Hi,
I have a 65 Camper Special. The engine is not original but I need help identifying which engine it might be. The stock engine was the 352.

The heads I have have the Thermactor ports (plugged) and have the code C6AE in the casting. The exhaust manifold does not make use of all the bolt holes on the head, but it is not a stock 65 352 manifold either. On the intake side, there is a 4-bbl carb.

Here are a couple of close up pics of the heads and exhaust manifolds. If you can give me any hints on what other identifying features to look for, I can go look for the info.

Thanks!

 

No way of telling from the pictures. The engine is a FE and can be anything from a 352 through a 428. It is more than likely a 352 or a 390. The only way to be really sure is to check the bore and stroke.

 

428 cj heads have the plugs, and the dual bolt pattern. but iirc they should have a c8 casting number? those are a high performace manifold of some kind, mebey cj? look for a wide balancer, 428's had that.

 

Possibly 390 GT manifolds, '66-'69 in Fairlane/Comet/Mustang/Cougar. Billions served methinks. Surprised they work in a truck.


Exhaust.htm

 

All the info about the heads is nice, but that doesn't help determining what engine it is. FE heads are just that, FE heads. They will bolt on to all FE blocks. The only way to know what you have is checking the bore and stroke.

 

Thanks for the info.

The real reason behind the question, I guess I should have stated earlier. I have a leak between the exhaust manifold and the head on the passenger side. I would like to fix it, which will mean taking off the manifold. The bolts look pretty rusty, but maybe they will turn? I haven't tried yet.

So if anyone has any tips for getting the manifold off, that would be helpful. A friend recommended preemptively grinding all the bolt heads off to get the manifold out of the way, then heating what is left of the bolts and using a vice grip or other extractor to turn them. He said this was a better bet than trying a wrench to start with and likely breaking the bolts off somewhere inside the head. Any feedback on that as an approach?

The reason I asked what engine it was is because the only thing I have been able to determine thus far is that it is not stock. As I was poking around under the hood yesterday, a friendly neighbor stopped his car, got out, and proclaimed that it was a 400M engine. Based on the feedback here that it is an FE engine of some sort, and comparing what I have to pics of the 400M, I am thinking he is not correct and it is an FE.

Either way, the stock exhaust manifolds from the '65 352 don't look anything like the ones I have, and the stock gaskets only have two bolt holes per cylinder, one on top and one on bottom. The heads on my truck appear to have maybe 14 bolt hole locations in total, but the current manifolds aren't using them all.

So if I need to find new manifolds or gaskets, I need to know what will work and what parts to try to get. And, maybe the stock manifolds and gaskets will work, but only if I use the other holes that are currently not being used?

So, to sum up my ramble, what's the best way to get the manifolds off, and what is likely to fit as replacements if the existing ones turn out to be cracked or beyond salvaging?

Thanks!

 

The guy that said it's a 400 must be a chevy man. First off, there is no such thing as a 400M. The 351M/400 is a 335 series Ford engine. You engine is most definitely a FE series engine of unknown cubic inch displacement. Go to you parts store on get a set of exhaust manifold gaskets for a 66 Fairlane 390GT. The FE manifold bolts are notorious for breaking. The ones with the 2 vertical bolts are the worst. Yours shouldn't be all that bad to get out. Try to get them out before trying anything else. If they won't come out easily, cot the heads off and apply heat to the head around the bolt and remove with vice-grips. Don't damage the manifold, they are pretty rare and expensive. Headers are expensive and most interfere with removing the starter, plus getting headers to fit GT heads in a truck will be difficult (special order = more expensive).

 

New gaskets may not work for long in stopping the leak if the manifold, as well as the head side are really scaled and pitted. You may have to pull the head as well, and have it and the manifold surfaced.

 

Doing a little more digging, the manifolds do seem to be like the 390GT pics on line.

Both the driver and passenger side manifolds are using the diagonal bolts on the front three cylinders, and then the vertical bolts on the rear-most cylinder. I see some other manifolds that use the diagonal bolt holes on all four cylinders.

Here is a web search image of what is supposedly a '67 Comet driver's side.



And here is my driver's side manifold. They look pretty similar to me, though not exactly the same.



So here is maybe an unconventional backup plan in case I can't get all the bolts out. The stock manifold uses all the vertical bolt holes. If the diagonal bolts on the existing manifold don't come out, can I switch back to stock manifolds, grind the busted bolts flush with the head, and then just re-tap the existing vertical holes that are currently not in use? I'd still have to contend with the rear-most cylinder, but that's a 75% reduction in potential bolt extraction work. It would also involve a bit of re-jiggering the exhaust pipes.

Good news is that stock truck manifolds are about $100 a side and 390GT manifolds seem pretty hard to come by and quite a bit more $$. And maybe I could sell my 390GT manifolds and make some of the money back?? Tell me if this is crazy.