75 ford f150 performance help?

[Young and the Old]

I have a 75 ford f150 5.9L 360 custom and i was wondering how I could make it so I can have it go faster and add another gear?

[gearhead351]

Originally Posted by Young and the Old

I have a 75 ford f150 5.9L 360 custom and i was wondering how I could make it so I can have it go faster and add another gear?

Well ya could start with a good breathing exhaust and a set of headers. Intake, carb and cam swap would REALLY wake it up.

What kind of tranny? 4 wheel?

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by Young and the Old

I have a 75 ford f150 5.9L 360 custom and i was wondering how I could make it so I can have it go faster and add another gear?

Sell it and buy a Lightning

In all seriousness, first off, welcome aboard. Secondly, what are the specifics of your drive line and what are you doing with the truck. If you just want some better performance, toss on a set of headers and pipes. To get real serious, a nice cam upgrade would help. You could also bolt up a remanned 390 to really see a significant improvement. How much money do you want to spend and what skill level are you at as far as ability to do the work?

--Mike

[Young and the Old]

I really only know a little about trucks. but i am willing to learn and the truck has sentimental value to me it was given to me by my grandfather. I can do the work I really just don't know where to start? As far as money I could put a few thousand dollars in it. I would like to board it out to a 390 how much would that cost for everything?

[Young and the Old]

It only has a 3speed in it.

[BEWOLD]

Just like mentioned already, cam, intake, exhaust, and especially headers (like most fords and their crappy exhaust). An overbore on an engine doesnt acheive much displacment (usually). Its the stroke. A 360 is a 390 with a 352 crank. So you can easily make it a 390 with a 390 crank. And I think you can even use a 428 crank to achieve a 410. A bump in compression may be good for that year of truck as well, not sure what it would be stock. As for cost youll likely need to talk to a local machine shop to give you a better idea. Its easy to shop for the parts on line, but the machining can vary a lot and the machine shop might give you a deal if you purchase the parts from them. If you can afford it aluminum heads and matching intake would be massive improvments in performance and weight savings (you can shave like a 150 lbs off an FE with aluminum parts, Ive heard 70 from the intake alone) Edelbrock FE performer heads are around $680 each from summit and an intake about $300.

[Young and the Old]

Alright That will start me somewhere. Thanks for all the help. ill list more later thx

[Mike G]

Here is my $.02's for you... That sounds like a nice little truck. I am guessing it has the 3-speed auto, right. If you want to go through the learning process, go ahead and rebuild the motor. In all honesty, it would cost as much as buying a remanned long block that you can just drop in and go, and if you go that route, buy a 390. You are limited with the FE engine (360/390) in that their block had it's own bellhousing bolt pattern and just about the only trans is a 4-speed stick or a C6 3-speed auto. Add to that that production stopped 30 years ago.
More questions, just ask... --Mike

[BEWOLD]

Agree with the reman or crate idea (its getting hard to build an engine yourself these days cost effectivly with the price of crate engines), but theres plenty of aftermarket support for the FE even if it hasnt been produced for 30 years. You can adapt an AOD or 5/6 speed manual trans to an FE fairly easy (Of course more parts and money). Or a gearvenders unit could be installed (I know they are expensive too). basically your limited to your wallet.