What's up guys. I'm starting work on pulling the 352 FE out of my 65 Galaxie. The 352 is just plain worn out and is in desperate need of a rebuild. I have a seemingly decent 360 that I hoarded a few years back, and I'd like to swap that in to keep the car going while the original motor is receiving some TLC. My question is, are there any big differences between the 352 and 360, being that the latter is a truck motor. Wondering if there's different motor mounting points, accessory mounting spots, that sort of thing. Any tips on the swap are greatly appreciated!
No difference.....just a little bigger bore IIRC - your '65 should have 4 bolt mounts....problems usually only arise when trying to put an early 2 bolt mount block into a later car, not the other way around.....
If your 352 had a generator the 360 will have a different water pump that mounts an alternator. I think Ford switched to alternators in 64 so shouldn’t be an issue but worth mentioning. The 360 might have a different sump depending on what it came out of
The 360 is just a 352 with the 390 bore size. Why it took Ford eight years to figure that out is a question for another time... The main issue these days is piston choices. When Ford came out with the 390 in '61, they dropped the compression ratios in the 352 to 9.3 to 1. The '58-60 motors had ratios in the high 9s to low 10s and could make good power; 360 HP in the '60 HiPo! Then when Ford dropped the 352 into the pickups in '65, they lowered the ratio even more, all the way to 8.8. Ford kept this low ratio with the 360 so the farmers could run cheap Co-op gas with no issues. So all you find now for these two motors are 9.0 to 1 pistons unless you special order some. As an alternative, if you can round up a good used 390 crankshaft, drop that into the 360 block for a 390 and off-the-shelf pistons with better ratios. All FEs used the same length connecting rods. As noted above, swapping a newer motor into an older car won't have any issues, but the other way around can. The '66-69 Fairlane/Torino and '67-70 Mustang (and their Mercury equivalents) FEs used different exhaust manifolds so Ford added additional bolts in the heads for those. The 410/428 are the only FEs externally balanced, so you need the correct flywheel/flexplate/damper for those. Ford switched to alternators in '65, but Mercury had them in '63 on the full-size cars. With the availability of FE stroker cranks, any FE can now be big inch.. with deep enough pockets... https://survivalmotorsports.com/FE-Stroker-Displacement.html
Incorrect on the rod lengths, there's two: the 352/360 used 6.54 rods and the rest used 6.48. To make a 360 into a 390, you need the crankshaft and the connecting rods, the pistons are the exact same. Actual compression ratio on a 360 is under 8.0:1 because the piston is so far down in the hole, and that's why they're A) prone to detonation B) make shit for torque and horsepower and C) get about 9 mpg in normal driving. There's no compression and the quench is terrible...to the OP, the 360 is going to bolt in and run fine as a substitute engine, but if you end up keeping it, do yourself a favor and buy a stroker kit or find a 390 crank and rods.
I rebuilt a 360 for a 1960 Bucksmith, flat bottom V-Drive boat. Ran it 20 years. I could yank a person or two up out of water without a hiccup. Dragging kids around on inner tube and wiping them out was the highlight of our summer fun. Replaced 360 with rebuilt 390. Boat was never the same. Boat wants it’s torque monster 360 back.
Not trying to be a dick, but there's something very wrong with the 390 if the 360 out ran it, from the bottom to the top. A 390 is a stroked 360 with more compression. Can't possibly have less power/torque unless something isn't right.
Those stock intakes are real hernia-makers! On the engine stand not too bida-deal...In the car/truck 6sally6
2 barrel on 360 with egr . Toss it in da scrap pile . I would use 360 block , not sure if yours has it or not but last one I built had nice ribs cast into the outside for strength . The pistons DO NOT make it to the top of the block in a stock 360 . There is no way a 360 could possibly run better that 390 , both in stock form
Somethings not right? The 360 is a de-stroked 390. I never said it out ran it. The 360 has more grunt, more torque. Churning a prop in water pulling two people up out of the water is different than launching a vehicle on asphalt, I pulled people up at a max of 3500 rpm, then back down to 2500-2800 rpm. Big Block Chevy Boats always kicked my ass. My engine was a stock 360 FE. But we achieved our goal, watching the kids have fun. That Torque Monster 360 FE oinked some of the best skiers up out of the water, in pairs.
