Register now to get rid of these ads!

History 1960 390-360 HP Ford.

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by tommy, Jan 26, 2011.

  1. tommy
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 14,757

    tommy
    Member Emeritus

    [​IMG]

    June 1960 Speed Mechanics. This was an article on Daytona. There are only 2 races that have kept my attention for all these years. Daytona in Feb. and Indy in May. I never remembered the 60 HiPo FE engine. I was not driving then. I do remember vividly when the 63 1/2 427s hit the streets and the fast back roof lines.

    I was surprised at the number of parts that were changed strictly for the 360 HP engine. Someone was building a clone and asked for this picture. I finally found it.
     
  2. Jeff Norwell
    Joined: Aug 20, 2003
    Posts: 14,809

    Jeff Norwell
    MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    I just bought a 63 running t bird 390 engine for my next project...cool
     
  3. JeffB2
    Joined: Dec 18, 2006
    Posts: 9,484

    JeffB2
    Member
    from Phoenix,AZ

    I had one of those in '67 after I got out of the Army in a '61 Ford ragtop,it was red and shiney and really fast.I never thought to open the trunk when I bought it,and first time we hit the grocery store and opened the trunk I found another gas tank in tandem with the lower tank and where a round hole and been filled on the drivers side,I went back to the dealer and found out it had been a Illinois Highway Patrol "Ghost Car" the holes were under the dash where the radios were mounted.
     
  4. FrozenMerc
    Joined: Sep 4, 2009
    Posts: 3,093

    FrozenMerc
    Member

    The 1960 360 HP was actually a 352, not a 390. The 390 didn't come out until 1961. It was a one year option, and that damn thing ran like a scalded cat. I believe that it was also the 1st American engine to be rated at over 1 hp per cubic inch. Ford droped it for 1961 because they didn't want the 352 to be rated higher than the 330 hp 390.
     
    Last edited: Jan 26, 2011

  5. tommy
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 14,757

    tommy
    Member Emeritus

    [​IMG]

    That's cool. This is a garden variety 352 that I'm trying to doll up like an engine from that period for my 56 2dr sedan. That makes me feel better about my engine. I put the 352 high performance decals in the wrong place but that'll have to do. I really wanted the cast iron factory headers but they won't fit in the 56. I was a GM man back then.

    Thanks for the correction. I should have done more research.
     
  6. dirty4
    Joined: Mar 6, 2010
    Posts: 165

    dirty4
    Member

    I had a 61 that actually had a 406 in it. fast car
     
  7. V8 Bob
    Joined: Feb 6, 2007
    Posts: 2,966

    V8 Bob
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    The 352 HP was dropped because the new 390 had 4V 375 hp and 3x2 401 hp options.
     
  8. In 1963 a friend of mine from Indiana had a 60' Starliner he brought home from the Air Force. It had the 360 hp 352. If I remember correctly, the 360 hp version had three deuces and the single four barrel was 345 hp. It only had a three speed as Ford didn't offer a 4 speed at that time.
     
  9. V8 Bob
    Joined: Feb 6, 2007
    Posts: 2,966

    V8 Bob
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    As pictures in the first post, the 360 hp 352 had a single 4V. The first tri-power FE was the '61 390 401 hp. The first tri-power FoMoCo was the '58 Mercury Super Marauder 400 hp 430 MEL.
     
  10. Wagonmaster2
    Joined: Aug 18, 2010
    Posts: 333

    Wagonmaster2
    Member

    CLEARLY you have forgotten the 348/350 from 1960 as well?? Still...neat stuff!
     
  11. V8 Bob
    Joined: Feb 6, 2007
    Posts: 2,966

    V8 Bob
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    How about the '56 Chrysler 300B, with a 355 hp dual quad 354 hemi...I think this was the first. :)
     
  12. FrozenMerc
    Joined: Sep 4, 2009
    Posts: 3,093

    FrozenMerc
    Member

    True, but when the sales catalog listed engine options, no one at Ford wanted a 360 Hp 352 to be seen above the 330 Hp base 390. That is why they left the 220 Hp 2V and 300 Hp 4V 352 options. The catalog was in nice ascending order then.

    Good call on the 354 Hemi in the 300B, I completely forgot about that one.
     
  13. Olds Mike
    Joined: Nov 21, 2007
    Posts: 42

    Olds Mike
    Member
    from Spokane WA

    Wow! Haven't checked the HAMB lately and was pleasantly surprised to come across this thread re the '60 352HP-360 horse option. I'm fortunate to have one! Mine's a '60 Sunliner(convertible). I've had it since '98 but knew of the car and previous owner since '82. Based on a ton of research over the years here's a piece of interesting history regarding the '60 HP 352 and the '61 HP390 - there was never a unique engine letter given to these engines for the VIN. You'll read a lot of misinformation about this,i.e., that there was an R code '60 or and M code '61. Plainly not true. Ford offered the HP packages of '60-'61 on a special order basis only. In '60 the HP352 had a Y 5th unit in on the VIN just like a standard 352-4V. In '61 the HP390(either 4V-375 or 6V-401 horse) were Z coded just like the standard performance 390-4V. Crazy I know but apparently the company wasn't ready to provide a unique engine code for the special order, not normal producition high performance packages. I found the build sheet for my Sunliner stapled to the inside of the passenger door trim panel. My car is a Y code. In the space provided on the build sheet for special equipment/comments it says:
    High Performance Engine. HD O.D. Trans. HD 3.56 axle. 7.10 X 15" WSW tires.
    Power Steering, Power Brakes, Air Conditioning were not available with the HP engine packages as was true for the future HP 406 and 427.

    So anyway great to read some posts indicating there's some awareness out there about the 352HP.
     
  14. 9310alloy
    Joined: Nov 16, 2007
    Posts: 72

    9310alloy
    Member

    Would like to get a copy of "Speed Mechanics" article.
    1960 Ford 360HP / 352 made great racecars.
    Norm Nelson : 1960 Zecol Lubaid Ford ...Won the USAC stock car championship.

    [​IMG]
     
  15. tommy
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 14,757

    tommy
    Member Emeritus

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    These are the rest of the pages from the Ford portion of the article. I was looking for a generator for my 352 and ran across a generator pulley for stupid money (for me anyway) only to learn that it only came on the HIPO engines. My poor little 352 won't need one.:D
     
  16. 9310alloy
    Joined: Nov 16, 2007
    Posts: 72

    9310alloy
    Member

    Tommy , Thank you for posting......Mike
     
  17. MeanGene427
    Joined: Dec 15, 2010
    Posts: 2,307

    MeanGene427
    Member
    from Napa

    Yep, my 406 car is a 500XL with manual steering and brakes
     

Share This Page

Register now to get rid of these ads!

Archive

Copyright © 1995-2021 The Jalopy Journal: Steal our stuff, we'll kick your teeth in. Terms of Service. Privacy Policy.

Atomic Industry
Forum software by XenForo™ ©2010-2014 XenForo Ltd.