Am thinking about doing a 390 swap into my 78 f150. Was wondering if I could get any advice on how much to pay for a used non rebuilt engine? And if you would tell what to be looking for in a good block. Also do you think this is a good idea doing this swap? Will my C6 that is on a 351m still bolt up or do I need to find one that will?

Any advice would be great!

Jon

 

No, that's not really a good idea. You will have to find an FE C6. Your 351M C6 won't bolt up. The best way to get more cubes is just rebuild your 351M as a 400. Google TMeyer Inc

 

I don't know much about the 351m and 400m series engine, but I am going to rebuild my 360 with a 428 rotating assembly, which combined with a 30 overbore will give me 416ci. As far as the engine price, I wouldn't give much. I am trying to get a 361ft engine from a guy thought it was a 390. He was wanting $300 for, listed as a 390 and hadn't got any bites. I am going to offer him $150 and see if he bites. The ft engines are very similar to an fe, but there are differences, like the blocks are about 20lbs heavier because of extra webbing. Do yourself a favor and buy a book about whatever engine you decide before you buy. I have one titled "Ford Engine Parts Interchange (I think)" and another called "Rebuilding Big Block Fords." I recommend either one, they are both very detailed and it is published information, not what something someone heard from a guy. In my situation, this additional information told me that while the ft engine in stock form is crap (low compression, different manifolds, etc), the block is stronger and I will be changing everything else that's different. Anyway, I wouldn't pay more than $200.

 

A good 390 long block core, around here, will run btwn $150 and $250... more on the upper end if you can hear it run and perhaps be able to do a compression check.

Personally, I'd ditch the stock heads. You'll spend about the same amount of money rebuilding stock heads compared to simply buying Edelbrock FE aluminum heads.

 

the FE's are better engines than the 351 and 400 but its posible that i may be a little biased......... i gave 200 bucks here in NC for my 390

 

FWIW, the guy wouldn't take $200 for the ft a a windshield, but he counter offered $275. Not a bad price, but I don't NEED a spare engine, just wanted one

 

Price depends on location. Where I'm at only one scrap yard has FE blocks and they are $300! No guarantee and no returns! And that's just a block. lol

Most parts of the country you can find a non-runner for 150-200.

I like the FEs better than the 335series but the cheapest route is to turn that 351m into a 400 with new pistons to bump up the CR. Tim Meyer is the man for all things 400.

You'll have to get a C6 made for an FE. It doesn't swap.

If you are set on doing the swap then here are some things to note.

FE's are virtually impossible to externally identify. The only way to know what cid it is, is to measure bore x stroke. Casting numbers are useless for this. One block of note that you may come across is one with a reverse cast "105" on the front left of the block just beneath the head that usually is marked "352". These are service blocks that have extra main webbing and can on occasion be overbored farther than a standard 352/360/390/410 block. This is probably the best of those blocks.

I would look for something @ standard or +.030 bore max. You want to be able to rebuild if the time ever comes so you don't want to have something already at max bore.

It's going to be about a $4-500 dollar difference between rebuilding stock heads and getting new Edelbrocks. Out of the box the Eds perform nearly identical to cast CJ heads so unless you find some CJs($$) they are going to outperform whatever you rebuild plus they have lots of room for porting improvement. Something to think about.

I guess the real question is how much power do you want? and/or what type of budget is this on? Or do you just want an FE? lol Can't say I blame ya there

Ps. As far as reading material goes, most of it is full of errors. A good forum with knowledgeable people is a far more reliable guide. You can check out the Steve Christ book and the Parts Interchange books as an introduction but just don't go blindly believing everything in there. How to Build Max HP FE's by Barry Robotnick is geared towards more high performance but the basics remain the same (no errors in that one) There is an FE forum here with some good members or you can go over to fordfe.com . That's where many of the professional builders and longtime racers that know these inside and out hang out. That site is much more active than the FE forum here and the search function alone can answer nearly anthing you could ask.

 

I did order the how to build an FE book and will read through it. This engine is going to be a fun drive around town kinda thing. I want to be able to spin the tires at anytime and want it to be able to pull my boat without a problem. Not worried about gas mileage just want to have fun. Have about 4 grand to put into this motor. I hoping this will be enough to build it. Maybe thinking about going the 428 route but haven't decided.

 

I haven't looked around much elsewhere but the full rebuild kit at Survival is only $700. A 4k budget gives you lots of room to work with for aftermarket parts.

In standard form a 390 will do what it sounds like you want. With just some headers and a RV cam it would probably satisfy you if all you want to do is spin the tires a little and do some towing. If that's your goal you wont need 4k to do it.

 

X2 that search feature over there is a virtual gold mine of FE info.

 

'couldn't agree more.... I pay California prices for a rebuild.