i have a 352 engine and i want to up the hp. what parts can i swap or buy to do this. also can i get headers for 79 f250 auto 2wd. thx john s ford

 

Depends on if you want to rebuild it. That engine is directly replaced by the 360 390 428 all of which run lots better than the 352. consider them

 

>Depends on if you want to rebuild it. That engine is
>directly replaced by the 360 390 428 all of which run
>lots better than the 352. consider them

Tom can you define "all of which run lots better than the 352" for me please? I will agree that they are larger cubes.
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In the cool still quiet of night, you can hear chevies rusting away.

 

Check out the FE engine forum on this site. A number of us spend far too much time there comparing notes and sharing advice about warming up these engines.

As for headers, I assume you mean that the 352 is in your '79. The 352 was last offered by Ford in the 1967 F series trucks. From 1968 to 1976, Ford offered its close relatives the 360 and 390 in the F series (though only the 360 was available in the 4x4's). As the 73-79 trucks are virtually identical, I would guess that headers for a 73-76 360 4x4 would also fit a 352 in a 79.

 

Karl, I bet he saw the 352 on the front of the engine.
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In the cool still quiet of night, you can hear chevies rusting away.

 

Probably. It still doesn't explain what it's doing in a '79.

 

I'll take a 352 over a 360 any day.Also,anybody could have put it in there but also Ford trucks can have a rough life.Could be a rolled truck at one time.Could be a '75??or whatever chassis with a 360 and a '79 grille shell.,yadayada.
Does it have the fat steering column and sqaure gas cap doors?
All Fe's after 64??? where stamed 352 on 5678 bank

 

Well yeah John, i'll define "runs better than a 352" for you. Lemme see now, I'll assume that you are asking me to define that for either one of two reasons.. to use it as a basis to make me look stupid in later posts, or because you truly do not know what it means for one engine to run better than another.
No, i'm not talking about whether all 8 plugs fire more often than the other engine, i'm talking about performance..

The 352 was the first of the FE engines, and as such, cannot be as efficient nor performance oriented as the later ones. who ever heard of a 352 Cobra Jet???

I'll choose a 390 over a 352 any day. So what about cubes? I've had both, and was not impressed with the 352. That's like asking if someone likes a 240 6cylinder better than a 300.. well, if you don't care about whether they will drive the speed limit, it does't matter. Also, I've not seen a single person here on this forum who brags about their 4 cylinder...

anyhow, when i say that, i mean performance john.

 

Hmmm...we have a disagreement here. Jason (ole blue) would take a 352 over a 360 "any day." Tom thinks the 360 is better than the 352, apparently because it is newer than the 352, though the 8 additional cubes may have something to do with it. I'm not sure that the 360 is any "newer" than the 352. They are one year apart, and frankly I think Ford made the 352 into a 360 simply to reduce the number of parts it had to make and stock -- the 360 is literally built on the same block as the 390.

I've never heard much good said about either the 352 or the 360, other than that both can easily be stroked to larger displacements with a 390 or 428 crankshaft and rods. So far as I know, the only real difference between the two is that the 360 has a bore that is .050" larger. Anyone care to explain why they think one is superior to the other?

I don't think anyone challenges Tom's assertion that the 390 and 428 are more powerful than both the 352 and the 360.

 

Tom, I didn't lay in wait for you, I don't have time for silly games. If you look foolish, it wont be because I did it. My interest was in your definition of "runs better". The 360, 390, 406, 410, 427, & 428 FE engines are all larger than the 352, and all stock could offer more power, but I couldn't see "runs better", so I asked for clairification. It is my thoughts that a newly rebuilt 390 would have more power than a newly rebuilt 352, but it shouldn't run any better. I have a 352 in my blue truck with about 10,000 miles on it and the 390 in my red truck out being rebuilt as we speak, so by fall I should have a good idea of the answer.
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In the cool still quiet of night, you can hear chevies rusting away.

 

Now now, everybody take a deep breath.

There is always more than one way to interpret a statement or word (just ask Bill Clinton). I understood what Tom was saying when he said that the bigger FE's run better (performance wise rather than how smoothly) than the 352. And I, like most other performance enthusiasts, would have to agree. Otherwise I would have put a 352 in MY truck. Sometimes a little more elaboration is warranted.

 

>Tom, I didn't lay in wait for you, I don't have time for
>silly games. If you look foolish, it wont be because I did
>it. My interest was in your definition of "runs better". The
>360, 390, 406, 410, 427, & 428 FE engines are all larger
>than the 352, and all stock could offer more power, but I
>couldn't see "runs better", so I asked for clairification.
>It is my thoughts that a newly rebuilt 390 would have more
>power than a newly rebuilt 352, but it shouldn't run any
>better. I have a 352 in my blue truck with about 10,000
>miles on it and the 390 in my red truck out being rebuilt as
>we speak, so by fall I should have a good idea of the
>answer.


Well, I know that my cynicism and sarcasm came through quite heavily, but really: if you don't have time for silly games, why do you care about how I define "runs better", unless it is to set the stage for later debate, which I happily provide.

I have owned many Fords bearing FE engines, and although the term "runs better" could have been exchanged with other terms such as "high horsepower to weight ratio" or "maximum horsepower" or "high performance" or "fuel efficiency" or any number of similar terms relating to performance and efficiency, I naively chose a term which is very generic. Of all the FE engines, my personal favorite was the 390. It performed much better than the 360, and when enhanced it became a real powerhouse. I am not one to quote strokes and bores because my machine shop days are over, because I remember how these engines ran, and I remember the turtles and I remember the rabbits: the 352 was a turtle and the 390 was a rabbit. 40 cubes makes a difference.

Now as for Karl's post.. that entire paragraph revolves around how I feel about a 360, but it must mean another Tom because I never mentioned a 360 engine.

 

One question I meant to ask, from the beginning of this thread:;;
How do you know it's a 352?

Every FE block bears the stamp of "352" cast into the block, except the 427 crossbolt, so if you are going by the 352 cast into the block, that does not necessarily identify the engine as a 352.

 

OK- So if I have a "352" cast on my block, and the number/letter system indicates a 1965, how do I go from there and determine if I have a 352 or a 390 without tearing it down. The engine is in a 69, but I bought it with 168,000 mile on it. No telling where the engine came from.

 

One of the easier ways to find out, is to measure the stroke. I like to find a scrap of 14-2 house wire, about 8" long and pull out the white wire. Get a bud to help, remove one of the front spark plugs. Have your bud turn the engine over with a ratchet on one of the pully nuts, and with the wire in the hole, rest a marker on the manifold and against the wire. Have the engine turned over a couple of revs. Measure the length of the mark.
Now if you guys can refrain from being a smart butt and posting the numbers, let anyone who wants to try it post his measure back here and we can ID your engine size. There should also be a build tag under the coil bolt on top of the engine, if not removed.
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In the cool still quiet of night, you can hear chevies rusting away.