360 fe engine build
 

i have a 1968 f250 with a 360 fe in it.im looking to get the most out of this 360 without going more than .30 over in bore.i was thinking of making it a stroker or just putting 428 crank piston and rods.and shave the heads.any help on how to get the most torque out of this engine.

Welcome to FTE.

You need to decide on a budget and see what that budget will allow. If you want more torque, you can add displacement and compression. You will be a little limited on compression due to gas and head design issues that can bring on detonation, but you can certainly step up from the 8ish 360 compression with a sunken piston to a near zero deck 9.5ish ratio without breaking the bank. Displacement will depend on how you go on the stroker idea. It can cost almost as much to go 410 (a 428 crank in your block) as it does to go 445 with an aftermarket crank. On bore the standard .030 is fine--you aren't going to get any meaningful displacement via bore on that engine.

Read through these threads if you haven't already:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...352-build.html

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ld-advice.html

There are countless threads on this forum with your same situation. Cam and intake are discussed, as are headers. Lots of good info.

Where do you live? I've got a 390 crank and rods gathering dust if you are interested. Send me a PM if you like.

You don't want to go up to a 428 bore, most generally.

I'd ballpark a set of pistons/rings + balance crank + bearings + recon rods at less than half the $ of buying a balanced stroker assembly.

Trying to use 428 pistons in a 360/390 block will likely wreck the block because they usually can't handle that much overbore.

Do your research and determine your budget and goals. Just over 1 hp per cube and over 1.1 lbft per cube is easily achievable while running 87 octane in a street friendly FE. The basic formula to get the most and still be street friendly is stroke it as much as you can afford using a 390 crank, 428 crank, or aftermarket crank. Then consider aftermarket aluminum heads (Edelbrock, Survival, BBM) or serious work on a set of irons heads (cost will come out in the same ballpark). Edelbrock performer RPM intakes are well liked and will help the entire power band. Headers won't hurt a thing. Then find someone who can choose a cam based on your goals and parts on hand. I wouldn't just call up a cam company; I prefer to consult someone who has built a lot of custom FE engines for help selecting a cam.

It will take a little time to map out budget vs performance. A budget rebuild will start somewhere around 2K and a really sweet 390 build will take you closer to 11K or even more if you want EFI.

For over boring, I believe in only boring what is necessary to clean cylinders and no more because boring gains few inches.

ok im thinking of putting a 428 crank in my 360 fe. do i have to run the 428 rods to.and what pistons do i have to run with standard bore im not boring it out.i was also told rhat a 445 crank would be better.what pistons would be best doe this. going ro run edelbrock heads with edelbrock intake and 750 holley.what cam would be good for torque.

I realize it is tedious to go through other threads, but the answers to some of your questions are in the links in post 2.

A 428 crank in a 360 results in a 410, as found in some '66 and '67 Mercury cars. The piston used was a 1.66" compression height with a flat top and valve reliefs. That same piston was used in pickup truck 390 engines, where it ended up below deck for that low, low, low compression that Ford wanted.

Rods: There are two OEM rods for non-high performance FE motors. The 352/360 "long" rod at approx 6.54", and the "all other FE" rod at approx 6.49". You want the short one.

Bore: You may need to clean it up, and .030 is usually safe. Don't put a motor together with a sloppy bore! Once you figure that out, you can probably use a cast replacement piston or custom piston, depending on your budget.

Heads: Those are good heads, and may make sense if your stockers are not in good condition. If low end torque is your goal, the stock heads work, but lack hardened seats--these things can be fixed, but that has to be determined by overall condition.

Manifold: Stock Ford 4bbl manifolds are fine for low end torque. Performer works well. Lots of discussion here.

750 carb: Probably too big.

Cam: RV type cam depending on what compression ratio you end up with.

Lots of details to building one of these.

Do you have a book on these engines?

Do you have a machine shop that you trust and that knows these?

Have you built one before?

Budget?

ok so if the bore is good i can run flat 390 pistons with 390 rods with a 428 crank to make it a 410.i do have a book and have done rebuilds before just not a fe.so for the heads the stock ones would be better for higher torque? i dont have a machine shop i trust or close to me.just trying to get the most torque i can from a 360 with a low budget.

If you have either c8 or d2 casting # heads, they are really decent heads for a mild build esp for a truck needing more torque. They have decent tight combustion chambers that, while not a fast burn head, are pretty decent for their time. They are good for about 400 horsepower realistically, but you will probably be targeting something more in the 300-350 ish range if you are shooting for torque which is the thing to do.

Just know that you may likely have about 2/3 of the money it would take to buy a set of aftermarket heads into these old iron ones by the time they are assembled and ready to bolt on. The factory heads have a heat crossover which I wouldn't be without in my neck of the woods on a vehicle that I want to actually fire up and use. Sometimes you can find heated carb spacers that use the engine cooling system...Never tried one so I don't know if they'd be a good alternative for non-heat crossover vehicles. My gut tells me that the fuel would still want to condense in the manifold runners for quite a while with one of these...

The 390 piston must come from a pickup motor, or specify the Mercury 410. Compression height is approx. 1.66"

ok my heads are c8ae-h are these any good.im going to rebuild the 360 into a 390 for more torque. do i have to change the crank rods and pistons into a 390.or is the 360 better on torque.can anyone let me now how to get more torque.

Bigger motor makes more torque. Higher compression gives more torque. The easiest route is to go 390 with the right piston as indicated above.

1968/71: 390 2V Passenger Cars, F100/350 360/390.

Also used on the GT390's those years. And on the 68 W code 2 bbl Mustang/Cougar 390. More'n likely found on the 360 engines those years too. This was the generic FE head for these years. Both found with and without the Thermactor ports drilled and tapped.

360 fe engine
 

ok i just took apart my 360 fe motor to find 360 crank with 4v 390 pistons. not sure what the rods are yet but does this make sense to have 4v 390 pistons with 360 crank.

You should have the longer fe rods. The 390 car piston ends up .120 or so down the hole on top of the 352/360 crank and longer 362/360 rod. People report finding both the 4v and 2v in 360s. This is all as ford intended. Your pistons have a flat top with valve reliefs right?
The next question is what happens next? 390? Bigger? Or back together as the lovable gutless gas hog?