Quote Originally Posted by SnoC653 View Post
LOL not buying the block. The last owner of my house was into 69 Cougars with 428s. He made a couple 428 convertibles and restored another one that was an original 428 Ram Jet car. I think the one 390 was in one of the Cougars originally. It is a car motor from what I was told. But, I was told they aren't worth building for boats, so it just sits in the barn.
I understand. 390s are worth rebuilding for boats. I would never even consider sticking a FE in a newer boat like a B boat. I don't think I could make myself put one in something like a bubble deck Sanger. A 60s lake cruiser, no problem. Most of the older boats can't handle much more power a 390 today can make. If you can find a 428 crank cheap, so much the better.
I fought valiantly to include 360 FE truck engines that are dirt cheap into the SE class. It would have made the Mopars that much easier to clear thru as well. Stop the BS of bore and stroke as just require it be under 366 or 370, factory heads with a restricted valve size for that head, and be done with it. Who gives a shit if its a big block or small block. You bore a truck 360 .010 over and its the same bore stroke as a 351W or SBC with a 350 crank bored .060 over. If cost was the prime mover for the class, then not allowing FEs was a fatal flaw in the thinking. 360 truck engines sell for scrap weight, They have yet to build a 351W with factory heads that could hang with a 360.

One of the hardest running FEs I ever built was a 360 crank in a 390 bored to 4.125. It hauled ass and spun 8000 and kicked a lot of small black ass until it cracked a cylinder wall. And I did say small block ass, not BBC ass. But it was only 374 ci

390s are not worth a tinkers damn as a performance engine, but they scream nostalgia if dressed properly. 366 Chevy truck engines are a waste of iron, but if you drop a roots and hat on one, its still a cool looking engine.