Thread: fe 352...WHAAAT?!? fo FREE?!?!

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I am brand new to this stuff, so bear with me...

Some lady just gave me a 1965 Ford f-250 that currently has a fe 352 in it. (almost 200,000 miles on it).
The motor was smoking enough to kill every mosquito from here to north carolina, so i decided to break it down and do a minor rebuild on it. Rings, new gaskets, a good cleaning, etc. But when i took it apart The inside looked like the LeBrae Tar Pits!!! I was worried I might find a woolly mammoth skeleton down there! Is this normal for an old motor that probably has never been touched since manufacture?

I am trying to be economical, so i turned down redoing my cylinder heads for $800(!!!!!!!). Was this a bad idea?

Or is there any way that i can just get some valve grinding compound and new springs to give it a little more life?

Also, i got a carb gasket kit, but it just still doesnt seem to be right. Where can i find a new carb that fits the same as the old one?

Sorry for so many dumb-dumb questions. Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

First, you need to make a decision if this is the motor you want to spend money on or would it be more prudent to start with a different motor.

What are the plans for the truck? Keep it stock? Do an engine swap to a different engine? Will it be a daily driver? Any towing involved? Just a free playtoy that you plan to sell? Do you have a budget in mind? What do you see the truck looking like and doing in your mind?

Of course, there's nothing wrong with a 352. There must be tens of thousands of them out there serving their owners daily. It's just that you need to share your thoughts with us in order to get intelligent replies to your questions.

$800 for a valve job? ummmmm, no.

what are you getting for 800 ? all new valves guids seats .springs . seal. getting them cut .?? bit hi .. maybe

hell no on the valve job. WAYYYYY too much.

Welcome to the forum and the dirty fingernail club. The guys have given you some great advice. $ 800 is waaaaaaaaaaay too high for a valve job. I know these particular Ford engines aren't the cheapest in the world to play with, but whoever gave you that price either is quoting you for some exotic work, or he saw you coming. Shop around for sure............or is that "fo shizzle?"

Yes, the sludge you saw inside is pretty common for a high milage, well used, neglected engine that saw infrequent oil changes and/or cheap oil. If you are going to do a PROPER rebuild it takes more than rings and bearings, it takes a complete machining to restore the bore and machined surfaces, oversized pistons, new cam and crank bearings, resizing the rods, etc. Is it worth it on a well worn 352..........not in my opinion.

I would do one of several things. I would shop around for a remanufactured long block assembly from a reputable rebuilder, or try to find a better, lower milage engine out of a wreck to get you through for a while. The second option might be a little tough as this series of engines hasn't been used in production cars for a while, I don't think.

Whatever you do, be careful because it would be very easy to get very upside down financially in this truck before too long. Sometimes free or cheap deals have a way of not ending up that way.

Don

If it's capable of killing that many mosquitoes, you may have found a new, lucrative career in the pest control business.... ;-)

just doing a minor rebuild would not be wise thing to do if you have the valve cover area and the pan full of junk your just asking for trouble unless youdo a complete rebuild job.have the block stripped and hot tanked along with the heads.when i first started out on the hot rod road i tried tocut courners on a old 272 y-block i was always having problems with it until i did the right thing by doing a complete rebuild.do it right or go to the wrecking yard and get a used engine you have a one in 10 change of getting a good one.

I found a 352 in a ’64 Galaxie on E-bay for $100 in San Diego. You could probably find something similar in your neck of the woods. The Ford guys here will let you know what interchanges, i.e., other engines may just bolt in.

Roadmaster has a 352 long block assembly for $1495 – but you’ll need several hundred more to finish the job.
Roadmaster Engine Corporation
759 Bradfield, Houston TX 77060
800.447.9899

As mentioned above – free may not always be a good deal. If you want to keep it, it will mean some money – maybe more than you want to invest in this particular project. Foggin’ skeeters may be the ticket for this one or you could run some solvent through the engine and fill the crankcase with 40W and “pass the gift along” with the disclosure that it’s real tired.

Regards and Welcome to CHR,
Glenn