FE conversion confusion, 352 to ?

[rcsn2001]

Hey all,
I'm sure this has been talked about some in the forums, but I searched for about three hours and couldn't really find a good answer to my question, so please don't be too mad. I'm pretty new to Ford's in general, but I picked up a '67 F100 not too long ago, and I am tryin to get her in good shape. It has a 352 FE block in it that was rebuilt about 11k miles ago, and runs real strong. Has an Edelbrock performer intake and 600cfm 4barrel on it. Since this is gonna be more of a recreational vehicle for me, I was thinking about puttin somethin a little bigger in there.
I found a donor truck with a 460 in it, but it needs a complete rebuild. I was wondering if a 352 could be converted to a 390, like the 360 can. I was told that all FE's were pretty similar, and most of the parts were fairly interchangeable(told by the guy at my local napa shop, but it still seemed a little questionable to me). I know a lot of the answers i will get on this will be personal preference, but I was wondering what my best options were. Also, i'm gonna be mounting up at ZF 5-speed behind it to replace the 303 and probably gonna go back to the stock 3.25 gearing.
Any help is greatly appreciated

[FORD428CJ]

You can make that 352 into a 390. You will need 390 crank, rods, pistons. You will need to check the bore of the 352. You might have to punch it out! You can make a 410 out of it too. You use a 428 crank (3.98 stroke) and a set of 410 pistons (same bore size as a 360/390). Or you can also go with a stroker kit, like a 4.25 stroke. That's all up to you and what you want! JMHO

[rcsn2001]

So the bore size is the same on a 352 as on a 360/390?

[convincor]

So the bore size is the same on a 352 as on a 360/390?

No, 352 has a 4.00" bore. 360/390 has a 4.05" bore
The 390 that is in my car started life as a 352. Bored it to standard 390 bore and use 390 crank and rods.

[saidyene]

I found my book. The 352 is a 4" bore with a 3.5" stroke. 360 is 4.05" Bore and a 3.5" stroke. 390 is 4.05" bore and 3.78" Stroke. and finaly the 410 is 4.05" bore and 3.98 stroke. So while the 352 can be converted to the others you will have to bore it out if it isnt already.

[rcsn2001]

awesome, thanks for all the help. Now I know what i'll be doing over spring break , and unfortunately where all my money will be going .
If anyone wants a project 460, lemme know.

[Alvin in AZ]

Yeah but. :/
We don't -know- what he's got! Sounds like he didn't overhaul it.

RC,
Check the stroke on your engine using a ~1/4" wood dowel and mark it
where it lines up at the lip of the valve cover.

It could be a 352 bored .030" over or .060" and run stronger than a 360
because of compression ratio and piss poor piston choices in the 360.

Those crummy 360 pistons can suddenly turn into real gems when there's
a 3.78" crank under them tho! ;)

Heard about boring a 360 .010" over and using 352 pistons giving higher
compression ratio. {shrug}

Alvin in AZ 360FE
ps- Just do it! ;)
pps- Either set it at TDC on #1 cylinder and pull the plug on the #4 too or...
I prefer to just rotate the engine with one hand and watch and feel the
piston as it hits the bottom and top on the #1 cylinder only.
ppps- wood dowel, pencil, 15/16" socket, ratchet, cheater pipe
pppps- Check your harmonic balancer for shift at the same time? :)
ppppps- Just foorget about that 352 (or reversed 105) on your engine block,
they don't mean anything until you decide you want to bore it out to 4.13".

[fomocoguy]

Those crummy 360 pistons can suddenly turn into real gems when there's
a 3.78" crank under them tho!

".

I know this thread is about a 352, but please elaborate on how 3.78 rods can work with 360 pistons. I want to convert a 360 I have into a 390 and already have plans for a crank. I also have 390 rods on the way. I was told that to make a 390 you needed the whole rotating assembly; is this not the case? I asked about this a few days ago but nobody gave me any info about what works with what. If I can avoid buying pistons and get mine up to deck height for 9.5:1 cr or so I'd really like to do that. Thanks!

[FORD428CJ]

Those crummy 360 pistons can suddenly turn into real gems when there's
a 3.78" crank under them tho!

".

I know this thread is about a 352, but please elaborate on how 3.78 rods can work with 360 pistons.

You mean 3.78 Stroke, 390 rods are 6.49 in length. I wanted to clear that up.....

[fomocoguy]

Those crummy 360 pistons can suddenly turn into real gems when there's
a 3.78" crank under them tho!

".

I know this thread is about a 352, but please elaborate on how 3.78 rods can work with 360 pistons.

You mean 3.78 Stroke, 390 rods are 6.49 in length. I wanted to clear that up.....

You are correct sir; 3.78 stroke is what I meant. Thanks for pointing that out!

[convincor]

fomocoguy, the 360 pistons are the same as 390 truck pistons. They used a longer rod in the 360 (also weaker) to get the piston to the same height as the 390. Both these pistons have the 1.678 compression height. Both aplication compression is down to 8.2 to 1 and creates a poor quench area because the piston is so far down in the hole. Bad for performance.
To get your 9-1/2 to 1 your looking for you need to use the shorter 390 rod with a 390 car piston that has the 1.743 compression height. Also, some of the 360 pistons have a full skirt. This would be a clearence problem with longer stroke of a 390 crank.

[fomocoguy]

fomocoguy, the 360 pistons are the same as 390 truck pistons. They used a longer rod in the 360 (also weaker) to get the piston to the same height as the 390. Both these pistons have the 1.678 compression height. Both aplication compression is down to 8.2 to 1 and creates a poor quench area because the piston is so far down in the hole. Bad for performance.
To get your 9-1/2 to 1 your looking for you need to use the shorter 390 rod with a 390 car piston that has the 1.743 compression height. Also, some of the 360 pistons have a full skirt. This would be a clearence problem with longer stroke of a 390 crank.

Thank you! That clears it up a bit. I have 390 rods on the way, so I guess 390 car pistons will be next on the list.

[convincor]

Just looked into it further and want to clear something up.
The 360 used a longer rod with the same pin height as the 390 car. But the problem still lies with the shirt clearance problem.
Here's std bore 390 http://store.summitracing.com/partdetai ... toview=sku

[fomocoguy]

Just looked into it further and want to clear something up.
The 360 used a longer rod with the same pin height as the 390 car. But the problem still lies with the shirt clearance problem.
Here's std bore 390 http://store.summitracing.com/partdetai ... toview=sku

Ok, well that changes things a bit then! You say some 360 pistons use a full skirt, so I have to assume that some do not. I will have to go ahead and pull my engine the rest of the way apart and check them. Hopefully they do not have the full skirt and I can use them.

Thanks for clearing that up!

[convincor]

if your going .030 over http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/360-390- ... 0106813317