first 360/390 build..
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first 360/390 build..
hey guys this is my first post on here. 
I have some questions and I don't know where to start.. I live in Fairbanks Alaska and im headed to Florida shortly. so I have about a year to build. I have a 1970 f250 camper edition with a 360. 4speed on the floor. this is my dream truck. I also have a 68 f250 high boy on 35s with the 390. im looking to build the 70 up.. I have about 2000$ to spend but I want the best mileage possible because of the long trip a head. this truck is bone stock at the moment. I need some help picking a carb and a cam. any insight would be greatly appreciated.. I was also thinking about dropping the 390 into the 70. the 390 has headers, and a holly 750dp. what would be the best choice here? again im going for mileage without getting a Prius. what do you guys think?
I have some questions and I don't know where to start.. I live in Fairbanks Alaska and im headed to Florida shortly. so I have about a year to build. I have a 1970 f250 camper edition with a 360. 4speed on the floor. this is my dream truck. I also have a 68 f250 high boy on 35s with the 390. im looking to build the 70 up.. I have about 2000$ to spend but I want the best mileage possible because of the long trip a head. this truck is bone stock at the moment. I need some help picking a carb and a cam. any insight would be greatly appreciated.. I was also thinking about dropping the 390 into the 70. the 390 has headers, and a holly 750dp. what would be the best choice here? again im going for mileage without getting a Prius. what do you guys think?
Fleet Mechanic
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From: peru kansas
if you stay with your 360 (which isn't as bad a motor as everyone thinks it is) i would suggest rv cam, straight up timing set, headers,around a 650 cfm carb either edelbrock or holley your choice anything more is overkill, and put the tallest tires you can on the back to up your gear ratio since your running an f250 your tallest gear ratio possible is 3.56 but most likely you have 3.73 or 4.10 so the only cheap way to raise your gear ratio is tire height, i know with my 72 f100 i can run 285-75-16's without rubbing with it being an f250 you might be able to go higher..... so going from the stock tires (assuming 235-75-16) to the 285s you run lower rpms here's a helpful site 235/75-R16 vs 285/75-R16 Tire Comparison - Tire Size Calculator i am not gauranteeing super extremely awesome fuel mileage but it shouldn't be anywhere near what it is now
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The taller tires I don't think will be an option. im going to go bare metal with the truck and I have a set of 18 in rims and lowish profile tires that I think is going to give it the look im going for.. but I don't mind re-gearing the differential. as for the the headers and a cam.. anything specific? I know next to nothing about camshafts. Would an intake help here too? cause I was looking at some edelbrock intakes, carb spacers and carbs.
Fleet Mechanic
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From: peru kansas
with it being an F250 it has a Dana 60 and the highest gear ratio available for it is 3.56 IIRC the only way to go higher would be to install a 9" and that opens up a whole can of worms right there......if it has a 4bbl intake on it already then no need to buy any other other than for cosmetic value or to shed weight since the cast iron weighs in around 80lbs and the aluminum one is 20ish.... on cams ask yourself whats the truck really gonna be doing whether it is pulling a load or just hauling *** or little of both....... like with my truck i had 4.10 gears and a set of cooper cobras and that thing was rapping a shade over 3000 rpm just to do 65mph so my fuel mileage was a joke but had great performance so with that in mind figure out what Rpm your gonna be running to do what you wanna do and then find a cam with an operating range that meshes nicely with it ......here is a good site just to test the waters http://www.summitracing.com/search/d...size/6-4l-390/
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since I will be driving 7000 miles one way I want this truck to hall ***. it will never be pulling anything and at most ill have a couple hundred lbs in the bed. as for rpms. I was told they "red line" at 3600ish? the intake that's on it right now is the stock 2bbrl wih the original carb. so to put a 4 bbrl carb on I need a new intake right?
