Technical FE guys-'62 390

What socket is needed for the Balancer bolt? I've a few hour drive to look at a '62 Cabover with a 390, seller seems clueless, think he just inherited stuff. So since the drive is long, I'll take my commuter, and don't want to take 400lbs of tools with me.

I want to see if the engine spins over, then make a plan to get the beast home

 

Just pulled apart the 360 in my '72 F250 (same engine as 390, just different stroke) and it took a 15/16" socket.

 

Seems like every Ford I've messed with was 15/16", but really don't have a solid answer.

 

big truck likely has a 352.....or an FT. Or you might get lucky!

 

Just assume it is locked up and price accordingly.
If not you get lucky, if it is you are not hurt.
I have seen decent projects go to the scrap yard for $100, because the seller is annoyed he is stuck getting rid of his relatives hobby parts. Has their own life to deal with.

Same time, a 1962 cabover is not a highly sought after project. Doubt few people are competing with you.
Roll the dice, make a firm offer and if accepted, go pick it up. Otherwise let it go.
Leave a call back number, they may call you 4 weeks from now and ask if you are still interested.

My point is, save it from the scrap pile, do not pay top/high dollar for it.

 

Be careful, since this is at least a C-500 and possibly a C-800, there might be differences between the car engine and medium/heavy duty truck engines. I don’t know much about FE engines, but the accessory drives are probably different. Maybe the crank snout too. Please correct me if I’m wrong so I know for the future.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Ya, but I "have a plan"...lol, see it has a boom and winch. A few years ago I had to pull my well pump...100 feet down. So...if I can get a running "thing", I can set it up so when I'm 70 (knock on wood) I can change it much easier then.

 

What is an FT? I'm not well versed in Ford engines

CU In isn't a concern for me, just need to see if I can make it run. I'm hoping it has 8 bolt wheels on it, I've a good set of tires on 8 bolts (2 ton chassis).

Also hoping he can tell me air or hydraulic brakes, but I don't think he'd know.

 

Ford truck.






Bones

 

A 62 probably has the Y -Block, that's where the cool rams horn manifolds come from. Since Ford didn't put the FE 352 in pickups until 65, I doubt a 62 would be an FE. You might ask about distributor location, that will tell you more.

 

I think truck DR has a good idea, could very well be some obsolete engine.
GM was good about making different motors.
Even if it is locked up, possible you soak the cylinders and free it up in 15 min.
Or the engine has a spun bearing and never free up soaking in oil.
You are buying a pig in a poke .... what if it spins and you get it home, fire it up and has a bad rod bearing?

You actually have a use for it as a working truck. And possible it just may work for you as is.
Grandpa got pissed off when his dump bed on his 1952 chevy broke while unloading his Ford 9N tractor/backhoe.
He went to work and replaced the single piston hydraulics with dual pistons and welded up a strong bed frame. Then replaced the 216 engine with a fresh rebuilt 235.
Needed minor work to get it road worthy ... nobody cared. Sold for $100 to a scrap yard to come pick it up.
Same story with a 1957 cheby 2.5 ton flatbed. Hotrod 283 engine with a cam and double hump heads, 5 spd trans and a 2 spd rear end and a modern flat bed ... runs, drives and stops ... sold to scrap yard for $100 .... nobody cares. Advertised on craigslist and zero replies.

Make a low ball offer for a non running truck, or pay a fair price for a working one.
The seller knows nothing, you know nothing ... you are buying a lottery ticket and hoping to win.
You may feel guilty if you win ... or feel really bad if you lose.
Either way life goes on.

 

Ask him to send you a couple of pics.Ask questions . You might get a lucky answer or not . No guarantee it is original.

 

A FT is the big-truck-only version of the FE. Quite a few differences IIRC, all the FT motors had a forged crank but a larger crank snout (so you may want a larger socket), some were equipped with a manual governor, and had more/different accessory mounting holes/bosses to accommodate things like the air brake compressor and PTOs. Sodium-filled exhaust valves were used on some too. Came in multiple displacements, the 330 was the first and followed by the 359, 361, 389, and 391, the 'odd' cubic inch to differentiate it from it's car/light truck cousins.

A '62 would have either a Y-block or a larger Lincoln-based MEL motor if it's original. But IIRC, the MEL used the same bellhousing bolt pattern as the FE, so it could have a FE/FT in there if the motor was replaced. A ex-FIL had a '62 C800 dump that had a 330 FE he installed to replace the MEL.

 

If it is a 1962 C-Series it will have either the HD Y-Block (272 / 292) or a Lincoln Y Block (302 / 332). They did not start putting FT's in the big trucks until '64. That said, it could have easily been swapped anytime in the past 58 years.

Crazy Steve. They never put MEL's in trucks. The Super Duty V8's were similar in design (Plank Head), but shared no components what so ever with the MEL's. Ford did put Super Duty's into the C-Series in '62, but they only went into the heaviest C850 / C900 and larger units.

 

I looked over your chart and oddly enough Ford did put an FT in school busses in 1962!






Bones

 

Which one is the FT on that chart? I only see a 302 and a 332, and those were both based on the old Lincoln Y-Block.

 

Right on. No FT's until 1964. The 332 in 1962 was a Lincoln Y-block, not a FE. Same stroke as a 368, but de-bored by 3/16". The 302 was just a further reduction in bore size.

The Cummins Diesels offered in the N Series trucks during this time period are interesting. Definitely not on the same performance levels as today's modern diesels, and the 534 Super Duty gasser's would have had no problem keeping up with the big Cummins, assuming you had enough fuel on board....

 

Ok, just saw the 332 and assumed it was the new FT, I know Ford does some odd things with engine offerings. I just figured they were trying out the new engine. My bad.








Bones

 

Geez, I tell ya. I ask questions about the truck, I get "I don't know, my dad thinks...."...I ask for pics of a few things (I did let him know I'm a 3 hour drive to get there), I get the "I'll try". I mean who tries to sell something and can't take time to take pics, I mean if you don't know about something I get it, but geez, take a pic of what I ask for and I can see for myself.

Rant over, maybe I should just build an effing boom to pull my well next time.