I have a 79 U-Haul with a flatbed on it it's got a 330 HD in it heck of a motor you can't beat it it runs good and smooth but it's a gas hog and it's a slug no power does anyone out there know of a way that I can beef this engine up and give it some power just by working on the top end maybe changing the heads a cam a bigger carburetor intake I know you can take an fa engine and just about do anything with them you can make them scream they made 19 different Motors out of the 352 blog so I'm just curious and I want to know what the difference is between Fe and ft, so if any of you big Ford man out there could please give me some info in a few tips I would really be appreciated and my transmission also has a big drum brake on the tail shaft of it I love that thing I can park it on a side of a hill with a load of logs on it without scotching it it's just handy to have.

 

The 330 is very low compression to start with - that's going to limit what it will do no matter what. You COULD put FE heads and intake on it, but I doubt you will get much out of it.

A 391 would probably be best.

 

If it has a 330 FT engine, it cannot be a 1979, as FT's were cancelled at the end of the 1978 model run. 370/429 engines replaced the FT's beginning in 1979.

To verify the year, post the last 6 digits of the VIN

 

If it's a 330 HD the heads,intake and exhaust manifolds are different from a FE
If it's a 330 MD they'll inner change with FE parts.

370 2v was a bigger slug than a 330.

 

Ford installed 330 FT engines into F350 chassis for a large U-Haul fleet order in the 1979 model year. It was the last of the FT engines produced and was designated the 330XD since it was basically a 330HD designed to fit into a light duty truck chassis. Pics below are of a network54 FE forum member's F350 330XD U-Haul truck built in the spring of 1979.

 

And, I have documentation that proves/supports that. I forgot from who, but it might have been you

I really need to get my scanner out of the closet

 

That's interesting, I knew Ford had switched to the 370 in the late 70's but didn't know they had ever put a 330 in a F-350.
It would be interesting to know if they designed a special exhaust manifold to fit the HD heads or if they used MD heads that will work with the standard pickup manifolds.
Everything else would have been pretty much a bolt on deal.

 

Just a glance at the manifold will answer your question. The FT manifolds had an exhaust crossover passage in the center of the head with it's own port, whereas the FE's crossover was internal terminating inside the middle ports.

 

X 2 on this. The 330 was never intended to be more than a minimal performer to start with. Doubly so in a U-haul truck.

 

Yea I know the differences but I've never seen on of those 330 powered U-Haul F-350's to see what head and manifold they used.

 

Over the next few days, I'll try and find the documentation I was given. It had part numbers for a lot of things.

BTW, I'm not entire sure the 330 in these things was "heavy duty" - the XD moniker was just a "we're not sure what to call it" - like Destroked said, I'm thinking it was an FE style head.

 

That would be good to know
Looking at the pic it appears to have the HD timing cover and water pump with the large bypass hose coming from the tstat housing.
The double tstat housing looks like one for a FT powered N series, the top hose outlet on F series pointed up.
What I can see of the exhaust manifold appears to be a standard FE pickup item

 

Krewat I used to think the same that the 330XD was some sort of Hybrid with a combination of FT and FE parts. But then I ran across the 2008 post linked below on this forum . It explains the origin of the 330XD engine. According to this post it uses all HD FT parts except for the oil bath air cleaner and special exhaust manifolds to fit into the F350 chassis. I am not sure how accurate this info is but it does line-up with what I have heard from owners of these trucks. When you get a chance please post the info from your files that you referred to as I am curious to learn more about these engines.

 

This is the entire thread from which the link in the last post was lifted:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...he-330-hd.html

That thread also links to other threads on the 330XD.

 

Thanks I meant to attach the link not sure where it went.