Found something strange on my old engine
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Freshman User
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 43
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From: Brantford, Ontario, Canad
Found something strange on my old engine
I pulled the old engine out of my 68 a couple of weeks ago so I could out the 428 in. I'm waiting on a couple parts before I can complete the installation so I got curious about the one that came out. I was very clean inside so I started thinking that maybe it wasn't the original engine. The casting number on the block is C7ME, which is the same as my 428, and Steve Christ's book lists that number as a 428 as well. Stroke is 3.5" so its a 352/360 crank. I haven't got a way of measuring the bore, but an old .030 428 piston almost fits in the bore. I guess I'll have to pull a piston and see if there's any ID on it.
The question I have is has anyone ever heard of a 360 with the C7ME casting number? If it is a 428 block it makes you wonder why someone would use the 360 crank, unless it was all they had. Wonder what that would do to the compression ratio.
The question I have is has anyone ever heard of a 360 with the C7ME casting number? If it is a 428 block it makes you wonder why someone would use the 360 crank, unless it was all they had. Wonder what that would do to the compression ratio.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: May 2004
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From: Montana
I have been told that Thecasting numbers dont always count because it could just depend on where the block was forged. Now if the .030 over piston almost fits you never know...... but if its a 360 and the bore is 4.05 then you would be looking at a .110" differance in piston size which is almost an 1/8th of an inch, depending on if the motor was bored out. If it was you could be looking at .080" to .050" differance and that might look close...... about the thicknessof 2 or 3 finger nails.
Junior User
Joined: Sep 2004
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From: Mount Laurel NJ
360 vs 428
Few, very few, 360's can be bored to 428. There is simply not enough cylinder wall, especially considering foundry core shift, to bore a 360 block to 4.13". The 428 blocks got thicker cylinder cores at the block foundries. C7ME is a common casting number found on 360, 390, and 428's. Steve Christ's book has a few inaccuracies as far as casting numbers go.
Take a tape measure, and measure across the top of the bore at its widest point. If the bore is 4 1/8" (4.125") it is a 428 (4.13"). less than that is a 360/390. It should be pretty obvious to the naked eye. I would bet it is a 360. If it were a 428 that had been rebuilt, it would likely be .030 from the rebuild and your 428 piston would fit. Besides, I don't think Ford made an off the shelf piston/rod combo to work with a 360 stroke and a 428 bore, which means that customs pistons would have been needed.
Paul G.
Take a tape measure, and measure across the top of the bore at its widest point. If the bore is 4 1/8" (4.125") it is a 428 (4.13"). less than that is a 360/390. It should be pretty obvious to the naked eye. I would bet it is a 360. If it were a 428 that had been rebuilt, it would likely be .030 from the rebuild and your 428 piston would fit. Besides, I don't think Ford made an off the shelf piston/rod combo to work with a 360 stroke and a 428 bore, which means that customs pistons would have been needed.
Paul G.
Needsmorecoffee.
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 3,624
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From: CT
And destroking a engine is an easy way to achieve higher RPM's. Maybe it's a destroked 428 which would be a cool but who knows. I've found some weird parts in engines over the years which has had me say WTF was this guy thinking. Some things were intentional and some were just hodge podge. You never know....G.
Hotshot
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 11,141
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From: south louisiana
It's more than likely a 60 over 360. I have a similar 390 that has the same casting #. It's also 60 over. And a std bore 428 piston will fit into a 60 over 390 bore, backwards up to the skirt. The piston tops are always slightly smaller than the skirt, which is the actual bore size, minus a couple thousandths.