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Fleet Mechanic
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From: peru kansas
yes on the new intake then and redline is around 5000 you don't want to hang out at those rpms for long if you want your motor to last, personally i have found that if you can get your motor to be at about 2000-2500 that's where your best power vs fuel mileage tends to cross.... but if you have a good 2bbl carb they do just fine the actual biggest thing for fuel mileage/power you can do for the FE motor is throw headers and a good free flowing exhaust on it, the original exhaust is notoriously the crappiest ever made take a good look at them and you will see why......personally with the funds you have for this build i would look at headers and exhaust first then worry about the intake, carb, and cam later you will be surprised just how big a difference the headers will make
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Fleet Mechanic
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From: peru kansas
while on the subject of headers and such... if you know anything about FE's they can be very expensive to work on and certain things are very aggravating about them for instance the top 4 bolts on the exhaust manifolds or headers are exposed to the air, moisture, and repeated heat cycles and what that means is those top 4 bolts on each side tends to be seized into place and tend to twist off and then you get the privilege of drilling those bad boys out which trust me is a 100x easier with the heads off of the motor than with it still in the engine bay..... most people just use a 3/8" bit and drill them out and put a bolt and nut in their place but some people don't like that so they re-thread the hole but it just is gonna fail in the same way years down the road
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The best advice I can give you for your situation is to take your $2,000 and put a down payment on a 2011-2014 F250/F350 Power Stroke Diesel with the 6.7 engine. I have a 2012 that gets 23 mpg on flat level ground empty. 18+ going up and down mountains. Our FE 427 and 428 engines are used for our drag race car.
With the right parts and built correctly, the FE's can handle 7000 rpm for short bursts. I routinely shift at 7000 rpm at the track.
Stock FE's do not like above 5000 rpm for any period of time. Some people on this site could help you with oiling modifications if you want to spin it up.
A FE 360 is a poor choice for fuel economy and power.
Headers, cam, 600 cfm carb, proper tune, etc, will only get you about 12 mpg in your truck, and that would be with a 390 up to a 428.
All parts being equal, the FE seems to get more efficient with more cubic inches.
With the right parts and built correctly, the FE's can handle 7000 rpm for short bursts. I routinely shift at 7000 rpm at the track.
Stock FE's do not like above 5000 rpm for any period of time. Some people on this site could help you with oiling modifications if you want to spin it up.
A FE 360 is a poor choice for fuel economy and power.
Headers, cam, 600 cfm carb, proper tune, etc, will only get you about 12 mpg in your truck, and that would be with a 390 up to a 428.
All parts being equal, the FE seems to get more efficient with more cubic inches.
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so my build jut came to a screeching hault.. I was driving it home last night and she let go.. I was drivein about 2500rpm and it sounded like the clutch sliped reved up a little bit then died.. if I crank it over it just blows fuel out the carb.. im thicking my valves are stuck open? anyone else ever have this problem? what could cause it.. I guess better now then after I get it build up..
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Joined: Dec 2012
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From: clovis
Sounds like what my 360 did, I was crossing an intersection and it just died and blew fuel out of the carb, it would crank over fine but wouldn't start. I looked it over and saw nothing wrong and check to make sure the carburetor float wasn't stuck open, it wasn't. I let it sit for another fifteen minutes and still didn't start, then a few minutes later it started. What I believe happened was that the lifters didn't bleed off pressure holding the valves open.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jan 2011
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From: Antelope Valley ,CA
???? What I believe happened was that the lifters didn't bleed off pressure holding the valves open.
Cam pushes lifters up down to open /close valves .
sounds more like you had your timing chain slip, pull the valve covers and have someone crank her over watch for rocker arms not moving
Cam pushes lifters up down to open /close valves .
sounds more like you had your timing chain slip, pull the valve covers and have someone crank her over watch for rocker arms not moving
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my timing chain slipped.. I believe its off though cause my valve don't move when I crank it over. so my next question would be.. how hard is it to time this thing?.. and what should I replace while im in there? do I need to pull the engine?
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From: clovis
You can leave the engine in the truck. To time it line up the mark on the cam sprocket with the mark on the crank sprocket when you put the new chain and gears on. If you have not done the water pump you might as well since you will have to take it off anyway.