Hey everyone I’m new to the group and in need of some help. My father bought this cougar when he was 18 and tought my mom how to drive it, it was passed down to me when he passed away last year and I’m tearing into it now. It has a 6.5 390 and has been sitting for a very long time. I have removed the motor and tore it down. I’m wanting to send it off to a machine shop in Nashville TN to have the cam checked and bored out 30 over. I want to keep as original as I can on the outside and make the inside of the motor a monster. Problem is I’m having serious problems with finding parts for the 6.5 all I can find is the 6.4 390 parts. Where does everyone get parts at ?
There is only one 390. The “6.5L” was a bit of a marketing ploy, the reality is that 390 cubic inches is actually equivalent to 6.39 liters.
I’ve heard of people using a 428 crank in a 390, that could be something to look into.
Anyway welcome to the forum and good luck with the project!
I don’t think that Ford understood the metric system in 1967-68. 1968 Ford FE engine, 390 cubic inches. Technically a 6.4 Liter engine if you do the math. Lots of parts available.
So the 6.4 that they have everywhere is the same as my 6.5 ?? Lol sorry if it’s a dumb question just really confused
They are one and the same.
Apologies for being late by a month, but I recall two possible influences on Mercury to call the trusty 390 the 6.5 . First, Pontiac did the same thing in '64 with their 389 for the GTO badge (6.5 litre, misspelled Euro-style). But there was, briefly, talk by NASCAR in the '63 race season of going to a (true) 6.5 liter formula, or 396 cubes. It never happened, but it planted the 6.5 business in a lot of people’s minds.
The best thing that you can do to a 390 is make it bigger and make it breathe better. Solutions are here: