I am interesting in upgrading my 360. I have heard talk that if I took the crank out of a 428 I could make my 360 a 410, is this true? I would love to do this to my engine if it isn't to difficult. Has anybody done this before? About how much horsepower and torque would a 410 make? About how much would a 428 crank cost? Would I just have to change the crank and rods or would I have to do more? Any info would be helpful.

 

I built one for my '69 F250; however I have yet to see it's full power potential because I made a bad cam/lifter choice. I used a Comp 268H and Rhoads lifters. The cam would be fine by itself with regular lifters, but it is too mild for the Rhoads which are designed to tame a "wild" cam at lower RPM while still giving the cam's full duration and lift at higher RPM. The best of both worlds, or so I wished. Unfortunately their idea of "upper RPM" must be past the 4500 RPM range because the lifters don't stop clattering (noise common for these fast-bleed lifters) unless I am doing 60 in second gear. Well beyond the useable power RPM of most FE's except for the 406 and 427.

I plan on installing regular hydraulic lifters sometime this spring to see if things impove. Besides, I am tired of the noise; it sounds like a diesel when it idles. It also runs similar a Ford Power-Stroke diesel; lots of power for towing, but not much for racing Chevs on the freeway. While towing my 7,000lb fifth-wheel camper, the engine pulls the best if the C6 is left in third even on the steepest hills. I don't shift down unless I am below 35 MPH. Under the same conditions with the 390 before, I would drop her in second at about 45 and maintain that speed until the top of the hill. With the 410, I can leave her in third and it will maintain 40. In other words the old 390 might get to the top of the hill a little faster, but the 410 will get there with a lot less revolutions on the engine.

Before I pull out the Rhoads lifters, I might have the truck dyno tested, if it does not cost too much. Then have it tested again if I feel any change in performance after the new lifters. I will post the test results here if the changes are considerable so that hopefully no one reading this message board will make the same mistake I did in lifter selection.

To build your 410, you will need to get a 428 crank. Rare and spendy. I only paid $75 in 1993 for my crank; however it was at its last life. The rod journals were ground .030 under and the mains were .040 under. Still looking for another reasonably priced crank with extra life for my next rebuild. If you find an extra one, please tell me about it.

You will also need to get some 390 or 428 rods, your 360's are too long. 360, 390, and 410 pistons are not interchangeable although the bore is the same. The piston pin is located closer to the top of the piston on a 410 and 428 compared to a 390.

410's and 428's are the only FE's that are externally balanced--requiring a special flywheel or flexplate. You can use the one from your 360 only if you get it professionally modified. It cost me $125 for the general engine balancing and then he added $50 to weld an extra counterbalance on my 390 flexplate.

A special recomendation before balancing any engine: Assemble the short block before you send out the parts for balancing to make sure everything fits properly. In my case the rings I got were for a .030 bore (mismarked package) and I was .040 over--had to exchange. Also my pistons rubbed my crank a little and required a little file work to give clearence. The balancing guy said that it shouldn't drastically change the balance and not to worry about it; however I always felt like I should have had it re-balanced anyway, just to make it right.

Good luck if you choose to go 410. I will be happy to hear how it turns out!