Over 500hp with the 352ci displacement is impressive but 10.4:1 compression and ported factory iron heads, that is so cool! Anyone bashing this build is OBVIOUSLY JEALOUS!
Had a friend that bought a 1962 Galaxy 500 it originally had a 390 the owner threw a rod Drag Racing it. My friends dad found a 352 and said be happy with what you have! It was a dog! My friend got a job at a auto junk yard, got a four barrel manifold, bought a ISKY CAM, A 780 CARB ! CAR RAN A LOT STRONGER. HE STILL COULDN'T OUT RUN CHEVELLE 396 OR GTO!!! Guy's at school was impressed with how quick it was. This was back in 1975. Great memories.
Thank you for the piece on this engine. This was the first engine I built as a kid. My first vehicle was a 1966 F100. It came to me with a 300 six. I wanted a V8 of course. I came across a 360 for cheap. It has a frost damaged block. I was in need of a block and as luck would have it, I found one doing service as a door stop at a pawn shop. It had sat outside for so many years, that dirt had filled one cylinder bore and a small tree had sprouted in the dirt. I gave the owner $5 for the block. I immediately cleaned it up and ran a hone through it. When I went to install the 360 rotating assembly, I learned that I had a 352 block. So, I went on the hunt for parts. Once again, I found what I needed from a friend. He had bored a 352 out and installed a 390 rotating assembly. He said I could have the 352 set up for free. He had thrown the entire set up in his burn barrel months before and had been burning his trash with it in there. So into the ashes I went. In the end, I built my engine out of these discarded parts. I got the 360 heads refreshed and put the whole thing together with new gaskets, bearings and rings along with a cheap “RV” cam. Original pistons and no other machine work. I drive this truck through high school and then through tech school in Phoenix later. It ran great with a cheap set up headers and a Holley 500 2 barrel. I fell in love with FE big blocks at an early age.
FE’s are legendary, no matter what cubic inch. From the 332 interceptor to the SOHC 427 it was a force to reckon with. I ran 428CJ engines in Falcons as daily drivers. I built three as they were an easy convert with fairlane parts. 11 second street rides weren’t that common back then.
I always wanted to do this. Colorado Sate Patrol had some 352 FEs that ran really good. We all knew something about them wasn't right. They would rev like crazy.
I am a older person now at seventy four, gain one more this year... only important to my story and in it comes a question. Nineteen sixty five.... and I had just turned sixteen. I went shopping for some car that looked good and wasn't a chevy like every kid in town. I found out that a nice car costs a lot of money and had to have a parents signature. I came be a man who was in a shady little lot off of the main beat. He had a four door hardtop fifty eight ford. Well at the time it had too many doors for my liking as everyone wanted the two door version of anything you drive. Sid was the mans name and he was in a tight spot for money himself and was wanting to have some money at any possible way so he offered me this ford and told me the back story. It was a car built for a retired police chief who had passed on so was in a estate sale. We open the hood and there sat a 352 police special according to the valve covers. This was a factory car built for the man who loved power, meaning that engine was special but how special came from some time spent researching it more after owning it for a month. This car had very few miles on it and mostly sat in the mans garage. What got my initial interest was the dual exhaust, nice loud radio, great heater, and the interior was spot on perfect. It was later that the information was in the glove box telling me of a balanced flywheel, eleven to one compression and solid lifters. To a kid sixteen that was kind of special, had I known what I really had, I know now I would of taken a lot lot better care of it. Three on the tree was converted to a floor shift as it was the cool factor. That transmission was a close ratio heavy duty transmission that in second gear would just keep climbing in speed. High gear was just one to one like any transmission but that second gear meant racing was heavy in my favor. So after making a mistake of putting a aluminum flywheel on it found my mistake and got its original flywheel back along with another new clutch.... very expensive clutches as it took a special clutch plate and pressure plate. After the first two clutches, I learned how to drive a lot better and they lived on that way...... its the heavy pressure plate that made my torque go way way up as it burnt the tires off in a hurry and so now know how its torque was made... meaning did you experiment with flywheels and the harmonic balancer. I hope that my story did not bore you and you do read it
Got a 1960 t-bird with the 352, it's no race car but it has no problem moving that tank down the road. Very impressive for a motor over 60 years old..JS
It seems timing is everything. As an interesting tie to your project, I’ve got a 1966 F100 that I’m currently stripping to the frame. The 352 has roughly 10,000 mi on it, is clean and appears to be in a stock configuration, just today I tossed out the 2bbl boat anchor of an intake. Anyway, after a day pulling stuff off and cleaning was wondering how far to take that engine since it’s out of the truck, sat down about an hour ago and found this - holy smokes! Really cool to know what’s possible. Amazing dedication and hard work on your part - 352FE owners owe you a debt of gratitude!
In my mind, a good engine builder can make power out of anything. Some engines limit themselves, but in the hands of a skilled Machinest and builder can get power out of it!
I have a soft spot for 390's from my childhood and don't understand the snobbery that the 390 is junk but the 427 is god like. I guess in the vintage car world value $$ is where it comes from. Great video!
