hey guys new here so sorry if i mess up i have a 72 f700 with a 330 md ft engine with 32000 miles runs very good but i just has so little power would really like to swap it for an fe or fe parts any advice thanks

 

sorry the 330 is a HD not MD. also have some very low mile c6ae-r heads and new intake for fe could i bore out the 330 to 360 use 390 pistons and fe cam with fe heads dist also will this help

 

An F700 with a 330? No wonder it's slow.

You can't "bore it out" to much of anything. The 330 has a 4" bore and 3.30 stroke. The equally slow 360 has a 4.05 bore and 3.50 stroke, so the cubes come from the stroke, not the bore.

IMO you have a couple of choices.

--learn to embrace the slowness. It is your friend with a big truck anyway. Is it as underbraked as it is underpowered?

--diesel swap, one of those Cummins in-line jobs with a NV4500 trans, heck, might as well make a project out of it.

--391 FT-(forget the 361, not worth the effort)

--429 Lima truck engine (or the 370, yawn)

--FE motor, 390 or stoker up to 445.

The trouble with trying to beef up the 330 is that everything you do to it, especially FE parts, will raise the peak torque and hp rpms. And your gearing probably won't work well with a 2500-4500 rpm engine, as my guess is that 330 likes 1500-3500.

Better minds will chime in methinks.

 

thanks its not about the speed but the power or lack of ...

 

OK, there's a few options, but each one has it's own problems.

You could put an FE engine in there. A 390 would certainly wake that thing up enough to make you happy, I think.

However, the 330 in the F700 has a cast-iron timing cover, which also is the front motor mount. If that's a 330HD, it has the larger crank snout like all the other FT's, and the large snout timing cover, when used on a small-snout FE, WILL be a problem when it comes to the timing cover seal.

If I were getting into this, that's the first thing I would do. Try to find a seal that has an outside diameter of the FT timing cover hole, but the inside diameter of an FE dampener spacer (the spacer behind the dampener is what the seal seals to).

Other than that, a flywheel issue (and possibly the clutch pilot bushing/bearing) will raise it's ugly head, you are probably going to find a starter ring with a different pitch on the FE flywheel, compared to the FT flywheel, so you'll need to either use the FT's starter ring, or an FE starter.

Also, the exhaust manifolds (better yet, get shorty headers) will dump out in the wrong spot compared to the FT exhaust manifolds, so you'll have to customize the exhaust system. While doing that, make sure the FE won't dump into a steering shaft, frame crossmember, or anything else that will get in the way.

Other than that, since you've probably got a lot of gearing, and lots of gears to choose from (non overdrive 5-speed maybe with a dual-speed rear), a 4bbl and a decent cam will certainly get you moving pretty well. Or, just use a stock or mild 390.

ONE THING - the FE will not live up to the longevity of the FT for VERY heavy loads over a long time. If you're going to be using this truck for very heavy loads all the time, and put a lot of miles on it, I would suggest you look into getting sodium-filled exhaust valves, or some of the other tricks you would use for heavy-duty truck use.

 

You posted the VIN in another thread: F60DVPXXXXX

1972 F600 with a 330 2V Heavy Duty engine.

The 330 H/D shares most of its parts with the 361 2V & 391 4V FT engines.

The 330 2V Medium Duty FT shares some parts with FE engines, like the crankshaft: 1964/67 352 / 1968/72 = 360.

330 M/D vs 330 H/D = the cid is the same, not much else is.

Timing Cover Seal: C4TZ6700A = 330 H/D, 361/391 only // 330 M/D, same as an FE (C3AZ6700A).

Will headers from an FE engine fit a 330 H/D FT engine? The exhaust manifold gaskets (Ford called 'em heat shields) are not the same.

I cannot see the point of swapping to an FE engine, considering what an F600 weighs. This is not a 4,000 lb. pickup with a GVW of 5,000 lbs.

It's a 10,000 + lb. monster with a GVW of 20,000 lbs.

 

yeah f600 not f700 and hd not md sorry. i would really like more info on converting the top end iont a fe 360 as the crank in the 330 hd is 3.50 so bore it to 360 use fe parts from there up for 4 bbl intake fe cam better fe heads and ele dist to get rid of gov and points just wondering if this will work thanks again

 

I think you'd be much better off swapping to a bigger FT like a 361, 389, or 391, if you're actually going to haul stuff in it- the car stuff isn't beefed up like the FT stuff, and the power ranges are very different. I've seen a few car engines swapped ito dump trucks, a 402 Chebbie into a GMC bobtail, and a 389 Pontiac in a GMC 10 wheeler, and neither was worth the trouble- both had no down-low torque which the truck needs, and both overheated at the slightest hill. If you're going to haul a car on it or something light, you might be OK with a low-compression 390, but the 391 would still be better. I had a 361 in one of those old N-series short- nose trucks, and it was a running SOB with a 2V carb. I've also seen a lot of grenaded FT's due to havng the governor disconnected- usually by folks who don't know how to rebuild a Holley, gack at the cost of a rebuilt governor carb, and put on a cheaper car Holley, buzz it up over 4000, and it doesn't take long for the
BTW, a Pertronix kit works very well in an FT distributor, works well even if the shaft is a little sloppy, and lets you keep the tach drive- please don't disconnect the governor- it's not a hot rod, it's a truck, and isn't supposed to rev high- it won't like it
If I remember right, the 330 was set at 3800, 361 at 3600, and the 391 at 3400

 

There are only a few differences between the heavy-duty FT and the FE's in terms of longevity.

Piston compression rings. 3 for the FT. 2 for the FE. A decent set of black moly rings, or some other "new" technology mitigates that.

Steel forged crankshaft. The FE crankshaft is known to stand up to quite a lot of abuse in racing, high RPMs, etc, so I think that is overblown.

Exhaust valves being sodium-filled with the resulting larger stem diameter. Stainless-steel valves, or even a sodium-filled of the appropriate size, and that is also mitigated. Do bronze guides, and even better.

Valve seats? Hardened inserts, and you're done.

Seriously, I see nothing hugely different between and FE and an FT that is going to effect longevity. Each instance of the FT's "superiority" can be applied to an FE, or it's not an issue to begin with.

Now, if you were to get a 391FT, I'm not saying it wouldn't help a lot in the power department. But finding one in good running condition, or even worse, rebuilding it, and $ for $, a 390 or a 410 would be a great improvement and with the right massaging would last just as long.

A SLIGHT loss in low-end torque compared to the massively different torque levels of a free-breathing FE? No brainer.