I will soon be building a 360 for my 87 f150 and would like it to be around 400HP. Is it possible from a 360? What all will i need? I wouldn't mind turning it into a 390 but I would much rather keep it a 360 just to see if I could get 400 horses out of it. Is it possible? Or do I have to make it a 390 so I'm not completely breaking the bank?

 

You would need a turbo and 20lbs of boost to make that 360 run. You would begetter off swapping internals to make a 390. Even then it will take some doing. 360 is just way low on compression for fun.

 

What all would i need to get 400 hp if I made it a 390? I thought ford made a 400HP 390 in the 70s or something using mostly stock parts???

 

Ford made a claimed 401 horse 390 in '61 & '62. It was a 6v motor, 3 2bbls and solid lifters. 401 was a gross HP number, but those were good runners despite the real vs. actual net HP.

To get 400 honest HP out of a 390, you need 9.5 or better compression, an aggressive cam, headers, a good intake and a 750ish CFM carb.

You can go bigger with a 428 crank, making a 410 or an aftermarket crank up to 445. Torque will increase dramatically with the increase in displacement, and you can be well over 400 hp with the right cam etc.

Good old days car engine specs:

Ford "FE" engine specifications

Aftermarket source with build examples and build examples:

Survival FE Engine Kits

No '70s 390 broke 250 net let alone 400 horse.

360s can be woken up, with headers and a 4bbl, but that's about all that's worth doing due to the sunken pistons and low compression. If you want real power from a 360, turn it into a 390 or better.

 

Don't build a 410. If I would have spent just a smidgen more, I would have had a 445.

 

How much horsepower would the 360 be if I put a 4 barrel intake and probably a quadrajet on it and a bigger cam and headers?

Are 360 and 390 head the same?

Is a 428 crank a direct bolt in for the 360? Or would I need something done to it to get it right? How about a 390 crank? Direct bolt in?

 

How much more is a smidgen more? what all have u done to your motor? Was it a 360 to start with? What do you have in it so far money and parts wise?

 

The 4bbl and headers might get you into the low to mid 200s. (net was 196 iirc) The cam could be problems. An aggressive cam bleeds off cylinder pressure and you have none to spare. A short duration, high lift cam works better for a low compression engine. IMO it is not worth fooling with the cam in a 360.

For any given production year, 360 and 390 pickup engines are identical except for the crank, rods and pistons. Since '72, they use a D2TE head which is a decent head for a stocker.

428 into a 360. Yes, ditto the 390. You must use the shorter rods and correct pistons.

 

Ok.. I'll start looking for the parts to make it a 390 probably since that seems to be the way to go or I'll look around for a 428 crank and rods and pistons

 

I'm building a 445 motor right now with the 360/390 block.
The rotating assembly was right around 2k and includes crank rods pistons and bearings.
Another couple hundred for a good cam.
I bought a used 750cfm carb for it, and will be re using my current aluminum intake.

It's all about what parts you need, whether it's just the rotating assembly, or everything else.
Don't forget the machine work for the block!

 

More cubic inches give you power you can feel instantly when you mash the pedal--big cams give you the rough idle you can hear but kill your pedal power unless you can run high rpm and make it hard to drive with an automatic trans unless you're willing to put in a looser converter and put up with it on the street--you likely get much more fun from the 428 or 445 cubes with useable torque and drive-ability--I've driven street cars with 3000 stall converters, 1500 rpm idles, race car MSD's and big double-pumpers and they're big fun but have only one purpose and it's not pulling trailers--big cubes will smoke your tires, pull you trailer and drive every day without constant repairs

 

About what size cam would you recommend? I like enough low end torque to spin the tires off and be stupid and for pulling.. but I also want some horsepower so I can get some speed going. I imagine a 360/390 will get about the same crappy gas mileage as a 428 or 445

 

Read this link - Barry Robotnic is a respected builder and he is very generous with his insights.

Link seems to be supressed - go to diyford dot com and look for camshafts and lifters under FE performance.

 

445 on dyno

 

I do wish the folks that go to the trouble to video an engine on a dyno would provide the results. Love to see the data.