i am new to this fte thing. i recently bought two trucks. the first was a 75 f250 and it had a 360 motor in it with the old granny gear in it. the other truck was a 77 f150 that had a worn out 302 and a junk c4 auto in it. my intensions are to scrap the 75 coz it was beyond fixing. also i wanted to rebuild the the 360 and drop it in the 77 and convert it to the granny gear.

i was hopeing that someone out there might have some ideas that i could do to that 360 to try and squeeze more power and torque out of it. i would like it to have more torque coz i am going to use it to tow my horse trailer to differnt trail rides. so if anybody out there can help i would realy be thankfull.

 

So you're rebuilding it? Or just want to add some cool parts?

Rebuild: Aquire a 390 crank and rods and turn your engine into a 390. With the heads, machine them for CJ sized valves. Pocket port the bowls and blend the exhaust port hump.

Parts: Aluminum intake, either Edelbrock, Blue Thunder or Ford Police Interceptor, 4 barrel carb (whatever your poison, Holley or AFB) a mild cam for low end grunt, headers.

I'll come up with a list of cams if you tell me exactly what you want out of it. Idle quality, max RPM, no maintenance or periodic valve adjustment etc.

Josh

 

i am looking for mostly torque out of that 360 i would realy like it to have at least 335 horsepower and 380 torque but i dont want the engine to rev up high maybe to 4500 5000 rpm were hopefully it will reach top torque and horse power.

 

i am looking to rebuild it and give it new life. it has been in a snow plow truck since new.
i would like to squeeze 340 horse and 380 torque out of it. rpm topping 4500 to 5000

 

I would still look for a 390 crank and rods and then aquire some 9.0-9.5:1 pistons.

A Comp cams 270S is a very nice cam for low end grunt and some top end pep as well. It is a solid lifter cam, so it would require adjusting the valves about once a year. A comp cams 270H is the hydraulic version, basically the same mannerisms, but slightly less torque and horsepower.

My poison has always been Crane Cams, but they have changed hands recently and who knows what is going on there. There are other companies such as Crower, Oregon Cams, but my personal opinion is to stick with Comp and their reputation and warranty.

You'll still need a 4 barrel intake, a decent carburetor and recommended headers to make the combination gel together.

Josh

 

Check the FE forums. Everyone with a worn out 360 wants to make an improvement. For the power you are talking, a 360 is hopeless. It has a very low compression ratio, and a below deck piston height. Both are proven power killers. Unless you get custom pistons at $100 each, no high compression pistons are to be had.

The 390 crank and rods with the proper oversize 360 pistons (you will probably need to go .030 over) will give you 9 to 9.5 CR, depending on heads.

Heads are another decision. Old heads needing a rebuild can run up into new aftermarket head territory cost wise. Shop around.

As for the rest, see the previous posts and the FE forums.

Good luck with it.

 

www.fordfe.com is the only place to go for Ford FE questions.

Josh

 

i have decided to give up on the idea on trying to build the 360 into something its not. what motor would any body out there would give me the torque and horse power that i am looking for.

 

A build a 460 or a 351w. The horsepower you want is just outside of "easy and cheap". The 460 only came with 220hp stock when it was efi. A '69 390 was closer to the power you want, but you'd still need a rebuild. That's what these guys are trying to tell you.

The late '80s/early '90s 351w Efi is my favorite, followed by the '69 era 360/390. The 351w didn't come stock with enough power at all, until they switched to EFI.

These are the motors I'm looking at, for availability and price, and mileage:

302 efi: 185hp, 270tq
351w efi: 210hp, 315tq
triton 4.6 220hp, 280tq (better gas mileage though)

The 351w EFI is the obvious choice. Go to a scrap yard and get the engine, trans, harness, ECU and the cluster. As for the trans, I like the 5 speed mtx.

If you want to keep the carb, build your 360 to a 390 because you already have it, but don't be so hung up on power. The best mudder I've ever seen was a 90hp worn out '79 Hilux on 38s.

If you just want to pour cash into something and have billions of horse powers, get a 460 and build it. I've seen what the 351w efi can do, and I'm sold on it.

 

Not exactly sure what you want. You want to give up turning your 360 into a sweet 390, when all you need is a crank and rods. Which can be had for under $50 all day long in the junkyard or Ebay.

Swapping a 460 will require: engine, transmission, perches, mounts and more various odd and ends. A lot more than $50.

Same goes for a 302/351.

Maybe I don't understand what you want. I thought you wanted to rebuild your engine and at the same time gain some power.

Do you just want bolt-on parts and no rebuild?

Josh

 

I think he might have got turned off to the 360/390 because everyone is always talking about how obsolete the Fe is, and how much of a dog it can be. While that is true, it makes the power and it's a great work horse. Hard to kill 'em. I'd say the 360/390 is just fine, and of course it's bad on gas, it makes a lot of power for a carbureted engine. If you tune a rice burner up, the gas mileage goes out the window.

 

may be i am just jumping the gun a little bit on dumping the 360 i was just trying to see what my options were and if they were practical to what i want to do with it.

 

The 360, as issued, is not going to get near the power. The 390--which the 360 is just waiting to be turned into--will approach those levels without much work. A 410, again, crank, rods, pistons, will make lots of low end torque even if you go budget on the heads etc.

An FE is a good platform, and will make great power. The best feature is that it is in your truck and everthing fits--no "non-performance" money needs to be spent on mounts, transmissions, cooling, accessory mounts etc.

 

is there any difference between the 390 and the 410 i dont want to sound dumb with this i am learning as i go. what for stuff could i do to the stock heads

 

390 and 410 use different cranks.

With the heads, machine them for CJ sized valves. Pocket port the bowls and blend the exhaust port hump.

Josh