Hi! I have a 69 F-250 4x4 with the original 360. I have decided to turn the 360 into a 390. My goal is to build the engine fairly hot, but not so hot that I have to run high octane gas. I need some advice on what parts, "cam, intake, carb, ect" I should put into this engine. If anyone has did this swap, I would appreciate it if you would share what parts you used and what all you did to your engine. I have also read on here about some oiling modifications. What are these modifications?
Any info is appreciated.
Thanks Ben from Montana

 

 

A lot depends on the budget.

I'd start with flat top pistons giving about 9.5:1 or so CR.
Edelbrock RPM intake
600 CFM Holley vac sec
Headers
Port the heads, spending extra time blending the bowl area and remove the humps in the roof of the exhaust. then a valve job with hardened exhaust seats & positive stem seals.
The cam should be a good dual pattern type, I'm using a Crower Beast 16903, but you really need to match the cam to the RPM range your working in.

A good rebuild should include the oiling mods for longer life. the basics of the oiling mods are to enlarge the oil passage from 3/8" to about 7/16 or 1/2". the is from the oil pump pad to the oil filter adapter. Some drill the long hole from the oil filter pad to the cam too. the two holes at the filter pad should be blended to smooth edges as well as the corner in the passage from pump to filter pad.

Extra care must be taken not to break thru the block while drilling.

Use a HV or HV/HP pump with an ARP shaft to run the pump.

Some like to restrict the oil flow to the valvs with a Holley jet to keep more oil to the mains.

Matching the oil holes in the main bearing saddles is important too. What your really trying to do is to get more oil to the mains.

You should buy the Steve Christ book, I think it's sold here for about $20, great book.

Also, dump the points for a pertronic or some other ele ign.

Use the search feature here to find a more complete description of the oiling mods.