I have a 1969 F100 truck Custom Cab with a 390 motor that has seen better days. I bought a 360 engine from a body shop that came out of a 1978 4x4 with a 4 speed tranny. I want to put my 390 crank in the 360 to make a 390 out of it and then put that back in my 1969 truck. Will the crank be the only part I need to transfer to the 360 or do I need to move the rods and pistons too. The original motor the PO had a stroke in the middle of his rebuild and know one put the hood back on to cover the motor so his fresh build is rusted beyond repair. I think with some care I can get the pistons out of the block. The crank is in good shape and all the main bearings look good and brand new. I don't know if I should chance moving them to my new block. Got any good ideas out there?

 

I have two sets of heads for my 390. What set would be best to use on a new build. They have different numbers and letters,

Set #1 casting on outside of head


Set #1 casting inside of head under the valve cover.


Set #2 casting on outside of head..


Set #2 casting inside of head under the valve cover.

 

D2's have hardened exhaust seats.

 

You can't use 360 rods with a 390 crank, move the bearings with the crank, if the 390 cranks be reground the bearings will be over sized to match the size of the crank journals.
It all depends on the compression height as to which pistons you can use.

 

if stock low CR piston get new Flat top ones they are inexpensive and will get you some cheap HP/TQ

 

My crank, pistons, and rods are from a 1969 F100 390 and are original to the truck. They are a flat top pistons with valve reliefs cut in the tops. The rings are not frozen to the pistons, the rod bearings look new, and the crank bearings look new. I will use these parts on the block I just bought. I have not torn the block down that I am going to use. I will need to get a ridge reamer to clean the carbon up at the top of the cylinders. I don't know if I need to move the cam from the 390 and put it in the block that is set up as a 360 or will the 360 cam work as a 390. I have to get a new intake (aluminum) for a 4 barrel carb and a new 4 barrel carb for this new set up. I will be putting headers and complete dual exhaust all the way out the back. I will reuse the D2's for my heads until my wallet recovers from this part and then new aluminum heads.

 

Otherwise same as the C8AE-H.

 

Under sized not over sized. Don't want to confuse him

 

stock truck pistons will result in a low CR 8.5:1 ish car Pistons will get you in the 9.5:1 to 10.5 depending on piston .

 

Stock truck 390: 1.66" compression height. Car 390 and 360: 1.77" compression height. Makes 8ish with the short ones, 9.5ish or more with d2 heads. Measure everything. Sunken pistons are undesirable.

 

OK, well I got my block torn down to a short block and I am not the 1st to go into this motor. .030 pistons and the ridge in the cylinders is not bad I cleaned it up with WD-40 and a rag. The block came from a 1975 4x4 truck. There are holes in the side of the block like maybe bolts were to screw into them but no bolts now. I have pics of the block and pistons. The pistons come with in 1/8th or 1/16th of the top of the block. I just used eye ball measurements for now. I am still not sure if I have a 360 or 390 at this time.

 

Check the crank and rod numbers. That'll tell you which it is. Also you can measure how far down the hole one piston is at bottom dead center, minus the deck clearance. Those holes were for medium duty truck applications. The 4x4 oil filter adapter brings big bucks on ebay. I sold one years ago for like $75. The rear sump pan is also a 4x4 part, you'd need to keep the pan, pickup tube for the pump and dipstick together to get maximum $$$$ for them

 

Ok I will keep this information for future if I decide to sell any. I like the rear sump oil pan makes it easy to drain the oil. The engine looks fine but the tranny was locked up but I have a 3 speed top loader that I will use for now. I will put the D2 heads back on this engine since this is the motor they came from. I will drop the oil pan and check the bottom unit and look for numbers. Thanks for your help. I need all I can get.

 

Really all you need do is measure how far one piston travels from TDC to BDC to learn which it is. 3.5" is a 360, 3.78" is a 390. Just looking at the oil filter adapter tells me it's the regular F series part not the 4x4. The pan is a 4x4 part.

 

From the top of the piston when at the bottom of the cylinder it is 3.5/8" to the top of the cylinder. This sounds like a 360. Now what I have read on the different threads here is a 360 uses the same pistons as a 410 Mercury engine, so if I put a 410 Mercury crank in this block I should be able to use my rods and pistons. To use my 390 crank I would need to get pistons .030 over since my block is bored .030 if I do that I would get some 11.5 to 1 pistons and put them back in this block and use the D2 heads for a little more compression, and get a new cam to go with them. Am I right about the 410 set up or is there more to it than that?