ford 360

k5-1402

k5-1402

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2005
Location
Burlington
does anyone know anything about the old ford 360's. I got a heck of a deal on a 68 f100 with a 360 and just wondered of it was worth keeping the engine or swapping it for a newer one.
 
keeping or swapping the engine would depend on what you will be doing with the truck. 352,360,390,406,427,428 are going to be your choices if you keep the same trans. these are FE engines. the 360 is an ok engine if you just plan on driving it around. if you want a hot rod truck then you need to search for a 460 , c6 trans and an engine swap kit. or you could find a351w and c4 trans and have lots of power through the wonderful aftermarket world. the 351windsor is gonna be easier and cheaper to find. the 351w was introduced in 1969 and has a different deck height than all other years. so if you build one keep this in mind when purchasing pistons. 460 engines are big and heavy but make great power in stock form with the right year model heads. your 360 is just a boat anchor but makes a fine engine for just getting back and forth. the easiest thing to do is find a good 390 and put it in. its far better than a 360,and a lot cheaper than a 406,427,428 if you can even find one. i like the 67,68,69 year model of 390. good hp years.
 
it runs ok but needs the carb rebuilt and a tune-up. I'll be using it for a work truck and occasionally pulling the blazer. sounds like i'll be looking for a 390 or bigger to put in it. maybe a trans too. it works fine but is an old 3speed manual.
 
well i wouldnt let any info hurt your feelings about your 360.
if its just a work truck , i'd probably just use it. it should pull your blazer . i would check with summit and jegs to see what perf. items you can buy for it. if it were gonna be a pro street or street rod truck then yes i would junk it.
 
390 crank, rods and pistons and you have a 390. Same block/ heads/ intake ect.
I'm a bif FE fan. Running a 390 in a truck now. Just go on Ebay and type FE in the motors section and you will see how popular and demanding these are starting to be. Even distributor hold down brackets are going for $10. These motors haven't been into production in 30 years. FE fanatics are buying up everything. There's still alot to be had out there but starting to get scarce.
A set of rods/pistons and a crank will set you back around $300 but will gain 30 ci's. I'd stick with the 360 if I wwas just going to drive the thing. These motors are known to go 400k especially after a rebuild with the much needed oil mods. No other motor in the world can claim the ownership of many trophys from Nascar, Indy, and NHRA. Best motor ever produced was the FE among Ford fans for all out good motor. 460 is excellent but mainly just a Mountain Motor.
 
I probably will keep the 360 for a while, probably a long while as I have so many projects right now. But what oil mods are you talking about?
 
The oil filter adapter area needs oil mods mainly. You need to know what you are doing to make this mod but it's the weak point of an FE. You can either drill out and chamfer the existing holes or drill a new hole. You can find a competent FE builder in your area to have these done. You have to break the block down to about bare to do this mod so you more less have to wait until you rebuild.
Then there's the usual crank journals and distributor feed hole. You'd think Ford would have done a better job after you see how far off they were on these. Some people like to add restrictors in the heads but that's mainly for race applications. The main oil gallery hole needs widened only if you run a high volume oil pump.
Go to either the FE forum or FTE and do a search for more info.
 
6BangBronk said:
No other motor in the world can claim the ownership of many trophys from Nascar, Indy, and NHRA. Best motor ever produced was the FE among Ford fans for all out good motor. 460 is excellent but mainly just a Mountain Motor.
Click to expand...

Man, sorry I am a big FE fan but this is just riddled with errors.

#1) SBC 3:1 in terms of NASCAR wins (If you specify down to cup series it drops to 2:1 remember NASCAR runs over 2500 races per year in a whole bunch of divisions)

Remember you are talking 20 years + now of SB based 355 CID limited non production motors. Any FE ties died with the banning of the shroom heads from melling/elliot in 86.


#2 Indy??? Really? May just wanna check your facts there...

#3 NHRA I womnt even comment on...again there are so many classification levels this is an absurd statement.


Not sure what the definiton of Mounatin Motor means, but if it means mountains more power from much fewer mods you are spot on...

The 360 are dependable....but boat anchors in terms of performance....Can they be made to run better, sure...But Ill spend thee same money on a 460 and out perform ya anyday....

And I am supposed to be a GM guy:rolleyes:
 
Don't forget that a trimmed-out 460 damn near weighs less than a bare 390 block. ;)
 
generally speaking, any engine 500 cubic inches or more, is considered a "mountain motor"
 
All right, to take an hour of my precious time from work just to spoon feed a Chevrolet head with ruffled feathers, I will!

Factual straightening...
I meant the La Mans instead of Indy
And I meant to say that the FE has PARTICIPATED in more types of races than any other motor. Not won! Good catch but I never guessed I was going to cause a commotion by praising an old motor.

(Sleeves are rolling up now)

Now these points have alot of references for there is no single listing on the Internet for FE wins. And my eyes started rolling before I even got started but...

British and European Touring Car Championships were won by
an FE in 1963 and 1964.
The 1963 South African Touring Car Championship was won by an FE
Raced in 1964 Brands Hatch 6 hour enduro
Raced in the 1964 and 1965 Australian ATC.
Raced in the 1963 Tour de France
Ever heard of a GT40?
Grand Prix d'Endurance at Le Mans was dominated by the GT40 for 4 years in a row 1966 - 1969.
Ford produced the 427 especially for the 7.0L limitations of Nascar and was HIGHLY successful resulting in a rule change in 1965 cause no one could even compete with an FE! An FE won the Nascar Championship in 1963 and 1964 hands down with the Thunderbolt.
Such greats as Holman and Moody, Red LaBlanc's mustang, Dick Brannan's Goldfinger, Bill Lawton's Mystery Mustang, "Dyno Don" Nicholson's Eliminator Comet, Gas Ronda's stretched Mustang, Al Joenic's Batcar made the FE famous in NHRA with records still held today.

I agree that to today's standards the FE might not be an engine of choice, but for History sake, the FE was a dominating motor back in the 60's and forced the technology that we saw in the 70's. The FE was put to rest in 1976 but is still a competing motor in NHRA today.

And if you are up for a bumper to bumper chaining challenge, the 360 would pull the GUTS out of a 350 SBC... But then we are still talking 2 completely different motors. A 360 has more rated torque than horsepower. A 350 has more rated HP than torque. The 350 is only succesful because of AFTERMARKET. In stock form, the 360 is better than a 350 for a truck motor in which this thread was originated from in my personnal opinion...
 
6BangBronk said:
All right, to take an hour of my precious time from work just to spoon feed a Chevrolet head with ruffled feathers, I will!
Click to expand...

I am a Chevy Truck head.

I have owned 11 65-71 Mustangs.
And have had and built
289,302,351W,351C,390,427(side oiler),428 standard an (P.I. version...in an original SCJ car :huggy: ),429...
at one time or another.

Im just bustin your balls.

As to a chain to chain pull...Ill pass on the 350, but gladly grab a 460 since they dont compare...By the way can we hook the chains to the frame? I really dont wanna get knocked out when your bumper comes through the back glass :flipoff2:


:lol:
 
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