I have a 360 in my 73' F250 Camper Special (2wd). I didnt think there was a great deal of differance between the 360 and 390 but the more i hear the more i believe. I have no problems with the 360, it runs great, but a horsepower gain would be great. Would it be worth converting to a 390 with the kit? How much would it cost to convert? Any other ideas to get the most out of my 360 would be great.

 

Does your truck have a 4 barrel carb and manifold? If not, consider getting an 4 barrel intake manifold and carb and a cam. If your still not satisfied, go with a 390. www.larrysperformance.com has a 390 rebuild kit that will work with your engine for under $400. You'll still need to take it to a machine shop and bore and hone it, and I'm not sure how much thats gunna cost. Good luck!

 

Its a 2-barrel. how much do you think it would run to switch to the 4 Barrel

 

Hi 3ondatree, go to the wreckers you should find a iron 4 barrel man. Used carb can be risky unless they guarantee good. Iron intake, $30-$50, carb, $50 (?). For the money and labor go the first time to 390, 410 would make you proud. Carl.........o&o>............

 

It really depends on how much performance you want. A 360 can be made to perform very well, and to put it in simple terms can be easily made to out accelerate / pull / perform most new comparable trucks.

Here's how I'd start:
1. Edelbrock performer intake. Should match the stock ports on the heads. Plus, it's a LOT lighter than the stock 4-barrel intake. If you get the performer RPM you'll have to port the opening of the intake ports on the heads. Just round 'em off to match the gaskets and you'll be fine. I just got done doing this. Stick a Holley 600cfm vacuum secondary carb on top of it.

2. Crane 343971 cam. Should be perfect for a 360, and let it breathe much better than the stock cam.

3. Headers and dual exhaust. This is a must. The stock exhaust logs absolutely suck. Use mufflers / glasspacks / straight pipes to your liking.

If you really want to convert to a 390, you have a number of options. If you want to keep it near stock power levels (not porting the heads), you can get away with using a 390 crank with the 360 rods and new 1.680" compression height pistons. Do this if you're getting the block bored oversize due to excessive bore taper. If you're not boring it over, keep the 360 pistons and get 390 crank and rods. Do the above mods, but substitute the Crane 343941 cam for the 343971. It's more suited for the higher compression ratio of a 390.

It's up to you. How much do you want to spend?

 

The 390 would really help move the weight of the heavy truck. You can get a 390 crank, rods, and pistons, but there is a couple of ways as Rusty was saying. He's kinda 360 bias. The stock FE intake is one of the heaviest out there but the best priced.

 

One thing you guys are forgetting with the fac. 4bbl manifold. The HEADS!!! Big difference between intake ports on 4v vs. 2v heads. never believed there was a difference until had my 4v 390 apart. The ports on the 4v are huge. Also if you can find a Thunderbird 390 set of heads and intake my grand-dad put those on his 360 which is a 2v and that thing produces some good power.

 

there is no difference in port size between a standard 2bbl and 4bbl. This is a cleveland thing.