I currently have a 360 with 600cfm 4bbl carb on stock intake with headers and dual exhaust. I can get good running engine with a 67 donor truck for $500.

Should I stick the $500 into the 360 I already have or purchase the 390 with the truck and swap the motors and use the extra parts off of the donor truck?

If I stick with the 360 I will by an aluminum intake and cam kit with the $500. What do you think is the smarter choice?

 

what engine is the truck supposed to have

 

I would get the 390. I have a friend that had a 360 did a lot of mods to it and it still didn't ever run right

 

My current truck came with a 360 three on the tree. Runs good, but I want more power. This 390 comes in a truck and from what I can tell a 390 is 40 more HP stock. With my intake and carb 600CFM and headers with duals it should be even more with just an engine swap. Let me know if this is incorrect.

 

if the truck is meant to have a 360 keep the 360 in there

 

Go with the 390. Great motors. I replaced a 352 in a 66 F100 with one. Use a mild RV cam, 4 bbl intake and upgrade to a 750 carb when you can. Excellent torque making setup for a pickup truck. Great acceleration off the line and stump puller as well.

 

Loved the old 360 my dad's 72 had in it with all the bolt on mods. Thing was s stump puller for sure. And reliable as they come. I would personally put that money into the 360, if its still a solid good running motor, and save the hassle of a motor swap.

 

The 360 and 390 are both part of the Ford "Ford/Edsel" (FE) series of motors. Just diffefences in bore and stroke. In fact if you look close you will see "352" stamped into the block casting on the front of the engine. Both the 360 and 390 originated from thos block and all three have the same dimensions. Dont even have to change motor mounts to change between the three.

 

Good to know. Whats the 3rd engine of that group?

 

The 352. The series started in the Edsel with a 312. Over the years it has been bored and stroked into a 332, 352, 360, 372, 406, and 428 retaining essentially the same block but various combinations of heads, pistons and crankshafts. From the 352 on, all the blocks oroginated as 352's. So a 390 will actually have 352 stamped in the casting on the front of the motor right below the head on the right side. There were performance versions of the 352 and on up used in some of the best muscle cars of the day. Lots of performance parts available. The 360 was built primarily as a lower compression truck engine. Still a god motor amd can be warmed up substantially with speed parts but i personally like the 390 in a truck. Lots of torque with a mild RV cam. Lots of info on the net on the FE series of Ford motors. They were manufactured from the fifties into the late seventies and ended their lives in mostly truck applications.