Technical Question 352 FE

Hi and Merry XMas
My new Project is a 1965 Ford Country Squire with 352 Engine. The Engine accelerate Realy Slow . For Example ..we have a Stock 1960 389 Pontiac 2bbl an its feels like a Race Engine against the 352 I dont know if its normal. Its hard to Go on Highway quick. We want Little more Power. Its a Street Driven Car not Quarter Mile Or something. We want more Power and Torque Not a high RPM Engine.But good enough for a Short quick Start... I think REAL 300 HP is fine. I Hear when i change to long Headers and another Intake , it will bring a lot??? The Engine is Running and Stärkung Good but Not Fast We dont want a complete rebuild or something . Or do you think its better to change to 390 Engine.We dont want to change Trans etc.
Thanks a lot for Inspiration and sorry for my Bad Schoolenglish

 

An aluminum intake would help. at this time many would recommend an Edelbrock Performer RPM but the rest of your combo wouldn't utilize the intakes capability. Headers, double check your timing and a Edelbrock Performer 390 would help (lower RPM requirements). Possibly a Holley 600 CFM carb. Yours is most likely a 2bbl carb.
Check the rear axle gear ratio it original the door VIN tag will give you an idea if it hasn't been changed. That change will give you some pick-up in acceleration.
What's your budget? Headers would be between $300 and $600 US. then exhaust system modifications.

Movin/on

 

Check your vacuum advance and dwell late timing will kill the performance. A 4 barrel and duals
really wakes up an FE. Just rebuilt a 64 390 Merc convert and he pulls an airstream with it and its a factory 2 barrel car with dual exhaust. It pulls that Airst ream like its not even there.

 

Your motor might just be old and tired. I have a 61 352 and its by no means a rocket but it gets up to speed pretty good in my heavy ass wagon. It has a stock 80 lb. intake and Ford 2100 carb. The only after market stuff is headers and a pertronix distributor. I did have the heads freshened up with new springs and valves.
check out this site for some great info http://www.network54.com/Forum/74182

 

Aluminum headers and Edelbrock/Offenhauser dual plane intake will shave about 150 pounds off the engine.The intake is cheap and has the same profile as a low riser GT Mustang intake manifold.If you do cam and lifters,go for a profile with a .287 duration,maximum.Perfect for the street.The GT cam or equivalent is good.I have used an RV cam with good low end results.Upgrade to an electronic ignition.An Edelbrock Performance 600 cfm carb is the best for economy and drivability.Pony Carburetor sells one set up for your application out of the box.Electric choke ,too.Replace the steel fan with a light weight aluminum fan.Good motors,the FE.A little bulky.Mine always ran even with high.

 

I just love the FE Ford motors. No matter what you do they are tanks. Your Country Squire weighs over 4K lbs. that's more than 2 TONS. That little 352 on it's best day it only made 250 max Horse Power. That was Dealer advertised H.P. so believe that if you want. A good 390 was rated at 300 H.P. but that was a real stretch. The 65 still used the Cast Iron crus-o-matic (Read that, sucks H.P.) . The good C-6 showed up in 1966. You probably have 292 rear gears. To be real strait a with you it is Never going to be quick from a standing start NO matter what you do. Can you believe Ford actually put a 6cyl. in some of those cars? They are just Sleds for Mom to drive ment for an average of 60mph driving. My personal best way to get where you want to go is shorter rear gears and/or shorter rear tires. Along with any change you make your going to see a substantial loss of Miles per Gallon. Your lucky if your getting 12mpg now.
The Wizzard

 

My question to arthurC3 is, What kind of honest increase in H.P. did you get and at what total parts cost?
The Wizzard

 

Thanks for your Informations. Yes its right 250 HP Ford Said.65tsd Miles on it. I think the Engine is Stock . Its an Factory 4 Barrel on it. I Must look for Ignition And Vakuum .. its realy Slow. Its hard to Accelerate good on Highway. Yes the Car Weight about 2 Tonns and the Trans ist the Cruise o Matic.. The Spark Plug Looks Perfect. LightBrown. And he Start like a Boss ...i Look on the Key an the Engine Runs But i miss the Power .. i dont want a Race Car But without angry to accelerate on Highway Its a Truck in Front of me its hard to Overtake it .Unfortunately, I have no comparison with other Ford engines. But my Pontiac feels like a racing car . I think theres something wrong with the Engine.

 

I was told to get a "tow package" cam for my 352, I was also told that Summit has good cams for them as well.


