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Just purchased a 1970 F-250; VIN shows it came original with a 390 cid, but I am wondering if it has been changed. The oil drain plug empties in the center of the crossmember; I doubt it was designed that way. On the left front of the block the number 352 is casted, and just under that 23 is cast. The valve covers are 5 bolt and the intake manifold has C9AE9425-B cast on it. Any thoughts on what I am working with would be appreciated.
Joe
rAll those things, including the automatic "rust proofing", point to an FE. At this point, it could be any FE. 360s magically become 390s on sale day. 2BBL or 4BBL? You can poke a wire down a plug hole at TDC and BDC to get a measure on the stroke.
"352" was cast into all FE blocks up to a point in the '70s. C9...on your manifold would be good for '70 as C9...indicates a 1969 casting revision.
Welcome to the FTE Forum. Like "@85e150six4mtodsaid the easy way to check which engine you have is to measure the stroke. Both the 360 and the 390 have the same Bore (4.05 inch). The 360 stroke is 3.50 inch. The 390 stroke is 3.786 (a hair over 3/4"). Oh yeah, the oil drain is just a mess, they sure didn't plan that out too well. The 352, 360 and 390 all share the same block. There were a few variations, but most all say "352" in the casting. I asked the same question when I first got on this forum. Take a couple of minutes and read the "READ THIS FIRST" stickies at the top of the forum. There is a bunch of knowledge there.
Welcome to the FTE Forum. Like "@85e150six4mtodsaid the easy way to check which engine you have is to measure the stroke. Both the 360 and the 390 have the same Bore (4.05 inch).
The 360 stroke is 3.50 inch. The 390 stroke is 3.786 (a hair over 3/4"). Oh yeah, the oil drain is just a mess, they sure didn't plan that out too well.
The 352, 360 and 390 all share the same block.
352 block different from 360/390 because the bore is: 4.00."