Hello everyone, my name is Gavin McLaughlin, and I am new to ford motors and fords in general. I've recently made a deal with my father to purchase his 1975 f250 4x4. the truck has a bone stock fe 360 and c6 transmission. I am planning on restoring the truck to daily driver condition and it will be driven regularly and used to haul a 20' gooseneck livestock trailer. being new to fords I have some questions. from what I've been able to gather I understand that the 360 is a dependable motor, but otherwise less than desirable. with what I'm planning to use the truck for I was wondering what my best option is. Is it possible to rebuild a 360 so that it makes decent power and will accomplish the tasks I plan to use it for without difficulty? Or would I just be wasting my time and money? I know I can make it into a 390 by changing the rotating assembly, would this be the better option? Im not worried about making big horsepower, and I realize that any carburated motor from thst era probably isnt going to get the best gas mileage. the motor as it sits now will turn over and fire, and I'm sure it will start with some tinkering, but as I plan to rebuild the rest of the truck, I plan on rebuilding the engine at the same time. I look forward to any advice yout may have, and thank everybody in advance for it.

 

Ohiofarmboy Welcome to and the FE engine Forum.

The FE engine is the bull family for towing. Don't know zackly what you are asking, but building it out to a 390 or adding a RV cam and a little more compression and you should have an awesome setup. The 360 was from back when the emissions thing started. It basically is a 390 block running a 352 rotating system. A lot has changed since the beginning.

Build that engine out it will pull anything that you hook behind it, and drink gas like a drunken sailor. It hasn't been offered in 40 years, there are other options, but to have a good engine without having to change out other parts the FE is a excellent choice.



John

 

I guess what I want to know, is if I can rebuild the 360 to run better than it originally did, using some mild performance parts, or if I would be further ahead to make it into a 390? would a 390 get any better for gas mileage? Or is all I would be gaining is more power? price does play a role in my decision. If I can rebuild the 360 to adequately do what I want it to do, for less money, I'll probably do that. If it's going to haul what I want to haul, but at 30mph up a hill, and building a 390 will get me 55mph up the same hill with the same load I'd build the 390. Does that make any sense?

 

If you plan to drive 55mph or less then a stock rebuild will be sufficient to pull your trailer. If you plan to pull on the interstate then you will likely want to stroke it..at least to a 390. With an aftermarket stroker kit it will go to 427 cubes with standard bore. With some extra money thrown in and the help of an FE guru you can have a sweet tow monster. An experienced FE builder should be able to get 427 cubes into the mid 400's for torque.

True the mpg will be low if you compare to a modern truck with overdrive while driving around empty. But hook up your trailer to a well built 390 and then hook the same trailer to a modern gasser and I don't think the mpg will be very different. I did around 10,000 miles pulling a 32ft 5th wheel all over the eastern US with a 390 and got 8 mpg if I kept it between 60 and 65. The ecoboost F150's get about the same mpg with that much camper.

Driving my 390 around empty got around 12 mpg freeway. An overdrive might have made it up to 14mpg.

 

I haven't dealt with an engine build in 15 years, but I don't think you would be spending a lot of difference either way. A ring job like they used to do yes a big savings, but I can't imagine much more with parts cost.

Some more experienced builders might offer a different opinion, we'll see what they say.


John

 

To the OP, You mentioned price is a factor. The 390 that I had was a long block that I bought from Jasper for around $2700 and it came with all the gaskets needed IIRC. It ran okay and had a 3 year/100,000 mile warranty. If you have anyone nearby that handles Jasper and will help you if warranty issues arise then that might be a good option. When I say it ran okay, I mean it did its job and I worked it mighty hard for five years until it threw a rod. It ran very hot for about 500 miles until it broke in and always used oil. I had one warranty issue with bent push rods...likely used when they were installed.

Contrast that with one hand built by someone highly experienced with FE's. You can have one built that's better than original with roller cam, stroker kit, and aluminum intake for noticeably more money, but the finished result is so much sweeter...runs smoother and more power...built the way you want it for somewhere around 10K. Tons of factors that affect price up or down and you'd really need to get with a builder for that. The warranty won't likely be as long as Jasper's but on the other hand you'll get a complete engine and usually been run on a dyno. The key is do your homework and find a good builder. Another plus is that a good builder will set up the carb and timing or at least advise you which is a big help on a custom engine.

You can buy a used much newer truck for about the same amount that you'll have in your '75 truck and a custom FE but then a well built FE might be easier to keep going. Troubleshooting and fixing doesn't get much easier or cheaper than an FE. New trucks can be a little tougher to diagnose and cost more to fix.

How long do you plan to use and really work this truck?

