Hi I have a 1968 ford f100. My moter is a 360 with a C6 trany. I am ready to do an engine build. I am on a student budget so I dont have unlimited amount of funds. I am looking for about 350 hp and 400 ft. pounds of torque. What would I need to do to get this. Without adding aluminum heads. Any info is appreciated. Thanks

 

Rebuild the heads, have them milled a little, some portwork, edlbrock RPM intake, 650, carb, Crane 901 cam, headers and you should be close.
someone with a desktop dyno will know better cuz they can run a proven combo for you.
And yes, yes turn it into a 390, if you have the $$, but I still say you can build a stout 360, and some day I will to prove it.

 

Skater, with a high torque intake, 650 carb, 9.5:1 cr, 343901 cam, heads pocket ported, small headers w/ mufflers, you would see 369 hp @ 5,000, 419 tq @1,500, 459 @ 3,000 falling to 419 tq @ 4,500 with the cam installed straight up. 91.3% eff @ 4,000. This was from Dynosim's. Carl........o&o>......

 

You cant easily get 9.5 compression in a 360. You need custom pistons. We've been through this in previous threads.

FWIW you would be far ahead to convert to a 390. Then you have many piston options, good compression, and more torque. The only reason to do a 360 is for a custom destroked high revving race motor, or for a basically stock torque motor.

Basically the only real options on a 360 are a 4 barrel intake, headers, porting the heads, and .020" thick copper shim head gaskets. With a 360 the 901 cam should work good. It still falls short of your goals, according to my DD2k though.

Here's what I would do:
1. Buy a 390 crank and a set of 390 rods. This makes things 100% easier, and they're not that expensive. If you have a junkyard close to you, F250's commonly have 390's in them.
2. Check your block's bore. If it's tapered (which it most likely is) get it bored. Also, check the bores for dimension at the bottom, under where the rings ran. Stock was 4.050". Any more and it's been overbored before. At any rate, get it bored for the next oversize. If it's currently at stock bore diameter the size you want is 4.080", which is a .030" overbore. Get your pistons first and your machinist can fit them to the block when he bores it, as per the piston manufacturers recommended bore clearance.
3. Get a set of KB-Silvolite 1131 cast pistons, with the 1.76" compression height. These will give you good compression and are affordable. Just dont run nitrous in it.
4. Run your stock 360 heads, but port them. You can save money by doing it yourself. I got an air-power rotary tool and a set of stones at the local Farm & Fleet for under $30. Polish the chambers if you have time, it helps prevent ping and should allow you to run more timing and / or lower octane gas.
5. Get an Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, and make sure the intake ports in the heads match the ports in the new intake manifold. The intake gasket works good for a reference. Get a Holley 600cfm vacuum secondary carburetor to go with it.
6. Get the Crane 343941 cam. Also get new lifters and matching valve springs.
7. Get a set of adjustable rocker arms. This allows you to accurately set lifter preload. Dont forget to get the matching ball and cup pushrods, the standard ones will not work.
8. Get a set of headers, and run dual exhaust. I'm running Hedman's on mine. Also, get a set of Victor Nitroseal header gaskets, they dont leak.
9. Of course, a full gasket set, bearing set, and rings.

According to DD2k, this puts you at 10 to 1 compression, 382hp @ 5000rpm, and 437 ft-lbs @ 3500rpm.

My fingers are sore.

 

Ok thanks. I would like add speed pro 390 .30 over pistons. will these fit in my 360. and will they make more power.thanks for the info.

 

rusty your correct on "not easily getting 9.5 cr", a local person in my town built a few 360's with BME pistons and ran 10.25:1 cr and spun the long rod motors to 6,400. His trucks made power and revs. Way above the low cost
budget builds. Carl......o&o>........

 

Rusty- What do you estimate a rough cost for your above scenario??

 

Nope... The 390 pistons actually have a lower compression height than the 360 pistons. It's the stroke of the 390 crank that gets the compression numbers up. How much do you plan to spend on this rebuild?

--Mike

 

Not Rusty70, but my similar 390 is sitting around the $2500 mark now and still has room to grow (my machine guys love it when I stop by to shop)

--Mike

 

I haven't really got time to go through and tally up all the costs. Just go down the numbered stuff from my last post and add it up. Most stuff can be found online at DSC or Jegs. Some of it is going to be variable, like the cost of the 390 crank and rods, that really depends on what your junkyard wants for 'em. Also, the machining costs generally vary from one machine shop to another.

If I had to make a rough guesstimate, I'd say around $2000.

Skater, if you mean the speed pro / TRW L2291's, these will make exactly the same compression as the 360 pistons you have now. They'll be stronger for sure, but you wont notice any gain from putting them in a 360. Now in a 390, they are the perfect piston. The only problem with them is the cost. If you can get by that, they're great!

I looked at those BME pistons, look like great quality for sure, but look at the price! BME Pistons.

 

Ok thanks for the great responses. I have a budget of about 3500 dollars. What could I do with this and how can I utalize it the best way.

 

Follow the above plan and add forged pistons and a nitrous system.

 

You could build my motor minus the Edel heads
It's all isted here:http://members.***.net/randy-barnett
All the machine work came to 735.00..

 

Skater, it's been 18 plus years ago with 5 years looking for parts but i made a 414 (410) with a slugged crank, 13/32 rods, 427 LR heads, oversize stainless valves, hogged Performer intake, Thorley headered, old design 270/290 CJ cam, roller rockered, 391 panned, HV pumped, motor with $1,600 out of pocket money. Still running great at 298,000 miles.Now today when i start to build the 482" motor it's going to cost more, $ 5,800 ?, (hide the bills from the wife zone) Ha Ha ! It's not how fast you want to go but how big is your wallet.
Carl.......o&o>....