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Welcome
to Project FE. Victor Silva, a FORDMUSCLE associate, has plenty
of experience with FE's. His 1969 Mach 1, equipped with the
original 390, has gone as fast as 12.14@112. That's pretty
impressive for an engine that very few take seriously. When
was the last time you saw a 390 at the track?
 However
the 390 is getting tired after three seasons of racing, so
this year we're going to replace it with the king of FE's,
the 428. As the project progresses, we'll take you through
the buildup of the 428, which is already underway, as well
as the install and finally the track debut. In the mean time,
we know there are a lot of FE fans out there anxious to give
us input, so feel free to send us your thoughts and comments.
Background
Victor bought the Mach 1 in 1994. The 390 Mach 1 is relatively
rare. In 1969 the Mach 1 was offered with the 302, 351 W,
390 and 428. Most people wanting a big block went for the
428, after all it's more displacement in the same package
as a 390. Also a rare option is the Toploader fourspeed behind
the 390.
Two months after buying the car, the oil pump shaft broke
during a trip to the mall. The engine proceeded to overheat
severely, and was all but ruined. Victor quickly rebuilt the
engine to get the car back on the road. Performance was increased
slightly over stock, with a mild Crane 272-2 cam (216/228
@ 0.050 .537/.563), 650 cfm double-pumper, and 0.030"
over TRW flattops. In 1995 the car made it's first pass down
the track, "just to see what it would run". It ran
14.50 on radials. Later that year Victor would add an Edelbrock
Performer intake, 750 double pumper, home made ram-air (using
the stock scoop), and 26-in. tall Mcreary tires. The bolt
on mod's paid off nicely, with a best ET of 13.15 at 106 mph.
Next season a friend would convince Victor that he could reduce
ET's with more gear and a bigger cam. Taking this advice,
the Mach 1 received a set of 4.11's, an Offenhouser single
plane intake, and Crane 288 hydraulic flat-tappet cam (226
@ 0.050 .537 lift). Despite the efforts, the car slowed down
to 13.45. This was an important lesson for Victor; just because
you throw on new parts, doesn't always mean you'll go faster.
You need to do some research and determine whether the combination
makes sense and will work your existing setup. In this case
the stock heads were not up to the task of handling a big
cam and larger intake. The springs were weak and causing valve
float around 5200 rpm.
So in 1998 the stock 390 heads were yanked and replaced with
Edelbrock's aluminum FE heads. The engine was refreshed with
rings and bearings, and also received a 750 cfm Barry Grant
Silver Claw. To eliminate miss shifts and grinding gears,
the Toploader was fitted with a Hurst V-Gate II shifter. Dumping
the clutch at 4500 rpm on Hoosier slicks got the sixty foots
in the 1.67 range, and the 390 responded with an awesome 12.19
@ 112.5 mph.
Unlike many weekend racers, who just want to see how fast
their cars will go, Victor is a dedicated money racer; participating
in several races each month, all year around, and sometimes
traveling over five hundred miles to compete in large jackpots.
Winning bracket races take consistency, and in 1999 Victor
made the decision to go to an automatic transmission in order
to be more competitive. The Toploader was swapped out for
a TCI C6 and 3500 stall convertor. While this has slowed the
car down to 12.70's, it has increased his winnings. Victor
did try a larger cam with the automatic (Comp 305 253 @ 0.050
/ .585 lift), and the ET's improved to 12.50's. However that
cam really needed a 4500 stall convertor, as low end and sixty
foots suffered badly. The Crane 288 went back in, and the
car now consistently hits its 12.75 dial in.
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