I just bought a beautiful 68 Ranger, 64,000 original miles, no rust with a 360 engine. The engine seems weak with very little power. I was told it would be a waste of $ to rebuild a 360.

What I want is a good, strong running, low maintenance engine that jumps when pushed, (like my 97 Chevy 350). I do not want a high maintenance fully built, rod engine.

Should I rebuild the 360 or change it out to something else.??????

Your suggestions will be appreciated.

JC- Tennessee

 

I whould rebuild your engine when it dies with a 390 setup or even a 430 stroker kit. You'll have more power and all the stuff stays the same in the engine bay because your using the same block with different intenal parts. Check out the FE forum for more info if you plan to stay with the 352 360 390 block. check out this place found it in a past forum wish I whould have seen it about a year ago. http://www.flatlanderracing.com/stroker390430.html

 

I had a 360 in my 72 and instead of rebuilding it I went with a fuel injected 302. I rebuilt it and it was for the most a bolt in deal other then the computer, but a carburated 302 would be the same. I have not checked out the information on the stroker kit for the 360 but I do know that there are more parts at cheaper prices for a 302. That is what I would do.
Robert
72 Ranger XLT W/ 86 5.0L EFI W/ AOD
www.geocities.com/krazdndenver

 

It depends on how deep your pockets are. I have seen some respectable 360s with aluminum intake with 4bbl a cam and headers. Ford marketed about 10 different FE engines with only about 3 cranks and bores. You could go to a 410 with a 410 or 428 crank and rotating assembly.

 

Why would you rebuild an engine with only 64,000 original miles? Or is it 164,000? A trained eye can tell.

If you are certain it is only 64,000- Replace the timing chain, do a complete tune-up (cap, rotor, wires, plugs), freshen up the carb (rebuild), and convert to electronic ignition using the Pertronix or Crane kits that are available.

You'll be able to tell a big difference.

I wouldn't tear into an engine unless I knew it had a dead cylinder or was making noise or burning oil.



Joe

 

well, one thing i can say is if your running a stock 2 barrel engine, theres power to be found. it's nice to have the original type engine when it comes to replacement parts.........if you want something that isnt a head ache stayin with an FE engine will help when it comes time for parts.
if you were rebuilding it i'd spent a little extra to turn it into a 390, but remeber, it's a 30 cubic inch difference and even if your engine made one horse power per cubic inches, goin from a 360 to 390 would be maybe 30 horse difference max on something thats not an all out hot rod....30 horse is 30 horse but theres other ways to make up for it. these engines are work horse oriented and i cant see putting anything smaller in. a 302 is a great motor but unless you spend some cash on the heads i dont think you'll get the torque you want for a heavy truck, not to mention, if you have a c-6 auto those things soak up alot of horse power and torque.
if it truly is a low mile engine, put a 4 barrel manifold, carb, and headers on it and try it for awhile...if you choose to do something else you'll have no problem re-selling the manifold and headers to the rest of us FE junkies....