Picked up a 77 f250 and still learning about it. Was told it has a 390 but vin says 460? Seems like she has a lot of beef.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dCjBfCjNZVdNF9dr7

 

That is an FE and could be a 390. Is it? More detective work is needed because the way the world works is, "All 360s become 390s on sale day."

 

It's an FE, and they never made a 2V 385 series .

It could be a 360 or the low compression 390 . the only way to tell without tearing it apart is to measure the stroke.

 

So the 4th digit VIN on the truck is a "J" code ?...that would be a factory original 460 if that is the case...however like everyone else that chimed in, the pictures posted on this thread is definitely an FE with the distinct factory designed water pump and the factory truck exhaust manifolds that are shown...

4th digit "Y" code is a factory original 360...
4th digit "H" code is a factory original 390...

Actually, Ford did produce a 2V 385 series......

I seen a few station wagons and one passenger car equipped with 2V 429's - almost bought one but passed it up as the engine ran like crap - as the misconception of the seller (and a couple others) tend to say "nobody really wants 429 2BBL heads" and I tell them there is no such thing as 429 2BBL heads, only the factory intake manifold itself is 2BBL, while the heads themselves are the same oval port design.

X2 upon confirming this FE from the thread starter's truck reference to measuring the stroke to determine what exact displacement it is.....which I done when a friend of mine was looking to buy a 76 F250 4x4 and wanted me to see if I could confirm this engine to be a 390 somehow as the owner claimed he swapped a 390 engine in it as my friend noticed the "Y" code on the VIN as a factory installed 360...

First thing I did was to see what the date casting code showed on the block, which was May 1973 - told my friend it's possible since this engine block wasn't original to the truck - so the owner had a real thin straight aluminum rod for me to use as I had a sharpie to mark the position at TDC inserting the rod in the #1 cylinder and hand turned it to the BDC position and marked the rod again....and lucky for my friend the owner wasn't lying and we confirmed it was a 390 stroke...3-3/4 between the marks, which was more than the 3-1/2 that a 360 stroke would show.

Other than that, a 352 has the same stroke as a 360, and a 406 has the same stroke as a 390 - however those displacements are earlier pre 68 FE's as I would think one can tell the difference looking at a potential early 60's FE vs the typical more common FE's of the late 60's thru the mid 70's, as one would need to do more research or perhaps tearing down an engine if one can't determine after other process of elimination factors if one suspects a 352 or 406 engine swap in one of our 70's FE equipped trucks.

 

What VIN are you looking at? Paper title, door tag or frame stamping. Do yourself a favor and take the rubber plug out of the right valve cover and put a breather in. Yes it's an FE style engine, I always thought 76 was the last year for the FE engine in pickups.

 

I have had a few of the ford 390 engines. Working on one in my F250 at this time. The picture you have here looks exactly like mine. I would say it is a 390. They are a strong motor.
Some people have pulled the 460 because it was troublesome and had very poor fuel mileage.

 

I see 5 bolt type valve covers, 2 on lower side, 3 on top. Valve covers also look to cover the intake. That is a FE series in those pictures. 1977 was 45 years ago, a lot of water under the bridge. It could have come with a 460 if 2wd, but pretty easy to swap to almost anything the further you go back in time when parts, wrecks, etc were more plentiful and cheaper. It could have a 352 and Cruisomatic for all we know, but that ain't a 460.

I see a tag on the left valve cover bolt? Any yellow writing anywhere, like with a yellow paint stick? Might offer clues?

Valve Cover Bolt Quanity (each valve cover)

2 bolts: "Y" Blocks
239/256/272/292/312 (produced from 1954 to 1964)

5 bolts: FE Series
332/352/360/361/390/391/406/410/427/428

6 bolts: SBF group
221/260/289/302/351W

7 bolts: 385 Series
429/460

8 bolts: 335 Series
351C/351M/400

 

Don't they all have 390s??

Years ago a good friend had a '74 HB and he told us that the previous owner, the original owner special ordered it with a 390.
I serious doubt that the previous owner ever told him that. He embellished a lot of stories.

 

In 1969 & '70 Ford offered a 429-2v in a few vehicles. 460 lb ft torque @ 2200 rpm. Killer truck engine.