Well the 427 side oiler was quite a bit different 352 engine that Ford made for racing. I think the junk snobbery mostly comes from the poor oiling problems causing the crank being starved of oil while racing. That was an easy fix once you had it apart. The stock head and manifold set up was better than anything Chevy was doing back then because the pushrods coming through the intake made for wider manifold with stock longer runners. The Fe was a longer skirted block cast out of a special nickel steal that Ford came up with. A bit lighter engine than the 396 Chev. that held up because of the strength of the longer skirts. The 427 crank mains were cross bolted for racing. While Chevy was building 4 bolt mains in their HP engines. The greatest issue back in the day was money. Add-ons for Chevy was much cheaper than Fords. We could get slightly more bang for our buck out of the Chevys. Especially the 4 bolt small blocks with 202 heads. I was Chey guy in my youth. I ended up with a sweat 1972 F100 Ranger XLT short-bed. The seller claimed it was a 390 but when I measured it turned out a 360 dog. When I pulled the motor to do a Crown Vic front end swap, I went ahead and swapped out the 80 pound cast iron boat anchor manifold for an Edelbrock Performer and 600 cfm carb. That livened it up a bit. Thinking later I might tear down and swap in a 390 crank using stock 360 rods & pistons and making it a 410 that Ford built back in the early 60s. Then I kept getting older and thinking well I would now need a roll cage and crash helmet for my old stupid-ass. So I leave it alone and drive it a few Sundays per year. For vintage motors, I still think the Fe is the best looking with its wider intake manifold. If someone is only concerned about power, it is just silly to build an FE compared to a modern LS. I did a cost breakdown on building 420 hp FE and it hit about $15,000 if everything went right. I can get a lot more bang for my buck out of a big block 460. But then the extra weight on the nose of the short-bed pick-up. I never wanted it for straight-line racing . I wanted great handling short-bed. Is why I went to the trouble of Crown Vic swap. Now days what are you going to build that that modern Mustang, Comaro or Dodge Cummins won't leave you in the dust?
In 1970, I shoved my Brother’s 1962 Galaxie a little bit further than I should have I guess,, because at somewhere around 120 mph, the completely stock 352 crankshaft broke half into somewhere around the furthest rear main bearing. That scared me off of the Y-Block Ford Engines, and I bought a 1957 Chevy two door hardtop Bel Air Sport Coupe and after dropping a valve on the first engine, destroying it, I put another 283 with a Crower flat tappet solid lifter cam that I believe was .450 lift and 280 degree duration (that’s all I remember about it), I got tired of adjusting the valves every couple of weeks due to the fact I used the factory rocker arms, but even with a jam nut on top of the stock lifter nut, they wouldn’t retain the proper lash. I was a kid making $1.00/hour and funds were very limited. I should have bored that engine, but couldn’t afford it. Later, I bought a 300 Hp 327 out of a wrecked SS Impala along with the Muncie 4 speed from that car. I sold the car later and bought a pickup. Like most of us who had HotRods back then, I wish I still had it. Once I was making $2.50/ hour, I bought a brand new, loaded 1972 Glaxie 500 with a 351 Windsor in it for $3,850, another car I wish I had today! Great job on that 352 FE!!👍🏻👍🏻
That's an unusual failure. I had a bunch of these Y-blocks in cars and worktrucks. Never broke a crank - even in overloaded 5 ton trucks being flogged by drivers with attitude. We always kept a spare engine ready to go, but the problems were never with the block. The Ford LTD 390C-6 was the fastest at 130 plusplus. Pure stock 2 bbl and it took a while to get up there, but it could bury the needle and keep right on accelerating. Did not do that more than a couple of times 😳 One thing on the vid that was a surprise...A 351 Cleveland intake manifold ('dome') going on a 352. I didn't think that was a fit (although I never tried it). The only Cleveland we ever had was a 400 in an F250/ 2WD and it sucked fuel really bad and died young to boot. I moved on the GMs around that time.
Love it thanks. I still remember our 65' 352ci dark blue Galaxy wagon. Also remember Dad driving down to Oregon to avoid paying WA state tax and Lic fees to buy a 4dr 66' 289 2bbl Fairlane. I now wish he had bought a 66' 427 hah, hah!
I always thought the potential of the 352 was over looked! I like the short stroke and rod length ratio. I would love to see that engine with a set of ported trickflow heads !
WOW 60 hp just from an intake and 4 barrel upgrade. Impressive for a 186@.050 factory cam! I also like it that back in the day Ford made the oil fill in the valve covers LEVEL 😅 The FE rocks!
It's good to se someone work on a 352. Matter of fact it good to see someone working on something other than an LS. Being a MOPAR fan I know going in that unless I have a Hemi based build and/or something with aluminum heads, it won't even get a second look. On the other hand, who could pass up 2 inline carbs or a couple side mounted double pumpers? Great work, not a thousand hp but who cares. Imagine this combo in a 63 Galaxie or even a front engine dragster. Thanks again!
I watched this build when you originally documented it. I thought it was way cool that you did all this. 3.5×4 always makes good power so why the heck not do it?? I was and still am impressed with what that little booger did with the factory castings up top! Thanks Sir for investing your time and knowledge, it was good for the soul of someone who has always and still has a soft spot for the old FE series. Keep at it!! Love your stuff.👍👍
Very impressive Brent. That ol 352 certainly was not “junky”. I envision this engine in a ‘58 Fairlane (the first year of the FE & 352) Top of the line 352 then was rated at 300 HP BTW.