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whats the rear gears in both cars?
how healthy is the 352?
tune up, check timing and make sure the advance is working properly
all these bolt on performance parts wont help much with out doing this
the FE will love the better exhaust more than the intake

 

Is the kickdown linkage for the trans working right? If it isn't downshifting, it won't pull worth a damn....

 

Is your kick down linkage working right? Are you using the center position on the three drive options(marked D1 on some)? The left or D2 position starts you out in 2nd.
Damn I have to type with more than 2 fingers, What Steve said.

 

Thanks a lot i will Look for Ignition and Vakuum. I dont know the rea Gears from both Cars. The Otter is a 1960 pontiac Ventura 2 tonns same like the Ford. Where can i buy some good Header for my Car? I think the Kickdown Linkage is ok its downshifting whe accelerate

 

Use the one in the middle(big dot) for all three gears and check to see if kick down is working properly.* sorry I didn't catch that the kickdown is working

 

Sven, I would start be checking the overall condition of the engine, check the cylinder compression, and get a vacuum gauge and that will also let you diagnose any problems your 352 may have. Once you have some idea of the health of the engine get a copy of the tune up specifications and follow them, but you might try advancing the timing to see if that will help the performance.

 

That s a Plan . First i was thinking That all the 352 is so slow. But i think its only Mine I will Check all and will Tell u. The downshifting is OK .When i accelerate it shift down and i think....wow the Power will press me in the Seat ...But nothing Its only Loud...Thanks a lot

 

post a picture of the VIN (vehicle identification plate) for us - and search www.tpocr.com/fordvin.html for deciphering information on it - for upgrade motor parts search summitracing.com ; jegs.com and others - search for more information at 332-428 Ford FE Forum www.network54.com/forum/74182

 

Thanks Joker

 

Dad had a 65 2 dr Galaxie with a 352 that I drove a lot back in the 60's and early 70's. In 65 they came stock with a Ford 4V carb and IIRC they also came with dual exhaust. It had plenty of power for normal driving. Not a hot rod, but not the sort of slug you're describing. The one thing I do remember about that car was if the timing was off it had near zero power.

My amazing teenage mechanic skills prompted me to set the timing on the wrong side of TDC once when changing points and plugs, and it would barely run downhill. Another time, the vacuum diaphragm died and it again had no power. Other than those timing issues, it always had plenty of power for passing, merging into traffic and such

 

Thats sound Good. I think something about this are my issues. I will look. Its my first Ford
Now i will look how to set the Ignition on Fords 352 .....

 

One good point made here is the Vacuum advance unit. One good back fire can rupture the diaphrame. Also a piece of rubber hose replacing the steel line can create a problem. I generally manually test the advance unit. Disconnect the line and use a hand vac to test it. If you don't have one you can actually suck on carb end of the line, just don't let your Pals see you do it. A long piece of rubber hose will often collapse under load just when you need it and you get no advance.
The Wizzard

 

Couldn't a loose timing chain retard the timing some ?

 

Correct Marty; and there are 2 ways to check that. You can remove the fuel pump turn the Crank C.C. and stick your finger in the pump hole and pull on the chain. Other is remove all plugs and Dist. cap. Turn crank till you find timing marks. Go to 10. degrees at pointer, stop. Watch rotor and turn crank opposite direction till rotor starts to move. Look at timing mark. If it moved 5 or more degrees it's time to replace the gears and chain. Also know that not all new replacement gears are built to factory set. Always use a degree wheel when replacing gear and chain.
The Wizzard

 

I remember there were 2 different timing sets for FE, one with a spacer on the gear and one using a floating spacer. Replace with the exact same set, or you might have problems.

 

You are correct.

 

The Country Squire with a 352 was a popular work horse for large families, trailer towing, and heavy duty use. The engine is powerful and should give a good performance. Similar to the Pontiac but maybe not quite so fast, as it is a slightly less powerful engine in a slightly heavier car.

You should start by getting a factory repair manual. Check compression and oil pressure. If they are good, it should be possible to get full power and performance with a good tuneup. No special parts or alterations necessary. Just put it back to stock condition with everything working correctly to make a new beginning.

 

The way you describe the performance it sounds like it might be a torque converter failure. If the torque converter breaks down, the car will perform very badly, feeling like you are pulling a freight train behind you even with the engine at full throttle.

 

One more thing to check, if it has an Autolite 4100 carb, the secondary actuating diaphragm could be bad, essentially turning it into a two barrel. Also, when that happens, the fuel will sit in the secondary float bowl and turn into junk, and the transfer tube from primary to secondary float bowls can become plugged.

 

Put a vacuum gauge on if the vacuum goes away at high RPM look for a plugged exhaust or stuck heat riser valve.