i have a friend that has a 360 block , no heads etc . i was thinking about putting it in my 1955 f100 . are they a good engine ? what is the hp rating on this motor . and is it worth my time and effort because i already have a rebuildable 302 sitting in the garage. thanks for the input.

 

Well...

You have to ask yourself what you want the engine to do. If all you want, and are ever going to want is a simple daily driver, and to do what every other person around does, then yes, go 302.

Now, if you want the awe-inspiring look, sound, and power of an FE sitting under the hood, then yes, build it up. And yes, the FE is a very good bulletproof engine capable of just about any usage.

Now for the specifics. The 360 is not the best engine to build. Fortunately, the 390 is a great engine to build, and the two share the same block. Here's the going buildup as I see it:

1. 390 crank and rods, 360 pistons - NOT 361FT pistons!, TRW L2291's are a good forged pistons with the right dimensions if you want to go forged.
2. C4AE-G heads, or Edelbrock Performer RPM.
3. Edelbrock Performer RPM intake
4. Holley 600cfm vacuum secondary carb
5. Headers
6. Dual exhaust
7. Crane 343941 cam
8. Adjustable rocker arm assembly, matching pushrods, DSC has 'em.

With Edelbrock heads I'm showing this build at 389hp @ 5500rpm, and 431ft-lbs @ 4000rpm in desktop dyno, with a fairly flat torque curve.

Does this build look good to you? We can adjust it as necessary.

 

wow thats alot, how much do you think i will get out of mine with 360 crank and rods, 390 forged pistons bored .30, rebuilt cast heads, comp cam, edelbrock performer intake w/ 600 cfm carb or 750 whichevers better, k&n air filter and all the other basic stuff (everythings more or less new)

 

The 302 will be easier on fuel though than a 360 / 390 . Pickup trucks with 302 basically just get you there and dont tow as well . Just my opinion with
stock engines .

 

Not quite as much... Make sure you are putting 390 car pistons in there or your compression will be too low. Basically you are looking at a nice 360 motor, should be in the 280 HP range (just a guestimate). In order for Rusty70 to run the DD numbers, he will need to know what cam grind or details you have.

--Mike

 

I can almost guarantee you have compression below 8.4:1. If your cam is too big (which it most likely is) your motor will likely be a pig. Sorry, but that's how it works. To support a big cam, you need high compression. That's just how it works. I can run it through DD2k though if you give me the cam number and piston type. What heads did you use on it? You could probably get decent compression if you used one of the early cylinder heads, like C0AE-D or C3AE-C.

The correct way to get decent compression is with a set of custom pistons. You want ones with a 1.88" compression height.

 

I dont agree that a 302 is better on fuel. From what ive seen there about the same milege as a FE. Even though there small, they burn lots of gas because there kinda weak and they have to work harder to keep up. Theres a user here on FTE that has a 460, he built the motor himslef and gets 17mpg with a 3.00 rear. Theres a lot more to mileage then what size the motor is.

 

hey, im runnin a Comp Cams high energy with a 268 degree adv. dur. and .494" lift with an idle at 1500-5500 and my pistons i think he said would give me about 9:1 compression, and my heads are off of around a 74

 

Well sorry to tell you this, but the available pistons for that bore size say that you have at the most 8.4:1. More likely is 8.0:1. Can you get me a brand and part number?

 

oh im not sure what they are then, im not sure what they are cuz the shop ordered em

 

Rusty, didn't Ford years ago advertise their =compression ratios that were higher than what they really were? Like a 10.5:1 motor if lucky was only like 9.9:1, on and on?

Carl....=o&o>....

 

Hey, why isn't the 360 a good engine to build? I don't wanna mess with crank and rods and all that jazz. I was lookin at puttin a 218 218 110 centerline .512 .512 lift cam in my 360 and maybe getting some after market pistons for it. I don't wanna mess with the crank. Also i was gonna put a new intake and some headers on it with a Holley 600cfm vacuum secondary 4bbl.

Erik

 

pepper, i was just reading some old posts and they said the 361 with 7.4-1 comp. made 210hp ands 345 ftlbs. and the 360 with 8.4-1 made 215hp and 330 ftlbs. thats not bad and could easily be improved.


78 f150 460 4V 4.11 C6
83 GT 302 4V 3.73 5sp.

HOLLEY POWERED

 

Well, the problem with building a 360 is that ALL of the available aftermarket pistons available have too low of compression height. This means that the top of the piston is too low in the bore at TDC. This means you get low compression. I calculated stock 360 compression to be around 7.8:1. There are NO available pistons to raise this. The only option is to get a custom set of pistons with a compression height of 1.88". This will put the top of the piston even with the deck, and give you good compression. And yes, ford did over-estimate their compression.

The problem with your approach of putting a bigger cam in, is the connection between your camshaft and the compression ratio of the engine. There are two forms of compression. Static and dynamic. Static is what you think of when you talk about compression ratio. Swept volume over combustion volume. Dynamic is calculated by figuring the intake valve closing angle into your calculation. Dynamic compression tells you how much compression you actually build, and will ALWAYS be lower than static compression. So when you put a bigger cam in an already low compression motor, the intake valve closes later, and your dynamic compression goes way down. This makes the motor a pig. You need to raise your static compression ratio to support a big cam. That's just the way it works.

Are you starting to see why it's better to convert to a 390? You're going to have to take the rods and pistons out anyway, so why not convert it to a 390? Then you get the correct aftermarket pistons, more stroke, stronger rods, higher compression, and you can run the big cam.

Sorry for the book. Class dismissed.

 

a buddy of mine built a 302 with a big cam in it and he used stock pistons. I can't recall if they were dished or not but his engine rips. I understand what you are saying but I don't wanna mess with puttin a new crank in it. I'm selling two vehicles and am looking to build a 360 for around 500 bucks or so.

erik