Technical Which Ford engine to use in F-100

Looking for suggestions, pictures of which Ford carb engine to use in my 1955 Ford F- 100 to fill up engine bay area and not be a boat anchor and parts are easy availible for machine shop-- ( I got one 351 W and a complete 351 C engine all good condition for easy rebuild )-----Thanks

 

easy - 460. easy to find in big Fords, Lincolns and pickups. gobs of torque, relatively cheap to build (MUCH less than a FE)

 

What are you going to do with your F-100? What are your requirements?

 

The venerable old FE is a great swap and was popular since forever.

 

I put a 392 HEMI in mine it would hall the laundry .
Of course that was 1959.

 

460


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Depends on what you are going to do with it. Daily Driver, easy on gas, 302 or 351W. Weekend play toy, or wanna tow something - 460. Wanna be a little different - 351 Cleveland.

So many choices without knowing the purpose.

 

Guess you missed the FORD motor part of the question LOL

 

In a 55 my first choice would be a nice 312 Y block...292 would be fine too as is a 272 and even a 239 if it was already there. One advantage with the Y and even a 223 six....the truck was made for it and has the rear bellhousing mount cross member.

2nd would be a Challenger...289 to 302. Mid-65 up 289s have the "6 bolt 289-300 six-302-351W bolt pattern. Early small block Fords have a 5 bolt pattern...221-260 63 to early 65 289. So a 302 or 351W makes transmission choices easy peasy.

3rd would be the FE....these will fit well into a 55. A good running truck 352 and trans combo can be had if you look. So many are pulling these out of 65 up trucks and replacing them with Crown Vic junk. Look around. A 352 responds well to souping up. Of course there's the bigger FEs like 390-427-428s. One caveat about FEs....
352s magically become 390s on sale day.

4th, the 300 six. There's a lot you can do to these. In their later years the 300s or 4.9s were detuned so they would not out perform the higher optioned 5.0.

5th...429-460
6th..Cleveland if you have the cash.
7th...the M series. I hear tell they can make good engines.
Lastly the 223. Fun to fool with and they fit. Some period performance parts are available.

 

351 Cleveland gets my vote.

 

292 or 312 would be my choice.

 

351 w good availability and lots of hopup parts.

 

Once bought a "390" from a trailer park manager for near scrap price. A former tenant left it behind before finishing the swap into his beater pickup. It turned out to be a running 428 Cobra Jet.

 

My choice would be a stroked 351 Windsor. Much cheaper than FE ,done that got the bills to prove it.
Lighter than a 460 so not as much front bias. Stroker kits are very reasonable in price now.
A set of good heads and intake and you are well over 400 hp on mid grade pump gas.
Want to be different build a turbo'd 300 6 cylinder.
Had a 54 F100 with a 455 buick and turbo 400. That thing was wicked fast and had enough torque to pull a car trailer no problem.

 

289's = 1964 to 1968.[3 speed autos from mid '65 to '68]...
351 C's = 1970 to 1975 ?
both are getting hard to find... also 351 M's are not what the C's were...
so 302's or 351 W's would be my choice...
the 302's had their HP reduced to 125 just after the GAS CRUNCH of the mid to late 70's...
[stock Merc flatties were 112 HP]...
IMO ... get 1971 or older... 302 = 210 HP...or a newer release with some modern pop...
dropping a ford in your truck is the way God and Henry intended !

 

I helped a buddy do a 352 in his '53 Ford truck, actually the 352 came out of my totaled out '64 Ford. Used it with the 3-speed and all. This was in 1978, the adapter may have been a JC Whitney item, Trans Dapt may make one. But they are available. My vote right now is a 351C.

 

Anything Y block would be nice and give a decent tranny some good thought.
May I recommend something with an O/D for gas economy and ease on highways and you can still run decent diff gears for hauling.

 

Hopped up 302 or 351W . Or a 429/460 ONLY with aluminum aftermarket heads to reduce weight .
A 351C would be fun , if you could find a good one . JMO....

 

My first choice would be a yblock followed by a FE. Not really a sbf fan but they would get it down the road. Something different. Look into a 300 6cyl. Reliable torque monsters. Also don't overlook the 400. Can be built to a good running engine.

 

My 57 F-100 has a 272 and 3 speed presently. But I plan on sticking a Lincoln 368 Y block and 4 speed hydramatic in it. It'll be fast, especially out of the hole!

Any Y block will look good in your truck.

 

Since a 429 Cammer may break the bank it IS the one to fill the engine bay. With that out of the way I would now look to the newer Mustang cammers as they too would fill it up and be a lot lighter. All the big Fords are heavy and it would be my choice to find something lighter than the original Y.
Today so many are going to the LS styles for GM 50's cars so why not do it for your Ford. There are a lot of 4.6's and 5.0's out there and guys are wrecking 1-3 yr old Mustangs every day which even be better. Good Luck.

 

I run a 429 police interceptor in my 57, plenty of room but it does like the expensive go-go juice!


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You need a solid lifter 427 and two big fat Holleys.

-Abone.

 

Or, you can do the same thing with a garden variety 390 and sort of let folks get the impression that it is a 427. It would still run great and I wouldn't tell anybody....

-Abone.

 

had a Pontiac 400 in mine

 

I'd use the 351 Windsor. Mainly because you already have one, and if it runs have decent even better.

 

Had a Boss 302 in my 56, drove like a scalded cat and not to heavy!

 

In your case-I would probably use one of the Ford motors I had in inventory.

 

FE,s fit good and you can use 330 F 600 exhaust manifolds. I just pulled the 352 FE from my 56 F100. Ive got a nailhead with 2 fours and a lot of wieand goodies and try Y hedders I think will look better in it. The 352 will find a new home in my 55 2 dr ranch wagon.

 

You mention the 223. there is also a 262 truck six that looks identical to the 223.