Long story short, my 72 F100 seized up over two years ago and I want it back up and running . It was a 240ci with 3 on the floor. Engine was rebuilt at some point by a (less-than-great) local mechanic, and it had over 500k miles when it died.

I found a 72 F250 with a 390 and a 4 speed for about a grand not too far from me; owner claims it runs no issues. I'm hoping that everything will carry over (manifolds, exhaust, etc...) and I won't have to peice a bunch of stuff together. Can anyone confirm this? Both trucks are short bed RWD.

Is the 390 a solid motor? It doesn't seem to be as popular as the 302/351, are parts readily available?

Edit: At $1k, I may buy the F250 either way because I think with some elbow grease I could flip it, and my wife gave me permission .

 

No short bed f250s as far as I know. That is a red flag. Otherwise buying an entire donor truck is the best way to go. T4uck may actually be a long bed so you might need a driveshaft. 390s are good, torquey, not great on fuel.

 

Well sincerely doubt it's a 390. More or less guaranteed it's a 360. Good news your current perches and transmission will work with the 360 swap. Move the perches forward and use the 360 bellhousing.

 

At second glance, the F250 is not short bed. The distance between the rear wheel and the back of the cab is longer than my truck .

What makes you think it's a 360? If it's a 360 I'll probably pass. I've heard they're stout motors but underpowered, especially for the MPG they get.

 

I think what "ford390gashog" was refering to was that on selling day all the 360's become 390's. Because everyone wants a 390, and unless you actually measure the stroke, there is no way to tell the two engines apart. But since it's a 72 there is a good chance that it is a 390. The warranty plate will say what engine was installed.The "Y" code is the 360 and the "H" code is the 390. But a 360 with a set of headers will make a big difference.

 

1968/76 F100/350: There were far more 360's installed than 390's, because 390's cost more. On 4WD's, the 360 was the only V8 available.

Most people are aware of the 390, because it was also installed in 1961/71 cars.

But some people have never heard of the 360, but of those that have, some think that Ford bought 360's from Dodge, then installed them.

 

Because a 390 was never installed in 4x4 trucks. Also because the engines are identical looking the only way to tell is by measuring stroke or crank casting numbers.

 

I believe the OP stated the truck was RWD and not 4x4. Either way it would be best to measure the stroke just to know for sure.

 

When the 360 was introduced in 1968, it wasn't considered under powered, quite the contrary. Back then a gallon of 105 octane premium was about 35 cents and no one gave a hoot about MPG

It's only recently when people began restoring these trucks that the 360 has gotten a bad rap. 360/390 share the same bore (4.05"), the only difference is the stroke.

You want under powered? Get an F100 w/a 302, then tow a small travel trailer with it. A pal of mine bought a new 1970 F100 302, thought it would get better MPG than the 1962 F100 292 he had been driving.

He then towed his small travel trailer up to the Sierras to go trout fishing, but it wasn't long before he complained that the truck overheated on the slightest grade, and the MPG was worse than the 292.

He also said the 302 didn't have enough torque "to pull a sick trollop off a porcelain device." I liked this comment so much, I've been using it ever since (cleaning it up a bit when using it here).

I sold him a fan shroud I knew would fit (Ford didn't offer one for the 302 until 1971), a 7 blade fan and fan clutch, then told him to hook up a sprayer.

It never overheated again, but the MPG didn't improve.

 

Assuming it is a 360, what kind of power could I expect out of it? I'm not looking for big power, and obviously MPG isn't my concern or I wouldn't be building a 40 year old V8 truck, but I want something that's got some guts to it.

With the 240 and 3 speed my truck moved just below the speed of smell, all while getting a solid 10mpg. Still daily drove it for a year despite having two other cars that are faster/more efficient/comfortable.

 

My '66 has a 240 and my '64 now has a 390. Boy are they day and night to each other. There is a lot of stuff for the FE motors. It just usually costs more. You could ask down on the FE engine forum. I plan on replacing the 240 with a 300 and when the 390 needs to be retired, putting in a 300 in it.
john

 

So after further research it appears that FE motors are not cheap to build/repair. I'm not looking to spend a whole lot on this truck right now, I just want to be able to drive it again.

I'm thinking that for $1000-1500 I could get this F250 and any necessary parts, do a transplant, and just expect to have to put up some cash should I ever need to rebuild it.

Would it be cheaper, long-term, to try and find a donor 5.0 out of a Fox/SN95 and carb it?

Also, how hard is it to sell a F250 roller? I won't have room to keep it and while it's not the cleanest truck ever, I couldn't bring myself to scrap it.

 

There is a giant demand for these trucks. If it's running you shouldn't have a hard time selling it.