Thread: 352-360-390 choice

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i'm in school right now. but i dont have internet at home so i gotta do al of this stuff inbetween classes thanx for asking!

Also what kind of hp do you think i can get out of the 360 with good heads(maby ported???) 4barrel, intake, headers, electronic ignition, and dual flowmaster exaust? Would flat top pistons help? i THINK it has domed pistons stock.

Well a port and polish wouldn't hurt, but that usually costs some cash. And I ask some guys I know, that know about these things and the consensus was that a P&P job on those head wouldn't worth the money versus what you get for HP. I tend to agree, but I'm the type that thinks that sort of thing couldn't hurt. Flat tops wouldn't help much in this instance either. In some applications it would but not thisd setup. In fact you might run into some clearance probs if you slap a 390 crank(higher stroke) in and put flat tops on it. Again I'm not much of an expert on 360's. By doing the upgrades that your mentioning, with a 390 crank you'll be pushing 400 but not quite. The 360 had a rep for being a dog. I'd say in the 380-395 hp area. Without the 390 crank your prob only adding about 30-40 hp to the stock hp which was in the 325 hp area? Prob not what you wanted to hear, but without drastically changing your combustion chambers (i.e. diff heads, pistons, crank) you're not going to change much just putting a diff intake and mufflers. Someone correct me if this all sounds off.

I have a magazine from LMC truck and they rated the stock 352@208 hp, 360@215 hp, 390@255 hp all stock and with a 2barrel carb. dose this sound right????

I emailed you with some wrecking yards near Seattle that have some FE motors. If you have any questions email me, or leave a thread here. I am not sure if those trucks in the wrecking yards are 352 390 or what. I know they are FE's .

I don't know about the 2 barrel setups, but pretty sure this is how it runs down, or close, with 4-barrels: 352-300 hp 390-350 hp. Not sure about the 360. Like I said, I'm not very familiar with it. I know that my tired 352 4 barrel with get all 4000 pounds of my 64 Gal going pretty good. I won't win any drag races with it the way it is, but it will get me out into traffic when I need to

I think i will put the 4 barrel, intake, headers, dual exaust and see how it runs then and save up my money for some good heads.

Thats the great thing about these sort of things. You can put it together, drive it and always tear it down later when you get bored with it. I think you will be satisfied with that setup, and it should sound real nice too.

I am responding to your questions about potential motors in wrecking yards. There are a few at Pull-Apart in Everett. ONE i believe is actually a 428 motor. I was up there the other day gettting a FE low mount alternator bracket. The truck i got my parts from was a 390. The truck that had the 428 had an engine fire. The top of the engine is all soot coated, with fire extinguisher residue all over it. The fire does not look like it got too hot, fore the thin steel of the hood was not rippled, anything plastic, rubber was melted, but aluminum things were not. I think the heads and short block would be fine. I believe this motor to be a 428, it has no harmonic balancer, with all the pulleys installed. Ya may be able to get it real cheap.

gLuK............. joe .........

Uh huh, I would touch that motor. Anytime thre is an engine fire, it just scream "Warp or Crack Parts" Keep looking man, that sounds like a money pit

68FordTruck,

Try this link and just search on Washington state http://car-part.com/index.htm . I'm in eastern Washington and its hard to find FE parts. When I was looking for a block about two years ago even Spaulding ins Spokane didn't have any and their yard is about 50 acres. Now I have a spare short block that needs rebuilding in case I need another one.

Just saying this, as someone whos put too much money into a 352fe, its not worth owning. If youre going to go fe then go for a minimum of a 390.

Had to chime in. The 360 is an excellant motor to rebuild. side by side to a 390 all things being equal it will be quicker. Both motors have the same bore. The 360 will get you there quicker with a quicker spinning crank.
The downside to the 360 is that there are no good aftermarket rods that can withstand 6000 plus rpms. It is also said not to push a 360 must past 450 hp, as well. It is reportedly known that the 360 rods are thinner and by there nature ( they are a longer rod than the 390) they are weaker.
A 390 can be built to have more horses than a 360. This is true. But, If you are just looking for a really strong and tough, torquey motor stay with your 360. Put the money you would have spent on the new crank and rods and stuff. And put it in your savings account for tires you'll be needing in a mo. or so.

Robert P.

aw man dot mess around with a 360 drop in a 429 or 460 to me there a lot better more torq plus ya dont have to break down half the motor to do any intake work I had a 390 in my old 69 f250 finaley got smart put a 429 sjc in it . I got a old chvy truk to but I sure do love when my old ford make them devout chevy guy hang there head cry I just put that motor in a f 350 one ton you should see there face,s when them dullys lite up and start smokin I may have one old cheve but my hart leans toward my old ford It realy make my blood flow

You can take that 360 of yours all the way up to a 428 with the proper bore, rods, pistons, crank, etc. But as stated that 360 is the exact same engine as the 390 except the stroke, infact you can stroke a 390 to a 410 simply by dropping in a 428 crank. I have a 360 on my 69 and its a good runnin motor, I plan on swapping out the factory autolite 2 barrel to possilby a holley 2 barrel or maybe even an edelbrock intake with a holley 4 barrel. Being 18 years old and not much older than you, I hear ya on the cash but if you look around you can pick up stuff for that good old 360.