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Hey all, got a 71 F250 believed to have a 360. The plan is to prerun her. Got the auto fab suspension picked out but kinda lost in the engine part match up area. What I mean is that I am wanting an Edelbrock performer rom manifold, with the offloading carb, and a new camshaft. Curious to know what is the best matchup when it comes to these compartments. Also curious as to are these parts compatible with stock heads and headers. Any advice is helpful.
Basically, the 360 is a 390 block, a 352 crank and rods, and 390 car pistons, usually the dished jobs from the mid '60s to early '70s. 360 and 390s, as issued in pickups, share almost everything else, and are identical externally.
More head work: porting, maybe aftermarket heads. With a cam, new springs for sure. Shop for all that from the cam maker.
Ah understood. Any good headers in mine, Betsy has a hard time breathing because her entire exhaust said up is small in diameter (don't have exact measurements but seems to be stock)? Sorry if I'm being a ditz but some of these terms are new to me but I want to learn, but by porting do you mean re-machining? Also thinking about Edelbrock cam and lifter, any thoughts?
Ah understood. Any good headers in mine, Betsy has a hard time breathing because her entire exhaust said up is small in diameter (don't have exact measurements but seems to be stock)? Sorry if I'm being a ditz but some of these terms are new to me but I want to learn, but by porting do you mean re-machining? Also thinking about Edelbrock cam and lifter, any thoughts?
Hey all, got a 71 F250 believed to have a 360. The plan is to prerun her. Got the auto fab suspension picked out but kinda lost in the engine part match up area. What I mean is that I am wanting an Edelbrock performer rom manifold, with the offloading carb, and a new camshaft. Curious to know what is the best matchup when it comes to these compartments. Also curious as to are these parts compatible with stock heads and headers. Any advice is helpful.
Thank you for your time,
Nick
Howdy,
I'm a newbie, as well, and have a 71 Ranger XLT w/360. I've gotten terrific advise on here, and am continuing to read and learn. One of the things I learned pretty quick was the Ford Truck w/360 isn't designed to be a hot rod, but a work truck - which is great for me, as I got mine to pull a hay wagon.
If you want more performance, you may wanna consider doing the 390 conversion. Your compression ratio will go from about 8.1 to 1 to 8.6 to 1, due to the longer stroke with the 390 rods/pistons.
If you want a little more compression without doing the 390 conversion, here's a trick that an F.E. Guru showed me - Get these head gaskets, and you'll get the increase in compression with your 360: Mr. Gasket 1132G Mr. Gasket Steel Shim Cylinder Head Gaskets
Anyways, good luck. I've got big plans for my rig, and I hope you enjoy yours, too. Thankfully for me, I have an F.E. Genius that rebuilds these engines/trucks nearby me who is helping this ol' farmer/newbie out.
Just sharing what I was told by another who knows lots more than me - These F.E. Engines LOVE a little higher compression, and respond really well to it. Depending upon how "deep" you wanna go with this thing ($) and what your ultimate goal is - You'd get approx. the same increase in compression ratio by either doing the 390 conversion (longer stroke), or installing that head gasket. It would take you up to about 8.6 or 8.7 to 1. If you did the 390 conv. AND the headgasket then you're up around 9.0 to 1.
But, I mention this to you because we just went through this discussion about my truck - if you start heading much higher than that (9.0) with the C.R., then you're talking higher octane gas. So, while ths boost in power is good, it'll cost ya a little extra at the fuel pump. Just thought you may wanna know that. Good luck!
Personally, I believe the 360 can be made to satisfy just about any need a 390 can. A good set of headers and dual exhaust with no other changes will produce performance and economy gains that are quite pleasing. Add to that a good dual plane intake/carb and a mild cam and that old 360 will run right with equivalent 390s (almost).
If you mean it will run with an OEM equipped pickup 390 from the same year, I think you are correct. Pickup 390s suffer the same sunken piston and low compression as the 360. They also suffer the same terrible exhaust manifolds. So your freed up 360 might actually outrun a corked 390.
But, uncork the 390, and especially if you put in the older car pistons and get your 9 to 9.5 compression, then the 390 starts to run away in the power department.
Like a well built home, mild performance mods need a solid foundation so start with the exhaust system before upgrading the intake side (carb, intake, cam). Without doing so, it'll be like running a 100-yard dash while trying to breathe through a straw.
My rig had an Edelbrock 2105 intake and a 1406 carb but still had the stock manifolds. The PO had Hedman headers still in the box and were part of the deal. I finally installed them with a true dual 2.5-inch mandrel exhaust system breathing through a pair of Moroso Spiral Flows and now it runs like scalded ape.
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