I'm pulling my 352 FE out of my F100 and trying to decide if I want to just rebuild it or if there are some performance mods I should consider. If anyone has any ideas please let me know what you recommend. Thanks Also if someone has experience with an engine rebuilder in Austin please let me know. Thanks
Check out the fordfe.com site, lots of great info. I just had the heads done on one and besides headers I left it stock. 80 pound intake and all! My car is just a driver and the headers were installed because the stock exhaust ****, they crack and warp. The exhaust bolts are a mother to remove, you need heat to get them out and have a habit of breaking off.
At this point you really need to focus on the internal componets. Quality machine work is the main concern, as wray said!! The FE is not a SBC and can not be machined or ***embled like one. A stock rebuild with a nice cam will give you a little more power without sacrificing reliability. I would call a couple of cam manufacturers for cam advice. I would search for a aluminum intake to save some weight and pick up a couple of horsepower.I would change the intake now as the manifold is a real ***** to change in the truck and due to the geometry of a FE sometimes a aftermarket intake needs a little shave to fit down into the heads. Do what you can with the engine out of the truck because once a FE gets bolted in, it will be LONG before you pull it back out!!
The only 352 I had was a dog, it would be money better spent finding a 390 if you're going through the whole thing anyway.
As already stated, build a 390. The 65 block should take a .050 overbore no problem, which will let you use standard 390 pistons. Find a 390 crank and rods, you're almost there.
What FrankenFords said or go another step and put a 428 crank in which will give you 410 cuin......... LW
Ah, ye of little faith.... Don't sell the 352 short. Yeah, in general stock form they're not powerhouses, but Ford got 360HP out of 'em in 1960. Install a performance cam, better intake, add timing and these can wake up. The choke point on these are usually the heads , put in bigger valves and do a bit of port-matching, you'll be pleasantly surprised.....
I put this 352 together for my '62 Merc. I was going to do the 390 / 410 stroker only if the crank was shot, but it wasn't so I built a 352. Edelbrock Performer RPM Heads an Intake. Holley 600 cfm 4 bbl. FPA Headers 2.5 in stainless Exhaust through gl***packs Elgin 966-P Hydraulic Cam 9.5:1 Compression Stock rods This combo dynoed out at 325 hp and 375 ft-lbs of torque with a very flat torque curve producing 300+ ft-lbs from 2500 on up. The cam was the limiting factor. A bigger cam could easily wring some more HP out of it on the top end as the heads would support it, but I wanted a big fat torque curve since it has to move around a big fat custom wagon. I haven't got to drive it much yet because the car is in the paint shop, but it has a nasty FE growl to it that belies the fact that it is going into a full custom.
throw some 428 cobrajet heads on there if you can find em. cant remember the casting numbers. we used to do that for an OT truck in a truck pull. they make a world of difference
Not so much a "performance" mod, but on my FE's I put rocker shaft end supports on. I guess you could call it performance as a v-8 runs better than a v-7......
unless you plan on racing your truck, the 352 will give you everything you need, good power can be made and gobs of torque
As my name suggests I have 59 Galaxie with either a 332 or 352 (door decodes 332 but it has a 4 barrel manifold and the guy I bought it from says it's a factory 352 car). I know the pre 63 motors need a little work to have a larger selection of cams so I was curious if I should rebuild the motor that's in the car or buy a 360 or 390 and go from there. I also have access to a 428 7 liter Convertible that has been sitting without a carb on the manifold on it for about 35 years in the woods behind my Family home in Ohio (actually a complete car minus the front bumper grill and fenders and ***le). Would that be the 1 I should put my money in since it's free?
What is the year of the engine ? early 58 352's had milled combustion chambers, higher compression factory solid lifters. but the early heads need rounding off the spark plug chamber , some port grinding etc. The best cam I had was an old isky kit with 1.5 isky rockers and valve train. A few show up on the ford FE forums, I don't know if anyone grinds the old Isky 1.5 pattern He used the same grind on hot big olds, caddies and Fe's. the Fe books show how to rework the oiling systems, Oiling problems was why they came out with 427 side oilers. I had a 58 with the "thunderbird police inteceptor special. " those engines came from the factory with oversize edsel pistons.
If that is a for real 7 liter convertible, and it still has the original engine, it would be worth going through whatever it takes to get a ***le for it and sell it. Those are extremely rare and worth a decent penny.
Timothale I'll be doing some work to my motor this weekend so I might try to find a casting number or if nothing maybe just measure a stick through the spark plug hole to find the stroke. Frankenford it's only worth about 1500 in its current condition. I check out the 7liter site pretty regularly. It'll be worth more to swipe the parts to throw at my Galaxie. It was worth a ton more when my dads 7 liter hardtop 4 speed was sitting next to it about 15 years ago. Somebody actually bought the pair for cheap from my grandpa and after the hard top fell apart being pulled onto the trailer he never came back for the other one. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
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