That is very impressive the FE is a awesome motor ive had a few and they were crazy fast. I will never forget a guy down at the circle track in the next town over that use to race a 390 FE and he would give the guys with those high dollar chevy motors hell they would get so mad watching him win and i would just laugh my A** off. And you are 100% right anyone that knocks that motor has issues and is probably a chevy guy that doesn't even know what a good motor is.
I absolutely loved watching the JJ content. You did amazing things with that engine Brent! Keep up the awesome work and thank you for everything you have done for the FE platform. I just love these engines.
10:21 This a stuff is really fun for me to learn because I have this engine. I have my grandfather's 1966 f 100 an am learning as much about it as I can. I do the best I can with what I know and am fixing what I can here and there. I just put a wix oil filter on today so that was fun to see you using one also😊 Cool video man. This is going in my save file bro 👍
I had a 66 F 350 with a 352, and a 4 speed top loader back in the day, in the mid 70's .. It was a really great pickup truck, l wish l still had it today, even with the factory 19.5 split rims.. lol.. Ford don't make em like that anymore.. That engine did run pretty well in it's stock configuration tho. Ah the good old days..lol.
Awesome always wanted to build a FE it would be interesting to see what it would do in a car great job i also always wanted to see how much a 352 could put out
I think the 352 was Ford's first performance engine... And the next was the 390 which was called the 401 and this was Ford Mass producing an engine that put over 400 horsepower.... I think Ford engines back then had some of the best quality over all other engines...😮
I had a 67 F100 with 352 and posi rear. It would beat trans am off line, but it was tough to shift the tree fast enough. Wish I had it back. It actually got good mileage for a truck on highway. Paid $250 for it.
That quench is good to know! I have a 390 that the pistons are about .005 out of the hole & i use a fel pro oem replacment gasket at .050 thick putting me at .045 quench. But ive concidered going thinner giving me a .035 quench!
I have been building engines my whole life. I am not a Ford guy but I do love engines period. That being said I love the FE and the Cleveland also I'm currently building a MEL which is a cool engine. I love engines where you can do amazing things with the original parts.
I was really interstitial in this build as my first car, given to me by my Grandfather was a ‘58 Ford Police Interceptor with a 352, 3 on the tree and overdrive under the dash via pull lever. I don’t know what kind of horsepower it made but it would bury that 150mph speedo on IH-10 between Boerne, Tx and San Antonio. Wish I still had that car.
I have a 67 F100 w/352 , good to know there options other than replacing the 352. I would opt for the single 4v and police intake with a moderately hot hydraulic roller cam.
There is no bad engine, anything can make power with the right build. Power nation just put a vid up of a 305 chevy (yes a 305) that was making about 450-500 HP in various builds over the series
You are correct any thing can make power ,it just takes money$$$$$$$$$$$$.Now we just add boost and some forged internals and for 10k $ were at 1000hp out of a 4.6 to 5.0 ford motor technology is amazing !!!!!
In terms of the main caps, I noticed that you didn’t use any kind of a stud girdle or convert the two bolt mains to four bolt mains like the 427FE. At what point in terms of horsepower and torque levels do you add a stud girdle and convert the 2 bolt main caps to 4 bolt main caps? Do you ever use a stud girdle? This would be something interesting. You could bring up on one of your videos also. Great video.
You have definitely proved that a 352 can be a screamer and that’s impressive. And spin it to 7 grand. When you mention about the piston kissing the head knocking the carbon off could that be solved with a thicker head gasket to give more clearance? I thoroughly enjoyed this build. Thank you.
Brent do you have a how to video on tricks and modification for the FE so I can give to a machine shop, I'm about 3000miles from you and finding a machine shop with FE knowledge is risky at best
I'm surprised the stock crank survived over 7000 RPM. Of course we don't know how long it would live in a car under normal driving/racing conditions. Comment on your comment that the first iterations of the 352 made more HP than a 2002 4.6 cammer, you have to remember the 4.6 is only a little over 280 cu inches.
The first car i uad to drive, a 66 ford custom, basically a stripped version of a Galaxy, it had a 352 that my pops hated, he said ot used gas like uis hemi woth the power of a falcom 170. So it was the car is kids hot to drive when he went and got himself another new car. I remember being embarrassed by every muscle car i tried, not sire why i kept trying but my stupid 15 year old self must e believed if i did it enouugh id eventually get one, i didn't and when asked if id like my sister to have it fill time, hell yes! Ouve just shown me a miracle!
Why would you put grooved bearings with oil holes in main caps? And where are the other two rod bearings? And how do you get .040" plus of "carbon" to get "knocked" off between the pistons and heads?
Well…. If you’ve ever (apparently not) used a set of full groove bearings, both bearing halves have big holes and grooves. Thus the term “full groove”. It wasn’t .040” of carbon, it was a lot less. Where were the other 2 rod bearings? Maybe still in the rods since I was taking pictures as I went????
The 352 is a stout engine! Not quite a 390, but way better than the 360! We are getting ready to turn my boys .060 over 390 into a .060 over 410! He is getting pretty excited.