A 360 and a 390 built the same (and they are exactly the same engine minus crank and rods) it is literally impossible for the 360 to have more torque or horsepower anywhere in the rpm range than a 390. Longer stroke, more cubes, more compression (a LOT more compression). That is what makes torque, everywhere. And more torque makes more horsepower....these FEs are one of my "things", and I've direct swapped a 360 to a 390 rotating assembly in 3 different engines with no other changes, and believe me, there is no comparison in power, anywhere. There can't be. There's something wrong with your 390 (timing, cam timing, different cams, or many other things) for it not to have more power anywhere and everywhere in the rpm range than your 360. Or it's making so much more power you need to change your prop on your boat.
If you are swapping in a 360 that is a decent runner to have the car running and driving as you originally said I can see doing it and enjoying the car even though the 360 holds a rep as a gas hog. A running driving car that you can cruise and have fun in is a hell of a lot better than a non runner waiting for the engine to get built or worse yet racing through the rebuild and cutting corners to meet a deadline. Personally I'd probably hunt down a 390 and rebuild it rather than the 3fiddy2 but back in the day a buddy had a 56 Ford wagon with a 352 in it that ripped and his best friend is a member on here. His bud no doubt has a lot of stories of towing that wagon back to town after the owner blew another transmission.
Also, you cannot tell a 360 from a 390 from the outside. You need to pull the pan and check the crank and rod casting numbers or measure the stroke through the plug hole. Block, heads, all external accessories are all the exact same castings.
We had a '68 F350 service truck at one shop I worked at. It had the 360 and granny gear 4 speed. It was a good parts chaser. We had the radiator out to be fixed, the truck was parked in the lot with a sign on the steering wheel, RADIATOR IS OUT, DO NOT DRIVE!. Well.. the windows were open and the sign blew out. Our service manager hops in to get some parts. He didn't notice the temp gauge climbing, and it quits on him. He pops the hood... NO RADIATOR. He was close to the shop and hoofs it back. We pushed it in with another truck and let it cool down. My guess was a blown head gasket or a cracked head. I pulled the plugs, no real damage. Dropped the oil and filter, no water. Put it back together and with an audience, I started it up. Surprise, Surprise, it was fairly quiet with only a lifter tick. It did have an appetite for oil. But it shows how tough the 360 was.
So you're a fan of race gas or octane booster? Sounds like the ratios Ford went to are more compatible with what's sold at the pump these days.
It's a 352 and it's toast. About 6psi oil pressure and very low compression. Oil comes out looking like glitter every 1k miles. The 360 was cheap and works so it's going in. I don't care about HP or milage at the moment. I'll worry about that when I do a full rebuild on one of them I actually already have a 390 crank and rods. That said, right now I'm just trying to have the car drivable, don't care much about horsepower at the current moment.
People actually talking about the 360 Ford, hahahaha, its like talking about the 400 engine from the big three, what a waste of machinery.
WOW the 360 isn’t a 390 but the 390 isn’t a 428 either. Drove a few trucks with 360s they were ok not great. Had a 390 that ran strong, but didn’t do well fuel economy wise either. If it was mine I’d slam the 360 in and drive. Add a decent aluminum 4 bbl intake (performer) and duals and it will run decent. Build the 352 or 390 to your liking as funds and time allow. Have fun Dan
Yeah , what would anyone from California know about cars, go shovel some snow, Im driving my 27…. All year long
You can have a 10:to 1 390 with pump gas, if you use a cam with lots of overlap, check out fe forums , that 360 is nothing but a huge pig, pistons are .080 in the hole , as stated before it needs quench, that 360 will run smooth and will never hurt itself, but so does my 74 pinto with a 2.3 and an automatic, its just pathetic.
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