[ShadetreeMechanic]

I have a rebuilt 390FE 30 over so about(397) Perfomer RPM intake compcams XE247. What should the intial timing be? w/out the vacume advance be. Is it possible that my carb could be too small and lean it out untill it dies? It is the stock ford carb from 1964. what would be the lowest it would idle? 1000? 1200? 900? this is my first experience building a non stock engine so any tips would be excellent!!

 

[ckelly]

I'm not an FE guy, but 10-12 is a good starting place. I'd think an FE head would like 34-36 total in below 3000, just as a guess. With performance parts, the stock Ford carb may not be able to feed the correct amount of fuel, but you can drive it around some with it. If the lobe center on the cam is 110 or better, it should idle fine below 1000. Like 800 or so.