Ok question I have a fe 390 turning into a 444 stroker I'm having problems for cam end play around. .18 end play. With a comp cam thumpn for fe. First problem was the machine shop put in the cam plug backwards like a freeze plug. So I reversed it. Now that we're I got the end play so they talk about a cam button up front but the issue is I need the cam to move fowRd not bCk cause the lifter don't line up and have that bad end play , just bought a 3 piece thrust plate 120$ but still thT moves the CAM TO THE Bvk correct,? , so for shits and giggles I measured the depth of a cam plug lip , and this basically is the same depth of the end play , so would I be stupid to take out the cam plug and put it in incorrect like a freeze plug? That should fix the crazy amount of endplay and still have a little, really need sum advice , !!!! Any help or advice is better than none!!
The thrust plate is what corrects all that. Once you bolt on the cam gear the gear keeps the cam from moving rearward since the back of the gear face contacts the cam thrust/ retainer plate. Have you test fitted the cam gear on yet? A cam button is for a pre 62 FE that takes the matching pre 62 timing chain cover and pre 62 cam design. Or pre 63, splitting hairs.
Yea I have the gear mounted to the cam but still to line up the loobs centered the cam has to move forward then when I do that the back part of the cam is at least half way out of the bearing , it's a retro fit cam from compcams. Don't have the part number on me , it does have the original cam plate from. 65, with the crappy phliphs heads , ordered a new 3 piece cam plate from summit with actual bolts , should be here today. Maybe with all the wear in the stock one and wore Philips heads , it's not getting torqued enough, should be here this afternoon
Excellent Excellent video. Really good. Great detail. Your video shows the potential of that motor. My father's 1963 1/2 Galaxy 500 fastback came with a 352. Honestly, it was awful. It was rated at 220 HP from the factory. I highly doubt that it made anywhere near that number. However, I could get good rubber if I unloaded one of the rear tires : - ) My girlfriend's Chevelle 283 was rated at the same 220 HP, and was easily the faster car. I was not happy with that especially since we hung with a Chevy crowd. The Chevelle may have had a weight advantage as well. At one point, I took the valve covers off the 352. The covers were **completely filled** with hard baked sludge except for a slot where the rocker arms were. It was the first year for the PCV, but crankcase breathing was non-existent in that motor. Too bad the Project Junky-Junk motor was broken up. It would have been interesting to see what a more radical cam or a blower would have done. Thanks again for an interesting video
Over 500hp with the 352ci displacement is impressive but 10.4:1 compression and ported factory iron heads, that is so cool! Anyone bashing this build is OBVIOUSLY JEALOUS!
troll,,,correct term
My dad had one of these motors out of a Ford galaxie 500 and he put it in his 1950 F100 it was the coolest truck
At .040 over makes like 358 or so. Very interesting build.
Had a friend that bought a 1962 Galaxy 500 it originally had a 390 the owner threw a rod Drag Racing it. My friends dad found a 352 and said be happy with what you have! It was a dog! My friend got a job at a auto junk yard, got a four barrel manifold, bought a ISKY CAM, A 780 CARB ! CAR RAN A LOT STRONGER. HE STILL COULDN'T OUT RUN CHEVELLE 396 OR GTO!!! Guy's at school was impressed with how quick it was. This was back in 1975. Great memories.
Thank you for using a 352 clunker and making a giant killer!
As a long time, die-hard FE feller myself, I have never built a 352 nor 360 but after watching your video I can say I fully understand. THANKS
Thank you for the piece on this engine. This was the first engine I built as a kid. My first vehicle was a 1966 F100. It came to me with a 300 six. I wanted a V8 of course. I came across a 360 for cheap. It has a frost damaged block. I was in need of a block and as luck would have it, I found one doing service as a door stop at a pawn shop. It had sat outside for so many years, that dirt had filled one cylinder bore and a small tree had sprouted in the dirt. I gave the owner $5 for the block. I immediately cleaned it up and ran a hone through it. When I went to install the 360 rotating assembly, I learned that I had a 352 block. So, I went on the hunt for parts. Once again, I found what I needed from a friend. He had bored a 352 out and installed a 390 rotating assembly. He said I could have the 352 set up for free. He had thrown the entire set up in his burn barrel months before and had been burning his trash with it in there. So into the ashes I went. In the end, I built my engine out of these discarded parts. I got the 360 heads refreshed and put the whole thing together with new gaskets, bearings and rings along with a cheap “RV” cam. Original pistons and no other machine work. I drive this truck through high school and then through tech school in Phoenix later. It ran great with a cheap set up headers and a Holley 500 2 barrel. I fell in love with FE big blocks at an early age.
More like a 230 six in 1966.
@@deeremeyer1749In 1964 yes, by 1966 Fords Big Six had replaced the old 223 in most applications.
FE’s are legendary, no matter what cubic inch. From the 332 interceptor to the SOHC 427 it was a force to reckon with. I ran 428CJ engines in Falcons as daily drivers. I built three as they were an easy convert with fairlane parts. 11 second street rides weren’t that common back then.
Man, for what it is that is one hell of an engine 💯👍👍👍
That's the meanest damn 352 I've ever heard of without a doubt.
