Hey everyone! I have been rattling around the idea of how best to approach the build on my Sons truck and the engine to use. I originally was going to go with a 302 HO from a 89-93 because of the aftermarket parts and EFI harness that can be purchased for it. To this day I have not been able to find that engine/tranny for a decent price. Currently, he has a three-speed speed column shift with a 360 2 wheel drive. I wanted the 302 not so much for added fuel economy (though a lot of threads people have stated they do get slightly better MPG) but wanted to step away from a carb for cold starts and negating the requirement of having the carb rebuilt down the road as cabrs need from time to time. So plan B is to stay with the 360, rebuild it and bring it up to a 390 by replacing the crack, rods, piston, and then throwing an EFI kit on it like the FiTech or Holly Sniper. (though the FiTech is a little cheaper, may not be a good thing though)

I have rebuilt a couple engines back in the day with my dad and brothers but I was just a glorified attendee watching while they turned the wrenches. I am active duty Army (currently deployed) and plan on buying the parts and have them delivered by the time I rotate back so that we can get his build rolling. I plan on using the manual I purchased on Ford FE engines for the rebuild, youtube, and this great group of people here. Below are my questions.

1. Is there a 360 to 390 kit that is good quality (not afraid to pay more for quality parts) that I can get for the build and have all the parts and not piece together the upgrade. Is this kit any good on eBay?

https://www.ebay.com/i/262476019219?chn=ps&dispItem=1

2. During the build what should I take to a machine shop? I plan on tearing it down to a bare block and take it to a shop with the main caps fastened a crank, and the pistons and connecting rods I plan to use, plus the cylinder heads. What should I specifically ask for them to do before my Son and I start the process of rebuilding it? Just need the right verbiage so that I don't get taken for a fool. I appreciate any advice that can be given. I am not looking for an HP monster build here. I just want to put together a dependable engine that will last a while for the kid.

3. What rebuild kit do yall recommend? Or should I ask the machine shop what they can provide or should I go with a kit like this one?

https://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/ ... /make/ford

I appreciate your time helping my Son and I sort this out and look forward to the what you all have to say. Have a blessed day.

Michael

 

 

I would start with the tear down before ordering parts. Machine shop may have to size pistons and bearings depending on the blocks condition. For the fun of it check out Survival Motor sports. That's were my next Fe will come from!

 

Welcome to FTE and the Bumpside Kingdom.
Not only "Thank You For Your Service", but I gotta say I'm proud as a Peacock of you. Any Man who serves his country then starts on a Father/Son truck project, is one heck of a Man in my book.
I think you'll get a bunch of different opinions on building a FE. You might check these out:
ENGINE BUILDS
... Engine Cores, Planning & Research, Picking a Machine Shop, and More
... Build Your First Engine
... How to Engine Rebuild for Cheap!
... Build Your First Performance Engine
FTE Members'Engine Compartments!

I got that info from here top of our home page:

Read First: Technical Info Hyperlink Compilation ( 1 2)

 

You could always contact "sandjengines.com" and get a rebuilt engine and install the efi yourself. I think they have a 7 year warrenty on their engines.