[Vallagard]

Ok, so I have a stock 352 in a 1966 Galaxie. I have an idea of what I want to do to it, but I want to hear what the wise users on here would do (I'm 20 not much experience with older cars).

I recently purchased an Edelbrock intake from SummitRacing (which is on my my way to class ) and I still plan on spending about 1500$ on it, including paint, and cleaning up the heads.

I do not plan on buying aluminum heads, stroking it, or putting in a 390 assembly.

So post away with suggestions for parts. (a "because" statement would be appreciated for example "a 650 CFM Edelbrock carb over a 600CFM Holley carb because...")

Post away what you would do with 1500$ to this engine. *street application, want it to be noticed and turn heads on the road*

*I put 3.89 gears in the rear.
*C6 Transmission modifications are acceptable too.

Have fun and thank you,
Teran

 

[My427stang]

First - you may want to consider doing nothing but drivability things, because although 352s run decent, you will not make it fast without spending much more

However, here are basic FE rules of thumb that will make a noticeable difference and in priority order in my experience

1 - Headers and good duals - sounds much better, but more importantly the weakest link on a stock FE are the exhaust manifolds

2 - Recurve the distributor - Will not significantly increase WOT power, but will make it feel much faster around town. Stock distributor has too much advance, but it comes in very slow, best to have something 12 initial, 38 total, all in by 2800 as a WAG

3 - Open air cleaner, nice 14x3 will get it breathing a little better

4 - Shift kit in the C-6, makes it last longer and makes it feel like a racer when it bangs gears. Transgo works well

5 - 600 Holley, could be 600 Edelbrock, but the Holleys tend to make a little more at the peaks. Either will be fine, and a stock manifold is fine if budget allows

6 - If I read correctly, you already have 3.89 gears. If you do, put an Edelbrock RPM manifold. Slightly big for a 352 but with that gearing it'll pull noticeably harder on top. If not, then replace this line with swapping gears, recommend 3.50 - 3.89 depending on the highway requirements

7 - Camshaft - match to your gear, but also be sure to get matching springs and a good time to do a valve job and good springs.


1 through 4 will give you the most bang for your buck and make it a lot of fun to drive, after that the price goes up a bit more. It will get faster, but as you approach 1 hp per cid, remember that any 390 will have 40 hp more, and noticeably more torque, its significant and why guys recommend it

 

[DeepRoots]

All that is said above.
Also if your near the Summit in McDonough, you might want to reconsider the 390 crank and rods. I got one just south of ya... makes a big difference, long as you are rebuilding it.
Unless your idea of a rebuild is new rings and an intake. If that is the case, your probably best off leaving the engine as is.

Due to the budget, try finding a holley on craigslist and rebuilding it. Seems I'd found many 1850's for $50 range, and they work great on a stockish engine.

 

[Vallagard]

I actually have a 650 cfm holley from 1970's, I am in the market for a new one though.

I am near the summit in Tallmadge Ohio. Though at the right price i would be interested in a 390 assembly, I could always invest more than 1500$ in the engine, that is my current price point, i need to drop a few grand on the interior first.

Even if i do get most of these upgrades; headers, intake, carb, distributor, exhaust, cam everything will apply to the engine if i were to put a 390's rotating assembly in. Correct?

Now that i think about it, i'm calling the camshaft into question. If i put a cam into my 352, and then replace the rotating assembly with a 390's can i use the same cam?

Do you think it possible to find a 390 in a junkyard for a decent price? i simply dont want to spend 1500$ on a 390 Scat assembly alone.

Thanks for all of the advice and reccomendations everyone.

 

[puttster]

What you did with the rear gears has done a lot for the street fun. A pair of glass packs would help there, too. You can spend a lot on a 352 without much return. I don't think you will notice a speck of difference with a bigger air cleaner or exhaust. Even building it up to a 390 won't really give you much more of a thrill. If you wanted fast you should have gotten a used WRX.

I'd work on the look. New wheels and shiny paint. Carpet, headliner and do something with the seats. Clean up the dash. New rubber for doors. New lights. Get the chrome trim cleaned up.

That's the stuff that turns heads to a 66 Galaxie.

 

[Vallagard]

Yeah I'm going for an exhilarating sound as well as reliable shift and low-mid performance. I do expect to upgrade all if not most of what Stang has recommended before I get back to the exterior.
Even though my dad painted it 2 years ago, we aren't to happy with it (Bad prep work, tiger stripes in paint, clear crazing on the door). Ill get to the body again after I get the interior upholstered (hopefully this month, need to clean the trunk first). Not looking forward to 600 $ weatherstrip kit either.

 

[DeepRoots]

scat doesn't make a rotating assembly to give you a 390.
I'm too far for it to be sensible to ship you a 390 crank, but I'm sure searching craigslist could find you a cheap 390 core to build while you drive your car.
a quick search of your area Craigslist showed this: Ford 390 Engines & Parts.
My experience has been that it's better to build an engine while you drive your car. Only takes a few hours to swap an engine, it might take a few weeks or longer to build an engine. This way you're not in a hurry.

390 with a cam, edelbrock performer rpm, headers and glasspacks should amount to a good bit of fun. Even in my F100, it's lotsa fun to drive, could light up the rear tires at will and still get 14mpg.
If it was me I'd spend the $$ on a kit for the carb you have and upgrade later if you want to.

 

[Vallagard]

DeepRoots, thanks for the search, i did a search in the akron canton are and didnt find anything, don't know why i didnt check cleveland are haha. I'm hesitant to buy anything. I think i will just stick to working on this engine for now.

 

[diego50]

I just recently rebuilt my 65's 352 FE, .030 over cast pistons, new rings, bearings, valves, lifters, valve springs, oil pump... All new with a Comp Cams 268H bumpstick. Carb is a 670cfm vacuum secondary on top of a stock 4-barrel manifold. Exhaust is handled by Sanderson shorty headers and a full 2.5" stainless steel exhaust with an H-Pipe. Distributor is recurred with 15 degrees initial (35 total @2500 rpm). Rear end gears are 3.00:1. Transmission is a rebuilt C6 with a TransGo shift kit which really transformed the personality of the car! She's a great cruiser and rumbles about every single day on the streets of Dubai (daily driver).

Total cost of the build was just shy of $3000 but shipping of parts was a hefty share in this figure. So, if parts are locally purchased (ie; Summit Racing- where I got most of my parts) you can do the same for less.

You CAN still have fun with an FE 352. Thanks to the guys here for all the advice during my build.


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

[Vallagard]

Wow diego thanks for that. "You can stil have fun with a 352" that statement made my day a lot easier.

 

[Domino]

I am not going to try and sway you between 352 and 390, but I will say this, shop around. You can find a huge difference in prices when it comes to these engines. Once you get it built it would really be worth the money to spend some time getting the carb jetted properly and the distributor dialed in. If all of the parts are not working properly and together you will not get to see the real potential of your combination.

 

[Vallagard]

I fully agree with making ure the parts work well together, I read a few stories about certain parts holding back an engine.

 

[DeepRoots]

He is talking about "tune" more than a particular part.

A proper timing curve and carburetor tune can turn a soft weak motor into a bit more of a responsive, much more drivable animal.