I always wanted to do this. Colorado Sate Patrol had some 352 FEs that ran really good. We all knew something about them wasn't right. They would rev like crazy.
That's way more than I ever expected. With factory heads!
Great job!
I am a older person now at seventy four, gain one more this year... only important to my story and in it comes a question. Nineteen sixty five.... and I had just turned sixteen. I went shopping for some car that looked good and wasn't a chevy like every kid in town. I found out that a nice car costs a lot of money and had to have a parents signature. I came be a man who was in a shady little lot off of the main beat. He had a four door hardtop fifty eight ford. Well at the time it had too many doors for my liking as everyone wanted the two door version of anything you drive. Sid was the mans name and he was in a tight spot for money himself and was wanting to have some money at any possible way so he offered me this ford and told me the back story. It was a car built for a retired police chief who had passed on so was in a estate sale. We open the hood and there sat a 352 police special according to the valve covers. This was a factory car built for the man who loved power, meaning that engine was special but how special came from some time spent researching it more after owning it for a month. This car had very few miles on it and mostly sat in the mans garage. What got my initial interest was the dual exhaust, nice loud radio, great heater, and the interior was spot on perfect. It was later that the information was in the glove box telling me of a balanced flywheel, eleven to one compression and solid lifters. To a kid sixteen that was kind of special, had I known what I really had, I know now I would of taken a lot lot better care of it. Three on the tree was converted to a floor shift as it was the cool factor. That transmission was a close ratio heavy duty transmission that in second gear would just keep climbing in speed. High gear was just one to one like any transmission but that second gear meant racing was heavy in my favor. So after making a mistake of putting a aluminum flywheel on it found my mistake and got its original flywheel back along with another new clutch.... very expensive clutches as it took a special clutch plate and pressure plate. After the first two clutches, I learned how to drive a lot better and they lived on that way...... its the heavy pressure plate that made my torque go way way up as it burnt the tires off in a hurry and so now know how its torque was made... meaning did you experiment with flywheels and the harmonic balancer. I hope that my story did not bore you and you do read it
Good post. You were lucky to experience the raw Detroit h.p. wars and CHEAP fuel, which is what we can't imagine today.
1.5+ hp/ci n/a with the factory heads really is very good. Anyone bitchin about that really just has no idea.
Nice work 👍
Factory heads have big valves and runners.
@@benjaminwayneb yes, and they are ported too. Point is they are 60 year old iron castings that were not optimally designed in the 1st place.
I found it. The C spacer that goes on the stock cam is not needed and causes alignment issues. Compcam directions does not say that
The FE is a great engine design
Got a 1960 t-bird with the 352, it's no race car but it has no problem moving that tank down the road. Very impressive for a motor over 60 years old..JS
I think my 1967 f 100 352 had 175 hp yours is the baddest I have ever heard of keep up. the good work.
Wow... I have a 352 in my 66 f250. All original... Awesome video . Giving me hope
It seems timing is everything. As an interesting tie to your project, I’ve got a 1966 F100 that I’m currently stripping to the frame. The 352 has roughly 10,000 mi on it, is clean and appears to be in a stock configuration, just today I tossed out the 2bbl boat anchor of an intake. Anyway, after a day pulling stuff off and cleaning was wondering how far to take that engine since it’s out of the truck, sat down about an hour ago and found this - holy smokes! Really cool to know what’s possible. Amazing dedication and hard work on your part - 352FE owners owe you a debt of gratitude!
I like how you etched the specs on the edges of the heads for reference.
In my mind, a good engine builder can make power out of anything. Some engines limit themselves, but in the hands of a skilled Machinest and builder can get power out of it!
I have a soft spot for 390's from my childhood and don't understand the snobbery that the 390 is junk but the 427 is god like. I guess in the vintage car world value $$ is where it comes from. Great video!
Well the 427 side oiler was quite a bit different 352 engine that Ford made for racing. I think the junk snobbery mostly comes from the poor oiling problems causing the crank being starved of oil while racing. That was an easy fix once you had it apart. The stock head and manifold set up was better than anything Chevy was doing back then because the pushrods coming through the intake made for wider manifold with stock longer runners. The Fe was a longer skirted block cast out of a special nickel steal that Ford came up with. A bit lighter engine than the 396 Chev. that held up because of the strength of the longer skirts. The 427 crank mains were cross bolted for racing. While Chevy was building 4 bolt mains in their HP engines. The greatest issue back in the day was money. Add-ons for Chevy was much cheaper than Fords. We could get slightly more bang for our buck out of the Chevys. Especially the 4 bolt small blocks with 202 heads.
