Today we examined a firetruck, probably F-600 from 1966. Engine is FE type, but what size it might be? Block had code C6ME on it, and many parts were from 65 (code started with C5).
need more than just c6me, there were a few blocks with that number,for medium and heavy trucks,359,361,389,391
Unfortunatelly yes, I don't have other numbers. But may I ***ume it has some higher-cid engine, because it is 'special vehicle' or something?
FE big truck motors are totally different parts than FE car and light duty. The outside looks the same but the crank, rods, heads, and intake are diff. I have a 4 barrel intake for a FE truck 361 from a 69 Bob tail truck I ended up with. I thought i would stick it on a car 390....wrong....
They are not totally different, no, but there are some fair differences. They can make good cores for a total rebuild, especially if you plan on aftermarket heads, intake, pistons, etc. For a straight mild rebuild/swap into another vehicle, the FT & 385 MD/HD truck versions aren't ideal. Probably the best thing about FE MD/HD truck engines (known actually as FT) is that they generally have steel cranks, which can be a cheaper way to get one than going the 427 route. They need some mods to work in a p*** car application. I might add that the FE cast cranks are pretty damn tough as it is & unless you have a FT steel crank just lying around, it's likely not worth the trouble to go find one. It is probably a 361, but could be a 391. The FT truck engines aren't "higher-cid", unfortunately....Ford's idea of a MD/HD truck engine generally means steel cranks, tougher rods, often four-ring pistons, bigger diameter crank snouts, small intake ports/intake runners/small diameter valves, sodium-cooled exhaust valves.....& lots of torque at low, low rpm levels. But virtually all of the truck engines are relatively small, CID-wise......until you get to the Super Duty gas-burning monsters of the late '50s-'80s era.
I like how you say "Not Totally Different" and then go on to explain they are pretty much totally different. None of the rotating ***embly will directly interchange??? Heads, Intake, Balancer, flywheel........nope..... The block,sheetmetal, and dizzy are a direct swap.
I guess it depends on what defines "totally different". If you look at a 391FT vs. a FE 390....the block bore spacing is the same...bearing diameters are the same...bolt patterns & sizes are the same...the block architecture is the same. The heads are the same in configuration. You can take "FT" heads, physically bolt them in place on a FE, & vice versa. The port & valve sizes may be (& probably are for a given case) different from one to the other; the intake may not interchange for that reason (or may, depending on the FE in question). The FT steel crank snouts are different, true, so the balancers (& flywheel, as you mention) don't just bolt in place.....but, a FT crank snout can be machined down to fit FE parts. It used to be done fairly often, no big deal. The bearing diameters are the same. You could, if you wanted, swap complete rotating ***emblies. What I'm getting at is that the FT is pretty much a variant of the FE, not a completely different engine....in much the same way that the 366 & 427 Chevy truck engines are just variants of the BBC. As mentioned, they aren't the best choice just to pull out of a boneyard & swap in to a p***enger car or light truck.....but, if someone is planning a complete rebuild/performance build, they'll work as a starting point. I guess my view of totally different would mean something like a comparison betwwen the FE & the 385 Series, where there's no interchange whatsoever (except ignition points & plug wires, things like that). Sorry if I didn't make myself clear.
interesting thing about the numbers, it's my understanding that the 359 and 361 are really 360 cubes, and the 389 and 391 are really 390 cubes, but ford gave them different numbers to avoid confusing them with the car engines....?????
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