hi there people. I have a 390 out of a 66 fairlane in my car, it still has a 2 barrel on it, i picked up a 4 barrel manifold and carb, my question is how do i get the push rod out from under my rocker shaft, can i back off the 4 hold down bolts enough for the rods to come out and then reassemble the same way, or is there some tricks to it. also what is the best way to mark the distributer when changing the manifold. thanks for your time
Actually my car is not a Mavrick, I turned to this forum because I had trouble logging in on the correct forum,I still have hi hopes that someone would have knowledge of the big block ford, and can help me out. Thanks for your time
FE engine Some may not understand this without pics. The FE (352,360,390,427,428) engines use a configuration that puts the valve covers over the edges of the intake as well as the cylinder heads. The pushrods go through holes in the intake. In stock configuration (no modified roller rockers)you should be able to unbolt the shaft mounted rocker assembly. Make darn sure that you don't mix anything up. Grab yourself a block of styrofoam and insert the pushrods into it for storage in the exact order so that you can put them back the same way. They should be the same, but good practice either way. Check a tech manual for torque specs on the intake and rocker shaft bolts. Seth
Thanks littleredtoy. Can you tell me if the rocker shaft has to come all the way out before I can remove the push rods,also do you have any good tricks for marking the distributer, and how far will the disributer turn when it comes out. thanks again. glad to see the ford guys can stick together. I live 5 minuets from Norwalk Raceway park, And can't wait to get down the strip.
Gary, loosen rocker shaft bolts all the way out, DON'T take the bolts out of the shaft, one of the bolts is under cut for oiling to the shaft & rocker arms. remove the shafts & oil deflector then the push rods. As far as marking the dist. put engine on TDC #1 (rotor @ #1 plug wire & timing mark @ 0) remove intake. Now becareful the stock 2bbl intake is about 10lbs. heaver then a stock 4bbl, I would suggest that you have an engine hoist to help you. Also it would be a good time to replace the timing chain & gears. For torque specs just do a web search for a ford 390.
For the distributor Line up the timing pointer on the balancer to top dead center of the number one cylinder. Then mark the distributor body where the rotor is pointing with a marker also note the position of the vacuum advance before removing the distributor. The rotor will turn about 30 degrees when removed. As long as you don't turn the crankshaft you can simply drop it back in after the intake swap and line up the marks. You will need to check the timing when it is running but it will be close enough to start. Pushrods You will likely need to remove the entire shaft assembly to remove the pushrods.
