1984 F-600 Medium Duty Box Van
 

Hello ladies and gentlemen, I am looking at purchasing a 1984 F-600 box van, with a 370 V8, 5 speed. Decent condition. My questions are...

I keep hearing 370 are very underpowered... any remedies?
Are there any places that continue to sell parts besides junk yard, such as online?
Should I avoid it like the plague?

Thanks for your input, I appreciate your help...


Travis

Moved from pickup forum. :-tap

Welcome, Travis! :-wink Thanks for joining us at FTE. Our Large Truck forum is brand new and your topic should get more views and replies here. Good luck! :-whud

Being that the 370 is in the same family as the 429 and 460 engines, you could possibly install a 429 or 460, or maybe just use some heads and intake/exhaust solutions from the 429/460 automotive family.

My brother put a mid-to-late 70's era (brand new crate engine) 429 into his '68 F600 flatbed. Going from the original 330, he said it was a major wake-up in power.

Going from a 370 to a 429 or 460 would be even easier.

Not sure what the differences are between the truck 370/429 vs. car 429/460. Compression ratios, cams, and other internals are different, but not sure about engine mounts and bell housing patterns. Maybe someone can advise.

Ford, and I suppose everyone else, "lo-po's" the truck engines. Compression ratios are in the 7s, cams look round to the naked eye, carbs are small. Thus, you have low end torque and they last a long time.

You have to be careful making a swap. Consider the power curve of a newer engine and how it matches the gearing etc.

A 460 with an rv cam would be fairly cheap, and bring you 50 to 100 lb/ft of extra torque methinks.