I was Chey guy in my youth. I ended up with a sweat 1972 F100 Ranger XLT short-bed. The seller claimed it was a 390 but when I measured it turned out a 360 dog. When I pulled the motor to do a Crown Vic front end swap, I went ahead and swapped out the 80 pound cast iron boat anchor manifold for an Edelbrock Performer and 600 cfm carb. That livened it up a bit. Thinking later I might tear down and swap in a 390 crank using stock 360 rods & pistons and making it a 410 that Ford built back in the early 60s. Then I kept getting older and thinking well I would now need a roll cage and crash helmet for my old stupid-ass. So I leave it alone and drive it a few Sundays per year. For vintage motors, I still think the Fe is the best looking with its wider intake manifold. If someone is only concerned about power, it is just silly to build an FE compared to a modern LS. I did a cost breakdown on building 420 hp FE and it hit about $15,000 if everything went right. I can get a lot more bang for my buck out of a big block 460. But then the extra weight on the nose of the short-bed pick-up. I never wanted it for straight-line racing . I wanted great handling short-bed. Is why I went to the trouble of Crown Vic swap. Now days what are you going to build that that modern Mustang, Comaro or Dodge Cummins won't leave you in the dust?
amazing what you can do with old iron, and lots of skill. Good job.
In 1970, I shoved my Brother’s 1962 Galaxie a little bit further than I should have I guess,, because at somewhere around 120 mph, the completely stock 352 crankshaft broke half into somewhere around the furthest rear main bearing. That scared me off of the Y-Block Ford Engines, and I bought a 1957 Chevy two door hardtop Bel Air Sport Coupe and after dropping a valve on the first engine, destroying it, I put another 283 with a Crower flat tappet solid lifter cam that I believe was .450 lift and 280 degree duration (that’s all I remember about it), I got tired of adjusting the valves every couple of weeks due to the fact I used the factory rocker arms, but even with a jam nut on top of the stock lifter nut, they wouldn’t retain the proper lash. I was a kid making $1.00/hour and funds were very limited. I should have bored that engine, but couldn’t afford it. Later, I bought a 300 Hp 327 out of a wrecked SS Impala along with the Muncie 4 speed from that car. I sold the car later and bought a pickup. Like most of us who had HotRods back then, I wish I still had it. Once I was making $2.50/ hour, I bought a brand new, loaded 1972 Glaxie 500 with a 351 Windsor in it for $3,850, another car I wish I had today! Great job on that 352 FE!!👍🏻👍🏻
That's an unusual failure. I had a bunch of these Y-blocks in cars and worktrucks. Never broke a crank - even in overloaded 5 ton trucks being flogged by drivers with attitude. We always kept a spare engine ready to go, but the problems were never with the block. The Ford LTD 390C-6 was the fastest at 130 plusplus. Pure stock 2 bbl and it took a while to get up there, but it could bury the needle and keep right on accelerating. Did not do that more than a couple of times 😳
One thing on the vid that was a surprise...A 351 Cleveland intake manifold ('dome') going on a 352. I didn't think that was a fit (although I never tried it). The only Cleveland we ever had was a 400 in an F250/ 2WD and it sucked fuel really bad and died young to boot. I moved on the GMs around that time.
The 352 is not a y block. It's an FE.
Love it thanks.
I still remember our 65' 352ci dark blue Galaxy wagon.
Also remember Dad driving down to Oregon to avoid paying WA state tax and Lic fees to buy a 4dr 66' 289 2bbl Fairlane.
I now wish he had bought a 66' 427 hah, hah!
Great job..
I always thought the potential of the 352 was over looked! I like the short stroke and rod length ratio. I would love to see that engine with a set of ported trickflow heads !
GREAT VIDEO ... !!!!! FORDS WORK HORSE... !!!!!!!
WOW 60 hp just from an intake and 4 barrel upgrade. Impressive for a 186@.050 factory cam! I also like it that back in the day Ford made the oil fill in the valve covers LEVEL 😅 The FE rocks!
After seeing the Is jailbreak 445 stroker builds. For me it would be a must do if I ever owned another FE 👍
It's good to se someone work on a 352. Matter of fact it good to see someone working on something other than an LS. Being a MOPAR fan I know going in that unless I have a Hemi based build and/or something with aluminum heads, it won't even get a second look. On the other hand, who could pass up 2 inline carbs or a couple side mounted double pumpers? Great work, not a thousand hp but who cares. Imagine this combo in a 63 Galaxie or even a front engine dragster. Thanks again!
I watched this build when you originally documented it. I thought it was way cool that you did all this. 3.5×4 always makes good power so why the heck not do it?? I was and still am impressed with what that little booger did with the factory castings up top! Thanks Sir for investing your time and knowledge, it was good for the soul of someone who has always and still has a soft spot for the old FE series. Keep at it!! Love your stuff.👍👍
Way to go ,just goes to show what one can do when you put in serious work.
My favourite one so far !
Very impressive Brent. That ol 352 certainly was not “junky”. I envision this engine in a ‘58 Fairlane (the first year of the FE & 352) Top of the line 352 then was rated at 300 HP BTW.
They had a special 360hp 352 back in 60 I believe? That was the what they claimed anyway.
That is very impressive the FE is a awesome motor ive had a few and they were crazy fast. I will never forget a guy down at the circle track in the next town over that use to race a 390 FE and he would give the guys with those high dollar chevy motors hell they would get so mad watching him win and i would just laugh my A** off. And you are 100% right anyone that knocks that motor has issues and is probably a chevy guy that doesn't even know what a good motor is.
I really enjoy your builds and your knowledge of the fe power. Thank you!
I absolutely loved watching the JJ content. You did amazing things with that engine Brent! Keep up the awesome work and thank you for everything you have done for the FE platform. I just love these engines.
