Hey I'm new here, wanted some feedback on what car would be a good platform for a 360/390 FE V8? Anything RWD, not too big or boaty, doesn't have to be a ford but that's preferred. It will also have a C6 behind it.

 

Hi Ryan
Not really understanding what you have. Do you have a 360 and a 390 engine
are you going to build a 390 from a 360 motor?
Any Ford from 1958 - 1970 car and up to a 73 Ford truck will mount an FE block
except the early year Falcons, without major engine compartment work..

 

Sorry no, I just have a 360 but just listed 390 as I'm not 100% sure if it's a 360 or 390 but was planning on making it a 390 if it's a 360. I had been looking at some mid 60's Fairlane's and late 60's mustangs.

my next question would be, I need to rebuild the engine anyways, should I stick with 390, or what would I have to do to have a 427/428 block?

 

Hi Ryan
Have you done any reading about the FE series? I believe the 360 is a "truck"
motor not that it could not be built into a 390.. the 427 and 428 are really a little
different engines, although still FE..
I suggest you do some reading on the internet about the FE engines first
but after that I would stay with a mid size car say a Fairlane 66\67 if you like the
body style... the FE is a "round" bell housing bolt pattern The C6 is a stout tranny
If you already have one, if not a C4 can handle up to 450 - 500 HP when built and is
lighter then the C6.
Again do some reading,

 

I have done some reading on the differences between the 360 and 390 FD engines, and as far as I know there wasn't a real big difference internally with the truck 360 and a passenger 390 and that all id need is a 390 crankshaft and connecting rods. Wasn't sure if the 427/428 had the same block or was just based on it, or if the bore was bigger, etc.

The combination I have is a 360/C6 out of a 1971 Ford F100, I'm considering parating out the truck (started knocking) but keeping the engine and transfer for rebuild and selling the rest to get my money put in back. The motor and trans only have 78,899 mIles on them original, but sat for a few years hence the knocking. Plus I have a bad relationship with a freeze plug that needs fixing.

 

I am not sure but I think the heads on the 360 are different from the car heads, I could
be wrong on that.. the crank in the 360 could be a forged steel, which Ford did often
in their trucks.
Do you have a budget? FE parts are on the higher side.
here are some FE siteshttp://www.mercurystuff.com/fe-engine-specs.htmlhttp://www.transmissionadapters.com/ford_fe.htmhttp
//www.erareplicas.com/427man/engine/partnums.htm
In the FE series you could be a 352\360HP if your inclined..
I'm still not sure of what your after.. a mid sixty's street rod, a cruiser?
Are you a wrench guy or going to have the work done, if the later, better to just
buy a built FE motor..

 

As for budget, it won't be anything crazy, so I probably won't do forged internals or anything, I'm kinda going for a 60's street rod/classic muscle, and I'll be doing all the work myself.

 

I might just be doing this project in the truck that thus engine is in already, good platform for the most part, it's not like it can really tow all that much anyways. That way I don't have to scrap this and start over the restoration process.

 

So trucks can be very cool, especially if it's a short bed.
Tons of parts for a 71 Ford.
bucket seats (maybe) rebuild the 360 maybe a roller cam\roller lifters
aluminum 4bbl intake, Holley street dom carb (don't go overboard) Holley has
a carb calculator on it's site tell you what size carb to run...
Like my 374 CI only needs about 450 cfm carb... going to big on a carb not only
wastes gas, but can make your build dog.
New wheels, tires... I'd find a AOD build it instead of a C6.... you need an adapter
but you can make that money back easy with the gas saving...

 

most of that is what I had in mind, sadly it's a long bed but I like the stance of it ok, plus it has the two saddle tanks. It currently has ugly chrome smoothies with the hub caps taken off, so those gotta go. It has a C6 in it and I thought I'd leave it cuz it can take some power, also it does have a Ford 9" rear end and 3.00 gearing. If I changed the rear gear then I'd probably go over to a modern 4-speed AOD. There's a picture of what I've got above.