I am new to this forum but I am not new to the forum scene. I have had my 70 f-100 lwb since I am 15. I am now 31. It was my dad's truck and he gave it to me when I turned 16. I have not treated this truck as well as I should have over the years. But I am in a long slow process of returning this truck to the road and possibly the show seen someday. I have a 360 engine in it that is not running properly and I just recently picked up a 390 that I would like to "build" as a real street perfomer. I would like to see somewhere between 350hp 400hp or more. I am open to any options or idea's. Your imput would be greatly appericiated.

-Ryan

 

Welcome Ryan, you've come to the right place for any help you might need in rebuilding the truck. Enjoy the site and the forums. got to luv those Big blocks.

 

whats the budget? all kinds of things could be done.

 

if your gonna do a total rebuild then start looking in the yards for a set of heads pre 67. so like c6ae or c4ae. there are different castings amoung these like c6ae-r or c4ae-f I dont remember all the diferent ones but others here do. I personally like the c1ae 6090 casting, they have nice open ports intake and exhaust. they also have bigger combustion chambers which helps to run pump gas. add a nice healthy cam to that and your on your way. I dont believe in the aluminum heads, I had my cast heads redone with 2.08 1.65 valves and hardened seats put in all new stainless valves. all three sides milled for good gasket sealing, new springs and retainers for under 600 bucks for both heads not each. they even fixed the threads in the exhaust side for me.

 

It won't be difficult to get those numbers out of your 390. Concentrate on the induction for the money spent. And, headers of course. The bottom end should be healthy but can stay relatively standard with the changes at the top of the engine where the best HP will come from.

 

You can pretty easily get that 350 - 400 hp. Just about any FE head will work too. The FE heads respond well to porting and polishing. I would take your heads and do a valve job and port and polish them. Install hardened seats on the exhaust if they are earlier than the D2 heads. Choose a piston that will give you around 9.5 - 1 compression ratio...360 flattop pistons will do this for you at a reasonable cost. Get a performer RPM intake and your choice of carb...at least 600 cfm. Add headers. Choose a cam that will put you where you want to be....be careful here as too much cam will kill the low end. I've got a comp cam 33-238-4 in my .060 over 390. That puts my hp at about 375 and well over 400 ft. lbs of torque. Be sure to put the correct valve springs on the head to match your cam choice. Beyond all this, you should consider an adjustable valve train...Check out DSC Motorsports for a factory adjustable setup. Also consider a windage tray and deep sump oil pan. The factory front sump pans are terrible and you can . For a cheap option, find an FT full sump.

Good Luck!

Tracy

 

Thanks for all of the imput. I have been busy so I have not had a chance to respond. The heads that are on this motor are C8AE-H but this engine is a 360 not a 390 like I was told. I measured the stroke and it was 3.50. I paid $150 for the motor. When I took it apart the engine was very clean inside ( no sludge). I also found on the oil filter that the motor had 161k on it. Which doesn't really matter because I am going to do a total rebuild. I am doing this as a long term project so I am not really all that concerned about money. I mean I am going to buy thing over time so It won't be a huge setback all at once. Now being it's a 360 is there really anything I should try to keep or just junk everything but the block. The pistons are the higher compression 9.1 ( flat top oem) So I thought I might keep them But I was really thinking of getting some higher compresssion. I was also looking at Summit and Jegs and found a bunch of stuff on there for the 390 Crank, rods, aluminum heads. I am just really not sure where to start.

 

I have the AL heads on my 360, picts in my Gallery. If you go those heads you are tied to BIG BORE Exhaust (428). The only headers that I found that fit are Hookers Pro Comp. Al heads allow you to run pump gas with a higher advanced. They don't run as hot as steel heads. As for cams go with a nice roller.

 

a roller lifter setup will end up costing you an extra 3 grand by the time you do everything right. the rods you probably have are longer than 390 rods and not as stong as the good 390 rods. I say probably because I heard a rumor that there was a few early 352's that had these longer rods that were beefier like the 390/427/428 rod. I dont know the limitations of the 360 rod for strength in a horsepower application. if you are gonna run the 360 crank you will need the longer rods because they use the same piston as a 390, so the pin heights are the same. they compensate for the shorter stroke with a longer rod, but still dont end up as high in the hole as a 390 so they have a lower compression ratio. thats assuming both pistons have the same dish volume. plus the lesser swept volume (short stroke) gives it less a compression ratio also. thats probably more than you want to know but, maybe it will help you with your choice. so you can use your rods if they are strong enough but you will have to play with your piston top design to get your compression ratio up where you want it. do the math yourself, there is lots of info on the net about how to figure compression ratio. these formulas will allow you to figure what size dish you will need for your compression ratio. you need your head cc volume too for an accurate calculation. most 360/390 pistons have a 10cc dish but some manufacturers have them with a 5cc dish as well as other designs in the 1.775 pin or compression height.

 

I'd definitely convert it to a 390. You'll just need a 390 crank and rods. Those pistons with the 390 crank and rods will get you up around 9.5 to 1 cr. Unfortunately, I doubt you'd get to use them if you do convert to a 390. The piston rings will go higher in the bore on a 390. Even if you cut the ring groove, you'll likely not get a good seal all the way up...meaning you'll need to bore the engine and then you'll need new pistons. Still you'll want to go with 360 pistons in the 390....just oversized to match your new bore. The C8 heads are fine too....you need to put hardened exhaust seats in. The C8's will respond well to porting and polishing....you can do this yourself pretty easily...there is good information for how to get a good port and polish job...it's not hard, it just takes time. T0 calculate an exact compression ratio you'll need to cc the heads, know the piston info, and know the head gasket info. There are a few choices of head gaskets including a steel shim gasket by Mr. Gasket....this will raise the cr the most. They're known to have difficulty in sealing long term, although I've not had a problem with them. I used them on my 390 build and they're still going strong 3 years later.

Good Luck

Tracy

 

the only problem I have seen personally with a steel shim gasket is if you let your cooling system get currosive. rust pits make for leaking gaskets! but thats a no no any gasket you use. how thin can you get those copper head gaskets?