Good build man . Awesome . Thanks man .
I once had a 1959 Skyliner with a 332 which I believe was the original FE engine.
Nice! Good job Brent! That made really good power out of that 352.
Nice Work thanks.
I had that engine in a 58 Ford they run real well. It was a police interceptor.
I remember a 352 powered '58 Ford that had a 390 tri-power set up. That was just a street car, but ran 13.9 here in NZ over 30 years ago !!
I love the single carb setup at 465 hp at 7200 rpm. Very sweet. 😎🤠
Even some fans are unaware that as early as 1960, Ford offered the 352 hi performance engine that made 360hp.
Well documented and presented. Thank you.
10:21 This a stuff is really fun for me to learn because I have this engine. I have my grandfather's 1966 f 100 an am learning as much about it as I can. I do the best I can with what I know and am fixing what I can here and there. I just put a wix oil filter on today so that was fun to see you using one also😊 Cool video man. This is going in my save file bro 👍
Congrats Brett!!!...🙂👍
Very impressive motor!!
great retrospective - and obviously it did its job providing data and proof of concept - thanks for the video
That’s awesome work ! Loved it ! Thanks.
That is an awesome achievement forsure, thanks for this great video
That goes hard man. Well done.
Well done, exceptional
I had a 66 F 350 with a 352, and a 4 speed top loader back in the day, in the mid 70's ..
It was a really great pickup truck, l wish l still had it today, even with the factory 19.5 split rims.. lol..
Ford don't make em like that anymore..
That engine did run pretty well in it's stock configuration tho.
Ah the good old days..lol.
I'm a fan of the 3.5 in stroke. I like the 360 in particular. Usually get them cheap because everyone wants to swap in a 460.
Awesome always wanted to build a FE it would be interesting to see what it would do in a car great job i also always wanted to see how much a 352 could put out
great vid.
Love the 352. such an underdog!!
I think the 352 was Ford's first performance engine... And the next was the 390 which was called the 401 and this was Ford Mass producing an engine that put over 400 horsepower.... I think Ford engines back then had some of the best quality over all other engines...😮
Duel springs on the Valves. WOW.
Is that a Mercury Motor.?
I had a 67 F100 with 352 and posi rear. It would beat trans am off line, but it was tough to shift the tree fast enough. Wish I had it back. It actually got good mileage for a truck on highway. Paid $250 for it.
That quench is good to know! I have a 390 that the pistons are about .005 out of the hole & i use a fel pro oem replacment gasket at .050 thick putting me at .045 quench. But ive concidered going thinner giving me a .035 quench!
I have been building engines my whole life. I am not a Ford guy but I do love engines period. That being said I love the FE and the Cleveland also I'm currently building a MEL which is a cool engine. I love engines where you can do amazing things with the original parts.
Would love to see this engine in a flat bottom v-drive!
That would be extraordinarily bad ass!
I was really interstitial in this build as my first car, given to me by my Grandfather was a ‘58 Ford Police Interceptor with a 352, 3 on the tree and overdrive under the dash via pull lever. I don’t know what kind of horsepower it made but it would bury that 150mph speedo on IH-10 between Boerne, Tx and San Antonio. Wish I still had that car.
NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My buddy had a 66 1/2ton merc pickup with a 352 3spd 3.73 9''. Went very good for what it was.
I have a 67 F100 w/352 , good to know there options other than replacing the 352. I would opt for the single 4v and police intake with a moderately hot hydraulic roller cam.
Impressive combo
I really like it.
I am patient, waiting for you to build my 482. I am only willing to let you put it together. LOL
HS friend had a Sunliner with a 352 Tri-power.It was quite fast for a boat.I think that option was top of the line.
Brent, have you ever thought about building a 427 sideoiler with a 352 stroke crankshaft?
Awesome!
My family is obviously mopar and then generic motors but, these heavy weights get my respect.
There is no bad engine, anything can make power with the right build. Power nation just put a vid up of a 305 chevy (yes a 305) that was making about 450-500 HP in various builds over the series
You are correct any thing can make power ,it just takes money$$$$$$$$$$$$.Now we just add boost and some forged internals and for 10k $ were at 1000hp out of a 4.6 to 5.0 ford motor technology is amazing !!!!!
What not every engine can do is make 500 hp with oem cast iron heads! No NA 305 on the planet will crack 400hp with oem heads!
Does blue thunder still produce the PI intake ?
Some of us are interested in your thoughts on keeping the inside of an FE sludge free long term
Run a modern oil! The old factory tins were only in place because the oil from the 60's sludged up so bad so that it clogged up the cylinder drains.
Yes. Not a modern engine. Change the oil early and often!
@@HighrSelf I run Castrol GTX 20-50 in my 390 Tri-Power in my '72 F-100. I change it every 5,000 miles, no sludging, no problems.
In terms of the main caps, I noticed that you didn’t use any kind of a stud girdle or convert the two bolt mains to four bolt mains like the 427FE. At what point in terms of horsepower and torque levels do you add a stud girdle and convert the 2 bolt main caps to 4 bolt main caps? Do you ever use a stud girdle? This would be something interesting. You could bring up on one of your videos also. Great video.
