73-79 ford front clip
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Joined: Jul 2002
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From: waco
Gas hog, My wheel base is 117 inches.
Matt, that 390 will be an excelant upgrade for your truck. I have a 460 now, but I did have a 390. That old 390 was a very good engine. I don't have the bed on yet, but I'll let you know when I get it there.
Doc.
Matt, that 390 will be an excelant upgrade for your truck. I have a 460 now, but I did have a 390. That old 390 was a very good engine. I don't have the bed on yet, but I'll let you know when I get it there.
Doc.
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Elder User
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 651
Likes: 0
From: northeast, KY
isn't the 390 a smaller version of a 428? is 200 dollars a pretty good deal? i know the truck ran, but it has been sitting for some amount of time now (a couple of years ago), i know it will need to be rebuilt, and i might go through the tranny too.
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,335
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From: waco
Gas hog, Yep, lol. I thought I told you I had a short wheel base. When I said short....I meant short. It's a neat little hot rod with that 460.
A 390 and a 428 look the same on the out side, but a 428 actualy has a bigger bore. Some 390 blocks can be bored out to a 428, but not many. In a pre 73 model truck that is a half ton, I would be pretty careful. A 360 and 390 are identical engines except for the crank rods and pistons. A lot of people call a 360 a 390 when it's time to sell, and a 360 isn't near as good of an engine as a 390.
You'll have to make up your own mind as to whether the truck is worth 200. I would think if it checks out to be a 390 then maybe so, if it checks out to be a 360....Then I would wait on the next one. If the truck is rusted so bad that it is colapsing and tearing stuff up, then your basicly paying 200 bucks for a rebuildable core....That seems like a lot.
I paid 600 for a parts truck, but it had a 460 and c6 in it that had about 5000 miles on a rebuild, and the body was actualy in good shape. I used the motor and transmision for my truck, sold a few parts to a friend of mine, then traded the rest of it for other parts that I needed.
Doc
A 390 and a 428 look the same on the out side, but a 428 actualy has a bigger bore. Some 390 blocks can be bored out to a 428, but not many. In a pre 73 model truck that is a half ton, I would be pretty careful. A 360 and 390 are identical engines except for the crank rods and pistons. A lot of people call a 360 a 390 when it's time to sell, and a 360 isn't near as good of an engine as a 390.
You'll have to make up your own mind as to whether the truck is worth 200. I would think if it checks out to be a 390 then maybe so, if it checks out to be a 360....Then I would wait on the next one. If the truck is rusted so bad that it is colapsing and tearing stuff up, then your basicly paying 200 bucks for a rebuildable core....That seems like a lot.
I paid 600 for a parts truck, but it had a 460 and c6 in it that had about 5000 miles on a rebuild, and the body was actualy in good shape. I used the motor and transmision for my truck, sold a few parts to a friend of mine, then traded the rest of it for other parts that I needed.
Doc
Fleet Owner
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,007
Likes: 575
From: Brentwood,CA
well the 360 is not a bad engine it just has lower compression than a 390 .the tired old 360 i pulled out of mine to put in the 428 had 267,000 on it and still ran good but was lacking on power. the f-250 and higher came with the 390's they also had factory 4bbl intakes the f-100 and f-150 had the 360 engines with factory 2 bbl carbs.
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,335
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From: waco
Oh. Ok. I see.
In my experiences with a 360 and 390, a 390 had a lot more torque, lasted longer, and actualy got better fuel mileage than a 360.
Doc
In my experiences with a 360 and 390, a 390 had a lot more torque, lasted longer, and actualy got better fuel mileage than a 360.
Doc
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Joined: Jun 2005
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From: northeast, KY
lol...it kinda confused me how this was possible, it's like a 302 and a 351 windsor, they look the same on the outside, and the heads can bolt up to one another, but i know that a 302 has to get better gas mileage than the 351. well, i dunno, i guess since it has more power that it doesn't have to use as much gas as the 302 will to get up to speed.
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