oh no, 370
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Freshman User
Joined: Sep 2008
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oh no, 370
I just bought a 370 out of school bus. Drove the school bus before we pulled the motor. Started good, sounded good, ran excellent. I did a search on this forum and it appears now that I was misinformed in that a 370/429/460 were, in fact, one in the same. Change the crank/pistons - get either of three is what I was told. Tax return lead me to a what now seems to be a fool hearted purchase.
The motor in my F350 (351W) is well on it's way to death and I wanted a big block. Now I have (as far as I've read) "a poor choice 385 series", "not a good place to start", "bad choice for light truck" engine.
Do I understand that the motor mounts are too forward on this engine to work in 350?
Will swapping 429 heads improve anything?
Will there be any improvement on 12,000GVW 4 mpg if the motor is a 8,000GVW truck?
If all hope for my project is lost...anybody wanna buy a 370 w/ 5spd tranny (158k miles)?
The motor in my F350 (351W) is well on it's way to death and I wanted a big block. Now I have (as far as I've read) "a poor choice 385 series", "not a good place to start", "bad choice for light truck" engine.
Do I understand that the motor mounts are too forward on this engine to work in 350?
Will swapping 429 heads improve anything?
Will there be any improvement on 12,000GVW 4 mpg if the motor is a 8,000GVW truck?
If all hope for my project is lost...anybody wanna buy a 370 w/ 5spd tranny (158k miles)?
Elder User
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 800
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From: Edmonton, Alberta Canada
i am not 100% sure, but i think the heads from a 429/460 won't work as the bore is too small on the 370 and the valves either hit the cylinder wall or a very shrouded to be close to ineffective.
rgds
Mike
rgds
Mike
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Freshman User
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Well, it might not be all that bad. I couldn't replace what I have for less than $650 which is what I have in this motor and transmission. It could very well work out to be a good investment even though the mileage won't be so hot. This 351 sure ain't a hybrid...but never good to go from bad to worse.
Wonder if a 370, properly tuned, and maybe a set of headers could hit 8mpg in a F350?
Wonder if a 370, properly tuned, and maybe a set of headers could hit 8mpg in a F350?
New User
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 15
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From: contry
i did the swap in a 1985 f150,had a 351 and put a 370 into it.used a 390 flywheel,i used the 150 4 speed.a 400 behousing,460 exhaust manifolds.im thinking used the 351 motormounts,other than that it fit with no problems.and man you talk about a torque monster.the only problem is that the 370 only turns max 3500 rpm.anything over that and it falls on its face.and at 3500 it sounds like its turning 10 grand.gas milage was right around 10mpg.had 355 gears and 4 wheel drive.i even used the big 8 quart oil pan.and the thermastat housing has 2 themastats in it and when you raised the hood and someone seen it,boy they would start asking questions.that truck had way more power than my 97 f350 with a 460 in it.you will defently like the power of the 370.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 796
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From: Minnesota
When I used to work for Northwest Airlines and they were laying off all the airline mechanics, I got to bump into the plant maintenance department. They had a lot of deice trucks from the 70's with 370's. They ran really good and were really reliable as far as the motor. Not the same with the rest of the deice equipment though. I think I would run it if it doesn't end up costing a whole lot to get it set up in your truck. It can haul a whole lot of deice fluid so I would say a torque monster too.
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i did the swap in a 1985 f150,had a 351 and put a 370 into it.used a 390 flywheel,i used the 150 4 speed.a 400 behousing,460 exhaust manifolds.im thinking used the 351 motormounts,other than that it fit with no problems.and man you talk about a torque monster.the only problem is that the 370 only turns max 3500 rpm.anything over that and it falls on its face.and at 3500 it sounds like its turning 10 grand.gas milage was right around 10mpg.had 355 gears and 4 wheel drive.i even used the big 8 quart oil pan.and the thermastat housing has 2 themastats in it and when you raised the hood and someone seen it,boy they would start asking questions.that truck had way more power than my 97 f350 with a 460 in it.you will defently like the power of the 370.
If you used 460 exhaust manifolds...I wonder now if 460 headers for a '86 F350 will work as well. That might fetch a 1/2mpg and make for a real good sound. We have 2 mid-80's dump trucks where I work. 1=429 2=370. The 370 is stuck in high range but will still pull it's heart out with 8 ton of crush-n-run. I also know what you mean by the 10k rpm sound. They're tough, tough, tough. Screaming all day at 3-3500 and blowin' oil.
Now here's where I'm ignorant. I cannot get it into my head why these engines will only turn 3500. Then again, I've never spent much time above that in anything I've owned. If someone could explain the logistics to me, I would appreciate it.
Thanks for everything, motor will be here tomorrow. Maybe I can post of vid of it running but I'll need somebody to explain how to do that too.
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New User
Joined: Dec 2006
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From: contry
the reason the only want to turn 3500 is the cam grind they have.you can put a 460 cam in it and go on uo to 4500 or 5000.but then the heavy bottomend might not last long.the 370 has a cast crank and the 429 has a steel crank.
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Tuned
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 338
Likes: 101
From: Salkum
The reason for the governor is because is 1: the flywheel is made of cast iron and weighs more than double than one that would be in a light duty truck and will explode if reved too high. 2: The crank is made of a cast design also and is a lot heavier than its light duty brothers and will not take the rpm's. 3: The heads are of a small port design for better low speed air flow at low rpm's and the cam ground for low rpm torque also.
There is a reason for all that torque at idle and it called: Rotating mass of stored energy.
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