 

I know that restoring the truck isn't going to be cheap, but since it's my dad's I'd love to get it restored to original condition. I drove it as a teenager so there are memories with it.

the truck has some interesting history. my dad is the second owner. the original owner was a local man who custom ordered the truck. the story dad was told is, he ordered it so that the bed was pinned, and not bolted so it could be removed. ( not sure if it came from the factory like that or if that was modified later) He had a custom Fithwheel camper that mounted to the frame rails. he used the right for hunting trips, and the truck was driven twice from Ohio to Alaska for hunting trips. Dad hauled a 10ft bed camper and a 16ft horse trailer with it for years on camping trips. It never went very fast, 60MPhil on the freeway was about top speed and on big hills on country roads 30mph wasn'the uncommon.

I know the motor is the original motor, and has never been rebuilt or had any major work done to it. I know it was used pretty hard, and driven by 2 teenage boys who were hard on things. So your motor only lasting 5 years is kinda strange to me.when it's finished I'd like it to run better than it did, so I won't be crawling up hills when towing. For that reason I'm thinking I'm going to take it up to a 390. Being unfamiliar with these motors, I really don't know where to start or what parts to use to get me to where I want to be.

I plan on using It quiet a bit. it's actually going to be a present for my wife. She's always wanted an older truck. She isn't going to be driving it to work every day, because of the gas mileage, but I'm sure it will be driven regularly, and she'll want to be able to haul our horse trailer with it. the trailer is a 23ft steel gooseneck with a living quarters in it. I'd have to look at the tag to be sure what it weighs.

 

Welcome to FTE

One thing to watch out for is being realistic on what you want to do and budget. Maybe you're a pro at this stuff and know what you're getting into - just saying there's lots of disassembled trucks down to the frame frame out there that get abandoned when the owner gets busy with life, family, job etc.

A running restoration works well for a lot of people. I wouldn't worry about the engine too much at this point, if you really want to do this, you're in it for the long haul, then some would say it's wise to start from the dirty side and work from the ground up - tires, brakes, wheel bearings (front and rear) steering linkage, drag link shocks etc. The idea is to make it stop, steer and handle safely first. "Whoa" is just as important as "go", right? Get the Shop Manual for your truck and study it. Everything will need to be gone through, inspected repaired/replaced.

 

Agreed...5 years is very short for an FE. Original factory FE's performed very well for many, many years. But when you take one of those well worn motors and do an economy rebuild and then work it very hard like I did life can be short. I towed a 10k lb 5th wheel for around 10,000 miles...sometimes gas pedal to the floor and losing speed up hills...very mean to any engine.

Sounds like you want to do it right and you can without going to the extreme. Complete inspection of block, heads, rotating assembly. And don't forget things like all new wear components, Arp bolts in critical areas, torque plate hone job, etc, etc.

 

Don't know how much the OP has to do on the truck but I agree with Tedster9. Lot of people redo the engine and never even start it because they ran out of ambition, time, money, etc before finishing the rest of the truck. I had the rest of my truck 100% ready for business and thoroughly tested before wading into cool FE build territory.

 

I like to concentrate a little time on rotating assemblies for balance and vibration. These aren't Cadillacs but well balanced wheels/hub/tire assemblies, driveshaft, and engine, they cruise pretty nice and parts won't wear out near as fast, less oil leaks etc.

 

I think you'd be much happier building a bone stock 390 vs. a warmed over 360. You get a lot more torque with the extra stroke of the 390 at low RPMs and that's what is needed for towing and doing work. Check out the classifieds at fordfe.com & fepower.net, you'll find a good 390 rotating assembly there at a decent price.

Sign up and put a want add on those websites, many of those guys hoard stuff and don't sell until someone is looking. There is people on those sites all over the U.S., you may find someone close or passing through with the parts. You're factory heads are sufficient for your needs but will most likely need rebuilding, that can cost as much as new heads sometimes but if you keep an eye out on those FE sites you can score a nice seat of rebuilt factory heads. I picked up a rebuilt set by one of the big FE builders for $400, that's the cost of parts. I bought a 428 crank from another guy who had relatives near me so I didn't have to pay shipping. Just take your time.

Also keep an eye on Craigslist. If there are any junkyards nearby keep an eye our for a 390. It's easy to check the displacement by checking the stroke with a dowel rod.

If this is something your keeping a reputable machine shop needs to be found nearby.

Remember keep it close to stock for reliability and to make the torque you need at low RPMs. You want a small cam for low RPM torque.

As for cost I think you should be able to put together a 390 for close to the same cost as a 360. You may spend a few hundred more on a used 390 crank, rods & pistons.

 

And definitely put a good set of headers on it. The stock logs are asthmatic.