urban_cowboy

[QUOTE=68MustangCoupe;6367892How much tq and Hp can a Toploader 4 speed take before going boom?[/QUOTE]

Hahahaha, a small block stock tranny will not handle much torque. Remember that torque kills parts, not horsepower. I have an aftermarket custom David Kee Toploader that is working great for me with close to 500ft*lbs of torque. I did go through three clutches before I found one that would hold up. Search for my clutch thread for more details. I would say if you plan to run much above 375-400ft*lbs you need to consider beefing up the tranny. A stocker will not grenade but it will not shift well and you will start tearing up (twisting or stripping) either the input or output shaft. When you get into the 550-600ft*lbs range I have been told to start looking for a Lenco or Jericho.

Starfury

On the other side of things, Ford put Toploaders behind 428CJ's. They hold up pretty well

urban_cowboy

True, the 428CJ was also only rated for 440ft*lbs @ 3,400. The big block toploaders also have a bigger shaft (1 3/8" input and 31 spline output) than the small block versions (1 1/16"input and 28 spline output) I have played with. That is a big help in the torque handling department. You can also upgrade some of the other internals like the gears, syncros, rings, etc.

I guess my point is yes they can work with the right internals but believe me when I say I have trashed some with a small block too.

Scott H.

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Canary94GT

I've got a 1973 f100 with a 360 FE

The body has seen better days due to some rust, but the engine only has 73,000 miles and has never been messed with. They're not rated with very high horsepower, but it is still pretty powerful when you stomp on it!

68MustangCoupe

So, you'd get that "HOLY S**T, HOLD ON TIGHT" feeling from a 390 stomping to the floor, eh?...

Hahaha... Here is the fun question Which would get the "If your worried about that, then don't do it" answer. How much MPG does a Stang with a 390 get?... a T-Bird gets bout 7-8 MPG, Or so I've read.

Starfury

Yeah, that's one of those questions

FE's aren't exactly efficient motors. They're not horribly inefficient either, but it's all going to depend on how you build it. A mild 390 could probably get 12-16mpg. A more stout build might be 8-14mpg. Rough guesses, anyway.

68MustangCoupe

Well I can say this. I live in a small lil southern town... and Most of my driving is Highways... So a mild build 390 with a toploader 4, and some gears shouldn't be TOOO Bad, right?

Canary94GT

Yeah our truck gets probably about 12-14mpg max on the freeway when FULLY loaded (I mean a packed canopy full for camping, with 4 bicycles on the rear), but we've tuned it up since then and I'm still not to say that everything on the vehicle is in great, efficient shape.

68MustangCoupe

That's really not bad at IMO considering its a big block. Awesome...

One thing that does kinda worry me... Is I saw the car like last year, and it's still there but I believe if I remember correctly, a few parts of the engine were apart... Carb stuff if I remember. So I'm not entirely sure if the engine runs... But if I can get it for 500... *The whole car* and the engine doesn't run for whatever reason... At least I'll get a 9 incher out of it, right?... But if the engine does run, hopefully it's nothing a Rebuild can't fix.

*Random for the sake of sharing: I just had a Fruit Rollup... I hadn't had one since I was like... a KID... I forgot how good these things are!... Ok I'm done sharing*