I have recently purchased a 1963 N600 with a non original motor. The previous owner was unsure what engine was in it. The only info he had was it was a big block Ford. It had a Dagenham Diesel from the factory according to the warranty plate. I believe the engine to be a 330HD as I have a stroke of approx. 3.5" and the pistons cross ref with new pistons that are 3.875" bore. I'm wondering if just swapping the crank and pistons to those of a 391 and punching to 4.050" will provide me with a 391. I believe the rods can stay because they are short rods to my understanding (casting # C3AE-C). Also, I'm wondering if FE heads are a direct replacement for my FT heads as the aftermarket is much friendlier to FE heads (i.e. Intakes, Headers, etc.)

Casting #'s

Crank - C4TE-6303-A
Rods - C3AE-C
Pistons - C4TE-6110-A
Heads - C4TE-6090-D
Intake - C4TE-9425-D

 

Things to watch out for:

1) Distributor difference between FT/FE (and the 330MD)
2) Timing cover, dampener, and the size of the crank seal in the timing cover.

The crank should have some type of markings like 2T (330/360), 2U (390/391), etc.

Ford FE Crankshaft Casting Numbers - FORDification.com

Looks like a 330/361 crank.

Going that big on bore size might not be possible.

Rods, the 360 were different than the 390, not sure if the pin height in the pistons was different for the FT.

 

Thank you for your reply Krewat,

I have the bushing to use the FE distributor and I think I can use the same timing cover and dampener as the 391 crank has the same snout as my current crank (1.75" Dia.). My confusion is with the rods I have. Everywhere I've looked has stated that the C3AE-C rods are short rods. Is this the case?

Thanks,
Keegan

 

It does indeed look like those rods are the short ones. Odd. but who knows what was done to that motor before you got it

 

That's what I thought. I'm going to check the wall thickness of the block to see if I can bore to 4.05". If I can't, is it possible to run a 391 crank with 4.00" bore?

Thanks,
Keegan

 

You can use a 360 fe block and convert it to an FT and then you would be ahead if you want to go that route by using the 361 crank and rotating assembly (or 391 if you locate one) in a 360 with the 360 heads, intake, distributer,exhaust, timing set, and the FT timing cover, motor mounts, dual pot thermostat will gain you the best of both worlds will bolt in place of what's already there gaining hp, tq, drivability, parts availability, and fuel mileage but don't try to go over 8.5-9 to 1 compression otherwise you loose the benefits of the motor in that size of truck.... just my $0.02

 

Thank you for your ideas smokenchoken.

My block was sonic checked and will be able to be safely bored to 4.050". I found a good 391 crank, and am going to run a set of 390 pistons with my stock rods. My plan is to also find some FE heads so I can use aftermarket int/exh manifolds. Hopefully I can find some decent heads for cheap.

 

Any D2TE-AA or C8AE-H heads will be perfect for this.

360 and 390 heads from 1968 and up, and if you want to go "cheap", D2TE-AA heads will have hardened exhaust seats as long as you don't cut the seats and they don't have a lot of miles on them.

 

390 pistons come in a couple flavors. First, back to the rods. Make sure they are the short rods.

390 pickup pistons are really Mercury 410 spec pistons. They have a short (1.67" approx) compression height, and sit .100 + down the hole. 8ish compression, no quench.

390 car pistons are either flat top or slight dish, both with valve reliefs. These same spec pistons were also used on top of the long rods in 360s.

Flat tops were 10.5, slight dish was 9.5 as OEM in late '60s car 390s. Your CR will depend on combustion chamber size.

9.5 would be ok unless you are thinking near max loads or towing.

 

The venture to make build something useful from a FT is an expensive one. I'm almost done with building my 390, starting with both a 391 and a poorly put together 390.

There really isn't much that can be re-used from the FT motors that is practical, other than the block, pan, oil pickup (not the pump), rods, push rods, rocker shaft assemblies, and valve covers.

The balance issues were what convinced me to leave the FT alone. A 391 crank is externally balanced. You will need to have the crank balanced with the balancer and flywheel / flex plate- and hope that you never need to replace one of the three. The weight of the crank is really significantly more than a FE, designed to keep the heavy momentum going for a low revving motor.

Incidentally, if you really want any 391 stuff, I have too much.

 

The rods are the short style. I measured them to be sure.

The pistons I found are Sealed Power H995P. Specs are:

4.050" Bore
1.739" Compression Distance
10cc Dish

With a Stroke of 3.79, rod length of 6.488, and a comp. distance of 1.739,
I should have a deck clearance of .048" if my math is right. With a head volume of 74cc and a gasket thickness of .040", I think I should be at about 8.8 CR.

 

I should be able to use my current flywheel and balancer as the 330HD is also externally balanced, correct?

My main reasoning in using a 391 crank instead of 390 is that I can use my stock timing cover (and retain the factory front engine mount). And if the flywheel/balancer will work with a 391, that will save some cash.

If the flywheel/balancer will not work and I can find a viable option for the front cover issue, I have nothing against using a 390 crank.

 

I used just a stock 352 flywheel and I never had any balance problems but then again I rarely revved over 4000 rpm since in stock form it didn't gain anything after that point and after the upgrades (heads intake headers while keeping the adjustable dizzy) I would spin it up to 5000 but unfortunately the oil pump failed and rod twisted in two and it began to spin a bearing before I stopped but all in all I don't think it was a balance problem... I could of just been lucky I guess but honestly you wouldn't know until you try. ..good luck

 

I wouldn't bet that the 330HD flywheel has the exact same balance weight added to it that a 391FT requires.

 

I'm going to have the entire assembly balanced together just to be sure.