Its a long story, here goes! About 2 years ago a friend of mine was clearing out his garage. He says "Jimmy I have 2 390 engines here, one is complete but needs a rebuild, and the other has been rebuilt but has since developed a crack in 1 cylinder, do you want them?" No brainer I pick them up and into my garage they go. I pull them apart to check them out and then store the parts. Last year the 360 in my truck starts to knock, so I pull the freebies out of storage and off to the machine shop we go. Today I get a call from the machine shop, the guy asks me what the heck I'm trying to do to them. The short block I sent is a 352, and the pistons and crank are 428! The machine shop says we don't recommend boring the 352 .110" to take the 428 pistons. So tonight I'm taking the block I have at home (which I now know is a 428) to see if the cracked cylinder can be sleeved.
Morale to the story: Before sending FE parts to be machined make sure that you know what you have!
(Jimmy hangs his head in shame, wonders how a guy that has been a mechanic for 20 years can pull a stunt like this)

 

Sleeve it. Do a sonic check to determine whether it is good for the next size over only if it needs it. Your crank is worth 350 bucks at a minimum and I have seen them go for over $500.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 17-Sep-02 AT 07:06 PM (EST)]OK, got bad news on the 428 block. It is cracked in the lifter valley. The crack is bad enough that the machinist is not confident that he can fix it properly. I'm left with a few options:
1) Look for a good 428 block. This option is way to expensive for me. (I think)
2) Use the 428 crank and rods in the 352 block, and use 410 pistons (where do you find them?).
3) Sell the 428 stuff and make the 352 into a 390.
I've looked at the threads about making a 410, and 76 390 pistons are supposed to fit. Does anyone have advice on doing this build up? Having a 410 would be cool, but how expensive is the coolness?
Probably the most economical route would be to go the 390 route. Anyone got any advice? Thanks guys.

 

Jimmy, is there something wrong with your 360 block? Use the 428 crank in your 360 block.
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>Does anyone have advice on
>doing this build up? Having a 410 would be cool, but how
>expensive is the coolness?
>Probably the most economical route would be to go the 390
>route. Anyone got any advice? Thanks guys.


If it's a stock rebuild the 410 shouldn't be any more expensive you will just be using truck 390 pistons you would be using anyways in your 390 in the 410 that should be the only difference aside from any expense that may be needed IF they need to mill the pistons a touch

 

I've got a 410 in my 57 F-100 with tripower and a c-6. Works great. I always have to explain what a 410 is and where they came from. Just remember that you have to have a 428 flywheel to go with the 410.

 

Nothing wrong with the 360 block, but its still being used to move the truck around. Many thanks for the suggestions guys! I think I"ll go with the 410, always been a Mercury fan! I'll let the machine shop know to look for 76 390 pistons and hope for the best!

 

Good call, a 410 pickup will be great. Always fun to be different. good luck!

 

 

Jimmy, don't throw that 428 block away. What method was your guy going to use to try and fix it ? Pins and posts can only do so much, but I have seen guys who can do miacles with cast iron powder spray welding. The right guy can weld blocks back together after they have broken in halves. But that will be time consuming, and your 360 is already feeling tired so.....take the 352 block and bore it .050 over, to standard 390 size. Use your 428 crank and rods. Don't grind the crank unless is very bad. Most FE cranks are okay with a good cleaning and a polish. I don't like to see FEs getting the crank turned unless it is very badly needed because most guys leave the journals too big. Instead of a .010/.010 job, think about something like an .011/.011. It is risky to try and run a big ford too tight on the crank. You want something like .003 clearance on the mains and .0025 on the rods. For pistons, if cast are okay for your usage, a slivolite 1139 will fit perfectly. If you want a forged piston, get a TRW 2291 and mill .100 off from the tops. The exspensive part of doing a 410 is finding the crank, and you already have that, so no problem. While getting your block (the 352 ) ready, you might want to consider the oil passage work that has been discussed on this forum, and a better-than-stock oil pan would be good idea as well. DF

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 19-Sep-02 AT 10:21 AM (EST)]I was planning on keeping the 428 block just because they are getting hard to find. The machinist said that there was 2 methods he could use, welding or "stitching" which I believe was the pinning method. I have had a bit of good luck though, I found another block in the garage that was supposed to be a 390, but after measuring the bore it looks like another 428 block. I'm taking it to be checked tonight. The reason I didn't go with welding the cracked block is that I have a good set of forged .030 over 428 pistons already, and I want to use them if possible. I was told that the welding would distort the bores enough that they would have to be bored out after welding. Even if I can't use them for this engine I figure I'll keep any 428 stuff I have since it may be worth a couple of bucks!
The machinist had no trouble locating 410 pistons, apparently Badger still makes them. 40.00 CDN each. I'll try to get part numbers tonight and post them when I can. The crank is already .020/.020 so I'm stuck there, but it only needs polishing.
My truck is not a daily driver, I've had it for about 10 years and maybe have put 1000 miles on it, so I have a ton of time (not according to my wife though!)and don't need the truck as transportation.
If this block works out the only part I'm missing is the flex plate, how hard are they to find? Is the torque converter for a 428 the same balance as my 360? If not there's another part I need.
Thanks for all the help, I'll keep updating as I get new information.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 19-Sep-02 AT 06:46 PM (EST)]Looks like I have the makings for a 428! WOOHOO! Well, 428 + .030. The machine shop I use is a little hole in the wall father and son run thing, its almost smaller than my garage. When I first started talking to them about the FE the father rhymed off the oil mods from memory! I knew I had the right place!
As I said in an earlier post I'd print the Badger 410 part number, it is P178. Apparently there were 9 .040 oversize in stock in Barrie Ontario, hope this info helps.
Thanks again for the help, looking forward to the 428!

 

Hey JIMMY,

Can I look trough your garage?? Everytime you go to look at a block it comes back as a 428. I wish I could do that. The onlything I grow in my garage is more dirt. Never found a 428 block man that'ld be cool though wouldn't it.

Scotty

 

Big DITTOS Scotty, dirt, and not clean dirt, nasty greasy dirt, in my garage, and 390s that can only prove 360. ROTFLMAO
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In the cool still quiet of night, you can hear chevies rusting away.