How good is a 352 Ford FE engine and how could I make it a pretty descent performer???I hear you can put any FE intake on any FE engine and make it work???and also any suggestions?thanks
352's last forever! They are the same basic engine as all FE's, right up to the 427 and 428, but much less power so they are like the battery bunny, haha. A 390 crank will fit your block if you can find one, as will better heads, intakes, cams, pretty much any good stuff from the bigger power FE's will work on a 352. A point of interest, most FE'S have 352 written on the block, regardless of cubic inches. One thing to be aware of, the HD truck engines have specific head/intake/exhaust manifold assemblies that are different. The blocks will accept either truck or car stuff, but the heads require the correct manifolds.
Larry Wells ran one in AHRA D/HR in the early '70s before he switched to a SS/C 427 fairlane. It was written up in Car Craft, was ina '53/'54 ford 2 dr sedan. Maybe someone has the article, and can post it. Had a home-made tunnel ram. Cant remember what heads were on it, maybe 427 med. riser?
Some of the last 352s were rated about 352, but the first of those rated that high had too soft valve springs & suffered valve float. By the time Ford figured out what the problem was they had gained a bad rep. They can be built.
They work fine, depends on what you want to do. There were a vast array of different FE heads with different port sizes, ranging from fairly small to big to huge so 'any FE intake on any FE engine' doesn't quite cover it. The 352 has a smaller bore than later FEs, don't think you can run anything bigger than the basic 352 (maybe 390) head without valve-head-to-bore clearance problems. I recall reading about some big-port 352 heads, that had the small valves or the valve guides closer together or something, that were used in some hipo 352s before the 390 and 406 came along, but that's as much as I remember and they're probably about as rare as rocking horse feces now.
Not to take anything away from our guys here, but if you want FE info, Google FE Forum and you should find the one listed on network54. Those guys live, breathe and bleed FEs
It would also be handy to have this book:http://www.mre-books.com/interchange/index.html you can preview it when you click on the link.
The 352 is blank slate just waiting for the artists chisel. As already stated, you can drop in a 390 or 428 crank (or even longer stroke Scat or Eagle unit, they will clear with out any work). A 352 will easily take a 0.050" overbore (stock 390). At 0.050" over and a 428 crank, you have a 410 ci torque monster. The early 60's 352 heads (C0AE and C2AE) are really decent flow wise and will accept any aftermarket low riser intake. In 1960 Ford put out a 360 Hp version of the 352. One built to those specs and today's equipment would be a very strong runner. They can even be made to scream with the right valve train. A gentlemen by the name of Bill Heinson used to campaign a '64 Galaxie with a built 352 FE in the Super Stock class. Story goes that he would spin the FE up to 8600 on the line and shift at 7400. Here is a link to the complete story. http://www.network54.com/Forum/74182...uper+Stock+352 Your options are endless with a good FE block, the question is how fast do you want to spend? Good Luck
I'm running one in my 55 Fiarlane and it run like a champ, also has a suprising amount of torque. I can peel the hides with no problem.
Exactly, you don't necessarily need the long torque arm (although it definitely helps) of the 428 crank. The 300 hp 352's produced from 1958 through 1962 were rated at 380 to 395 ft-lbs of torque. Pretty good numbers for a "small" motor.
A buddy and I back in the early 80's used to race a 65 f100 with a 352. Topped it with a 3 duece intake backed by a c6. It would cross the traps around 7600rpm. Solid powerful engine. Never broke it. We kept adding bigger carbs and finally sold it and he built a 460 powered falcon.
I found a 59-60 Merc 352,complete here the info i have so far: It was in the garage all covered in <NOBR>plastic</NOBR> and canvas. It turns over real smooth-the oil looks good, and the plugs look fine. It might be a good running motor as is, but it is at least, a builder [352,s are hard to find ]--the <NOBR>Engine shop</NOBR> looked up the motor #s and It came out of a 1959 or 1960 <NOBR>Mercury</NOBR>-Has Mercury valve covers. $ 300.00 So should i risk it? opinions Thanks for any help!--chuck
What are you building? If it's not a race car you should be fine. They had a rep of being a gas guzzler in the 60s but for a non daily driver where fuel economy is not quite such a big deal I'd make him an offer.
Over the years we've done a few of these (352's) and I can tell you from the start, "make it bigger", especially in a larger ride! The last one left here (based on an OEM 352" casting) as a 406" (pictured below) for a full-size Galaxie. It was dynoed and turned out as a nice pump-gas "driver", nothing fancy, but real nice. Thanks, Gary in N.Y. P.S. If you do any up-stroke, you cannot use the 352" conn rods, wrong length for most "stocking" aftermarket parts!
-$300 does not sound out of line for what is there. And if it has Mercury valve covers, they are becoming pretty rare items! I'd jump on it if it was closer. In actuality, I need a set of Merc valve covers for my 68 1/2ton 390 but they are just about impossible to find even up here in the land of Mercury's. .
Chuck, From what I remember and read, Mercury didn't offer a 352 in 59 or 60, they came with 312, 383, and 430's on those years. It could possibly be a 390, out of a 61 and up Merc, maybe some of our FE experts might be able to clarify what it is. It sounds like a good deal either way.
Marty, I believe you are correct. '59 and '60 Mercury's only came with a 312 Y-Block or a 383 or 410 MEL. In 1961 and later, you could get a 352, 390, or 406 FE in a Merc. Now, that is not to say that someone couldn't have swapped the motor. The early MEL's and FE's were very interchangeable.
Gary, I referred a HAMB member to you from L.I. that needed some heads repaired, I know if you handled that for him, he would be pleased, TR
In pickups Ford went to a 360 which was a 352 useing a 390 block one less block to stock. My question does a 360 use a 352 or 390 rod.
360 used the "long" 352 rod, which can be very handy when building a street engine, as you can easily adjust the quench, as most stock pistons are down in the hole a bit to allow for decking and tolerances, so you can get the quench very tight with a leetle cut on the 390-410-428 pistons and the "long" rods. They are not quite as beefy as the 390-410-428 rod, but strong enough for a street engine