with mt valve covers blows oil through the dipstick and the other has no power. The guy said someone told that the piston rings might be stuck in the piston. The one with the mt valve covers also has electronic ignition. It was pulled from a mid 70's high boy.

[flyboy2610]

Look on the sides of the block. Do you see any ribs running vertically? If so, you have a service or marine block. Those can be worth some bucks, as they are considered stronger than standard blocks.

[davbell22602]

Look on the sides of the block. Do you see any ribs running vertically? If so, you have a service or marine block. Those can be worth some bucks, as they are considered stronger than standard blocks.

Couldnt see any ribs. But the guy said the one with mt valve covers acted like it had more power compared to a stock engine 390. Got a pic of the ribs so what I'm looking for?

[averagef250]

In my FE phase, I had a large number of 360's and 390's come through my hands and looked at a ton of different blocks, even had one early 406.

The vertical rib blocks were, IMHO, not much beefier than the standard run of the mill blocks. They had the 3rd web in the main casting, but the web thickness wasn't much. The beefiest blocks I saw, with the most reinforcement around the mains and thickest casting overall were the D4TE truck blocks. Every one of the 5 or so I had apart was the same way too.

I thought it was cool at the time, but in reality I'm sure it doesn't matter. Even the lightest blocks work fine for thier intended use.

[davbell22602]

Cool never seen a 406 before?

[F100builder]

Ribs like these? This was actually a 360 from a '71 4WD before I installed a 390 crank and rods.

[davbell22602]

Thanks, No ribs like that on either block.