NOT BAD AT'ALL!
You have definitely proved that a 352 can be a screamer and that’s impressive. And spin it to 7 grand. When you mention about the piston kissing the head knocking the carbon off could that be solved with a thicker head gasket to give more clearance?
I thoroughly enjoyed this build. Thank you.
Do you like or recomend full groove main bearings?
awesome fe
I have a new respect for the FE 352 and it's an "over sguare" engine with 4.00+ bore.👍
Honestly, I think JJ was just an awesome experiment.
Would be cool to see some Mel builds.
What happened to the rods and pistons?
Was that the stock crank you used?
Brent do you have a how to video on tricks and modification for the FE so I can give to a machine shop, I'm about 3000miles from you and finding a machine shop with FE knowledge is risky at best
I'm surprised the stock crank survived over 7000 RPM. Of course we don't know how long it would live in a car under normal driving/racing conditions.
Comment on your comment that the first iterations of the 352 made more HP than a 2002 4.6 cammer, you have to remember the 4.6 is only a little over 280 cu inches.
The first car i uad to drive, a 66 ford custom, basically a stripped version of a Galaxy, it had a 352 that my pops hated, he said ot used gas like uis hemi woth the power of a falcom 170.
So it was the car is kids hot to drive when he went and got himself another new car. I remember being embarrassed by every muscle car i tried, not sire why i kept trying but my stupid 15 year old self must e believed if i did it enouugh id eventually get one, i didn't and when asked if id like my sister to have it fill time, hell yes!
Ouve just shown me a miracle!
Why would you put grooved bearings with oil holes in main caps? And where are the other two rod bearings? And how do you get .040" plus of "carbon" to get "knocked" off between the pistons and heads?
Well….
If you’ve ever (apparently not) used a set of full groove bearings, both bearing halves have big holes and grooves. Thus the term “full groove”. It wasn’t .040” of carbon, it was a lot less. Where were the other 2 rod bearings? Maybe still in the rods since I was taking pictures as I went????
I'm more upset that the engine didn't get put into some cool drag car somewhere!!
I was just wondering if the guy JOE CRAINE that did the head porting is from Texas
He is down in the San Antonio TX area.
Now you have a 360
The 352 is a stout engine! Not quite a 390, but way better than the 360! We are getting ready to turn my boys .060 over 390 into a .060 over 410! He is getting pretty excited.
19:36 36 thou clearance and just missing full metal jacket content. Artistry. 🥝✔️
Ok question I have a fe 390 turning into a 444 stroker I'm having problems for cam end play around. .18 end play. With a comp cam thumpn for fe. First problem was the machine shop put in the cam plug backwards like a freeze plug. So I reversed it. Now that we're I got the end play so they talk about a cam button up front but the issue is I need the cam to move fowRd not bCk cause the lifter don't line up and have that bad end play , just bought a 3 piece thrust plate 120$ but still thT moves the CAM TO THE Bvk correct,? , so for shits and giggles I measured the depth of a cam plug lip , and this basically is the same depth of the end play , so would I be stupid to take out the cam plug and put it in incorrect like a freeze plug? That should fix the crazy amount of endplay and still have a little, really need sum advice , !!!! Any help or advice is better than none!!
The thrust plate is what corrects all that. Once you bolt on the cam gear the gear keeps the cam from moving rearward since the back of the gear face contacts the cam thrust/ retainer plate. Have you test fitted the cam gear on yet? A cam button is for a pre 62 FE that takes the matching pre 62 timing chain cover and pre 62 cam design. Or pre 63, splitting hairs.
Yea I have the gear mounted to the cam but still to line up the loobs centered the cam has to move forward then when I do that the back part of the cam is at least half way out of the bearing , it's a retro fit cam from compcams. Don't have the part number on me , it does have the original cam plate from. 65, with the crappy phliphs heads , ordered a new 3 piece cam plate from summit with actual bolts , should be here today. Maybe with all the wear in the stock one and wore Philips heads , it's not getting torqued enough, should be here this afternoon
Is that horse shoe spacer needed ? Between the gear and cam? Maybe that's a issue comp cam says nothing about it
Interesting. You have enough airflow for 580 hp, what do you think was the bottleneck?
2 hp/ci is a best case scenario. We were low on compression and some other tricks.
Excellent Excellent video. Really good. Great detail. Your video shows the potential of that motor. My father's 1963 1/2 Galaxy 500 fastback came with a 352. Honestly, it was awful. It was rated at 220 HP from the factory. I highly doubt that it made anywhere near that number. However, I could get good rubber if I unloaded one of the rear tires : - )
My girlfriend's Chevelle 283 was rated at the same 220 HP, and was easily the faster car. I was not happy with that especially since we hung with a Chevy crowd. The Chevelle may have had a weight advantage as well.
At one point, I took the valve covers off the 352. The covers were **completely filled** with hard baked sludge except for a slot where the rocker arms were. It was the first year for the PCV, but crankcase breathing was non-existent in that motor.
Too bad the Project Junky-Junk motor was broken up. It would have been interesting to see what a more radical cam or a blower would have done. Thanks again for an interesting video
That was the base 352. The 4 barrel version made 300 horses until your year. Only 250 from that year on.
Where are you located