350 VS 352

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Aug 21, 2012 | 03:29 PM

Frankinstine

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From: Sioux Falls

350 VS 352

In a towing situation which on would pull better up a hill with matching transmitions and rear end gears. The bore and stroke on the motors are almost exact. The 352 has a bore of 4.000 and stroke of 3.500 and the 350 has a bore of 4.000 and stoke of 3.480. I would think the ford because I like it better but that is just me.

Aug 27, 2012 | 07:05 PM

85e150

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Stock, the Chevy wins. The FE has terrible exhaust manifolds. Other than that, they are mostly the same, with the 350 obviously getting modern upgrades towards the end of it's life which would put it ahead of the 352.

If you found the last 352 in '67 and pitted it against the first 350 in '67, it would probably favor the 350. If you pitted the weakest versions ever offered, the 352 probably wins as it did not suffer the 1970s horrors. If you pitted the hottest stockers ever offered, the Chevy wins.

If you reenacated WWII using all available 352s vs. all available 350s, the Chevy wins......

If you go wildest aftermarket build, the 352 probably wins as you can overbore it to 4.050 and stroke it out to a 438, just a little larger than the 427 a 350 will go to.

Aug 27, 2012 | 09:00 PM

dkf

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From: Pa

If you have a Chevy/GM put a 350 in it. If you have a Ford put a 352 in it. If you put a 350 in a Ford and a 352 in Chevy/GM I hope they both blow up.

Aug 27, 2012 | 11:18 PM

85e150

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Quote:

Originally Posted by dkf

If you have a Chevy/GM put a 350 in it. If you have a Ford put a 352 in it. If you put a 350 in a Ford and a 352 in Chevy/GM I hope they both blow up.

Not what he asked.

Sep 3, 2012 | 05:35 PM

less

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From: Winnipeg

The 350 was a small block...the 352 FE was a big block....having said that...is there much of a difference between BB and SB....nowadays not even displacement.

Back to the question...I think the FE series is more comparable to the Chevy BB of the time...the W series ie; 348 and that real fine 409.

Not sure if there would be much difference between a 348 and a 352...although the 348 rumour has it, was originally designed to be a MDT and HDT gas engine.

Sep 3, 2012 | 11:21 PM

85e150

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In '58 to '61, you would compare the 352 to the 348. Except for a '60 version, the 348 outpowers the 352 in the higher performance versions, so they say:

Chevrolet Big-Block engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

FE Series Engine Specification Chart

Compare the 409 to the 390 and 427. Things even out against the 427 and the 427 went on to be the clear "winner" historically. (Le Mans comes to mind)

Comparing the 352 to the 350 isn't a good comparison as the 352 was done when the 350 was intro'd. Being that it built on the already successful 327s, it is the clear "winner".

Block size does not matter in these comparisons.

Sep 3, 2012 | 11:30 PM

smokenchoken

Fleet Mechanic

Joined: May 2012

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From: peru kansas

personally i would go 352 i have used both 350s and 352s both are good at what they do and my 352 always did better on gas than any 350 my family has ever owned

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Sep 4, 2012 | 11:41 AM

jimandmandy

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From: Running Springs CA

There are so many possible variables here that this is an impossible question to answer. In general, talking factory stock, Chevy head breathe better. That means more total peak hp. There is no way for a stock 352 to overcome that limitation. However, if your tow rig is handicapped with a numerically low axle ratio, say 3.08, the 352 may have the edge, due to smaller valves leading to higher velocity leading to a lower rpm torque peak. This, of course, also depends on the stock cam grind.

Things like bore/stroke and rod ratio are great talking points, but those theories seldom pan out in the real world were there are so many other factors involved. Both long stroke and big bore engines have been made into torque monsters. Aircraft engines typically produce peak power below 3000 rpm are extremely oversquare, for example.