I have a 360 engine sittin in the garage and was wondering if I can buy a 428 crank and rods in order to turn the engine into a 428? I am currently running the 390 in my truck right now but would like the extra power of the 428. I know that the 360 block is not as strong as the 428 CJ block but I don't plan on running the engine above 6000 RPM. Would the 360 block work? If it did; I would plan on installing edelbrock heads, holley carb, headers, erson roller rockers, edelbrock performer intake, forged pistons, and new connecting rods. I may even decide to go with the stroker kit offered by flatland racing products.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

You would first have to take the block and have a sonic check done to see if the cylinder walls were thick enough to be bored .080 over to make it a 4.130 like a 428. Plan B is, use the 428/410 crank(3.98 stroke) leave the 4.050 bore stock if possible, and you wind up with a 410. Really thin cylinder walls is just asking for trouble.

 

is it possible to resleave the cylinders with 428's?

 

I dunno, but its prolly a lot cheaper to get a 428 block. I say go 410 style, unless you REALY want to have a 428 so bad you cant live without one, because you will reap most of the hp and torque by just going to the 428/410 crank and the last time I checked 390 pistons are easier to get ahold of.

 

Or he could just bore it to 40 or maybe as far as 60 and have a 418-422 motor. With a 422, you're not gonna tell the difference in performance from 6 extra cubes the 428 would have. At the very least, remove the freeze plugs on that 360 block and using a feeler gauge, see how wide the gap between the bores is and then measure the width of the block between the bores on top to get a rough idea if there's even enough metal to bore to any size. I have 3 390 blocks in my shop that are all different. One is hard pressed to bore to 30, another is at 40 now and is maxed out, the last will go 60 easily.

 

Anything can be sleeved if you have enough money!

 

Good advice by all. .030 is all a 390 can go without the sonic check. That costs $$$ too. Some of the early 390 blacks have a ton of cyl wall thickness but they have a funky motor mount block bolt up deal, less bolt holes I think, and are few in number. 428 crank in 390 block gives you a 410 with 410 pistons, more with a clean up overbore. I think TRW still makes 410 pistons in a couple of sizes. As stated by the others, 410+ cubes should make you happy!

 

Highboy, sure you can. An .080 overbore and you are in 428 range. It is simple easy and hundreds of guys have already done it. But you have to remember, you are taking a certain amount of risk. Some of Ford's castings are blueprint correct, some are way off ( core shift ). To compound the problem, ford had several differant ways they could setup the molds when the blocks were cast. Casting #s don't really help because several variations may occur amoung blocks with the same numbers. I've seen blocks that had a split cylinder at standard 4.050 bore- and others at 4.163 that were fine- both wearing C6ME-A casting numbers. Sonic checking can be helpful IF you have a skilled operator on the machine, and if he is an honest guy. I fear that some sonic checkers tell you whatever they think you want to hear, and plenty really don't understand how to use the machine correctly. So how to tell if your cylinders are thick or thin ? I think 'Shoe's' drill bit test is a very good way for the average guy in his garage to tell whether his block is a good candidate for heavy boring or not. Are your casting plugs out ? have you a set of drills handy ? We can talk you through it. Even if your block looks way risky at 428 bore, you can still have PLENTY of power with a 410 clone. One of my engines is a '67 390 block, 060 over,with the 410 mercury crank in it. This gives me 421 inches- with all that nice stroke from the longer crank, far more power than the regular 390s offer. DF

 

I don't have the core plugs out yet as I am currently trying to mount it up to the engine stand. This engine has really got me curious as to its potential. The engine came out of my 74 F-250 and was the original engine. I have tried to locate the casting numbers but could not find them no matter where I looked. The heads are D2TE AA which were standard for that year. I was reading a book that claimed the 360 was cast in 73-76 with reinforced webs. Does anyone know if this is actually true? I am hoping that mine has the reinforced webs. I have looked on the web for a 428 block but realized that it would be much cheaper if I could use this block instead.

If I decide to use this block what heads do you think I should use? I have heard that the D2 heads are better for porting. I would definately like to improve the flow of the exsisting ports. I have thought about purchasing the edelbrock heads but realized that they have larger combustion chambers than my stock heads. Are the D2 heads capable of allowing larger valves to fit similar to the edelbrock heads? Another thing I like about the stock heads is that they are cast iron instead of aluminum. Its my personal opinion that cast iron holds up better than aluminum over the long haul.

Whats the cost of sonic checking?

Also, whats the rated horsepower for a fairly good performance 410?
If I decide to use this block I will be adding the edelbrock performer intake and holley 770 in addition to headers and a pertronix ignition.

 

The D2 heads are good ones, the intake ports are the medium riser style, they look smaller but the floor is filled in compared to the older lowriser port. The port width is wider than the lowriser, I measured a set of each and the D2TE/C8AE-H ( these heads are identical) port is actually a littel bigger in volume than the lowriser. The bottom 1/4 inch of the lowriser port is really just wasted space. You can install the CJ sized valves in those heads. You also need to know that the D@'s exhaust seats are induction hardedened and cutting the seats for bigger valves will remove the hardened portion. As far as your block , it is the same block as a 390, only difference between the 360 and a 390 was the crank,rods and pistons. Bore size is the same for both. There are also some block that had no casting #'s, I've got two like this but they came from 68 model cars.

 

Highboy, yes, your 360 block has the '3-web' mains. Thos are nice, but what you need to be worrying about, if you want to bore that much, is how thick are the cylinderwalls. 'Shoe's drill bit test' is the way to answer the question. how much for a sonic check ? Don't know, noone in my area does them. How much can a 410 type engine make? 450-500 hp with more than 50lbs-ft of torque would be easy, with the right combination of parts. But the Edelbrock performer will not get you there, or even close. The perfomer RPM is much better, the edelbrock F-427 is better still, and the Blue Thunder will out perform all of E'brocks dual planes. The Blue Thunder is available in a 427MR version that will match your D2 heads very nicely. With the 2.09/1.65 valve combo installed, the D2 heads will do just fine. But you mentioned buying a 428 crank- if you are going to buy a longer stroke crank, why stop at the 428 size ? Scat offers nice new cranks with 4.00 strokes, 4.125 or 4.250. If you are buying a new crank anyway, why not get the longest stroke available ?! There is a fellow on network 54 who put the 4.250 crank in a 428 and got, through the mufflers and with power steering and belt drive water pump and everything, 471 hp and 476 lbs-ft at the rear wheels. I'm certain his power levels are in the mid 500s at the crank. Its there if you want it. DF

 

If I decide to purchase the scat cranks do I have to also purchase special rods and pistons? I am sure the pistons must be different than the stock 4.05" ones. I assume they would need to be the slipper type in order to clear the crankshaft. What type of rods do you recommend for a 400Hp engine?

 

Ok, guys, if I am reading this correctly a 360/390 bored .060 should be in the 418-422 range. Or are there other parts involved? My stroke lands between 360 & 390, block is .060 over, heads have been redone, but nothing special. what might I have??

 

There is no FE crank that has a stroke that falls between the 360 ( 3.5 ) and a 390 ( 3.78) To get to a 418-422 you need a 410-428 crank ( 3.98) Pull one of your spark plugs and use a wooden dowel in the hole, roll the crank by hand till the piston rises as far as it will go. Mark the dowel, then roll the crank til the piston is all the way down the hole, mark the dowel again. The distance will be your stroke. A 60 over 360 would be a 371, the same overbore with a 3.98 crank would be a 422

 

badad, Thanks for the info. I will check and hope for something good.