I'm finally at a spot in my life where I have less time at home then I've ever had, but more importantly more money then I've ever had by flying around the world full time. Ya'll can see that thread over @ https://www.f150online.com/forums/ge...yer-miles.html

Anyway, over 10 or so years ago my dad picked up our '66 F-250, and about six years ago he dropped it off at a guy's house who did bodywork on the side. Five and half years ago was my dad's fatal heart attack, and with me away all the time in the Air Force, I never had the time to get up there and see what was going on with the truck. Finally talking with my mom who had been still paying registration and insurance all this time, I got the guys number because enough was enough, I'd like this truck done.

Called 'em up, and he said, "Well, I'm not quite done with it..." No, you are done, whats your cash money bill so far, as I'll be up with my trailer on Saturday to pick it up. "Oh, well... I have some bad news. You don't owe anything. My shop had a fire..." (Oh **** I'm thinkin' this thing burnt to the ground) "Some of the parts were inside, so it's gonna cost ya to find replacements" Ok, fair enough.

Headed up there to Highspire PA with a friend of mine to help load and survey the damage. Guys shop did burn to the ground, but the truck was far enough away to not damage it. Only things lost were most of the trim, battery, two tailgates (dad must have found a second better one, as I never knew about that), and ignition switch. He did have the cab mostly painted, fender rot fixed, cab corners replaced, bed floor patched, new hood primed and painted, and new doors installed, so really I just have to get it all sanded and finish coated after I swap the hoods. Not sure what that will cost me yet, but starting to look around now.

Borrowed the second easier to get to battery out of my 6.4L stroker, and after sitting most of the time, fired up and idled. Accelerator pump was clogged, but did have just enough to make it onto my trailer without the winch.





Enlisting the help of some older school knowledge, got my accelerator pump squirtin' again. The soft fuel line to the fuel pump was original Ford, and fresh gas turned it to mush with a quickness. Swapped that out, added a lawnmower style prefilter, so I can keep an eye on things. This was in the filter bowl, so I'm thinking my tank is rusting from the inside out. Might get one of those combo toolbox tank units after painted and bedlined.



So other than needing paint, bedliner, and a new set of trim, I'm in pretty good shape. New radiator and hoses are on order, and excited to start runnin' around in it. After it looks pretty, then I gotta make some changes. Maybe I'm spoiled daily driving a 500 horse tune, and 740 available if I want to play on my stroker, but this thing is sloooooowwwwwwwww. Who has a list of things to do to wake up a 352FE?

Adrianspeeder

 

I'd love to keep track of this and see how it ends up!

I think you know more about that motor than most folks on here though lol.

 

Naa, not enough diesel or EFI for me to know what it needs.

Adrianspeeder

 

best way to make a 352 better is replace it with a 390, available and resonable. everything bolts up. same block.

the 390 loves an edlebrock performer rpm intake, a resonable cam and headers, any more than that startes getting expensive. easy 350 hp all day.

or just enjoy it with the motor in it, i doubt you will be racing it or towing with it.

 

Cool, would that same intake work with the 352? I will have to be doing most of the seals anyway, so shouldn't take me long to just swap an intake and carb.

No towing for sure with the hitch on there now. I'll get the picture of the most cobbled together contraption someone came up with.

Adrianspeeder

 

Replace the 352 with a 428CJ or if you can find one, a 427.

The 352 will run forever, just not very fast. I would not waste any money trying to pep it up.

 

427 is rich man moneyif you can find one, 428 is little less rich man money.
both have thinner cylinder walls making a clean up overbore a possible issue.

once you start spending that kind of money, a stroker windsor or a 460 both are cheaper and can make more power. then the current trans will not bolt up and everything has to be replaced.

if you dive into the ford FE world you will figure out very quickley that the 390 is the answer, bolts up to current trans, all accesories bolt up and several have done budget builds that can easily make 350 hp. if you have a $6 to 7k budget than you stroke the 390 to 440, edlebrock heads ported, the rpm intake and a roller cam and you are in the 420 to 450 hp range.

i think a nice 390 with a rumpety rump cam is all that is needed. the cast iron intakes on the fe are legendary for the weight. an edlebrock performer is really no better for power but saves weight, the performer RPM is where it is at. Weiand made one called the stealth that everyone liked but it is no longer available new.

i would not waste any time or money on the 352 unless it is a restoration.

the fe gods
http://www.survivalmotorsports.com/FE-Engine-Kits.html

 

Nothing is much cooler to me than a XL regular cab Super Duty work truck in its element!

If it were me, I'd just make the 352 mechanically sound and run with it in that old Ford. For my money, the true beauty of a truck from that era comes when you roll the windows down on a nice summer evening and go for a 45 mph ride on some old country road!

You don't need a lot of horsepower or torque to do that.......

 

Sounds like an interesting build with lots of options as far as what you can do under the hood. That's what's great about older trucks. My brother built up an old 460 in a F-250 and that b*tch was mean after being bored out, high-rise intake, bigger carb, etc. You name it, he did it. Can't beat a big block for my tastes.

 

If that 352 is the commercial truck engine, I think those things have legendary longevity.

There are probably lots of cheap 460s around to play with. Lots of older motorhomes had that engine if it has a Ford chassis. And lots of those are low mileage.

 

Just set a coyote in there and be done with it

 

I'd kinda like to see it with that original motor, especially considering that this is a restoration of his father's truck. Gotta keep that in mind; it's got history the way it is now.

 

Before you look for a new gas tank, check it to be sure it's solid. Clean it out with a couple of gallons of acetone. Then Kreem it. I've used Kreem on several old tanks and it works.
http://www.kreem.com/fueltankliner.html

In regards to the engine, the old 352 is near bulletproof but it's no race engine. If you think you want a tire burner, the 385 series engines are great especially the 429. Obviously won't bolt straight into the truck but with a few mods, you can turn a 429 upwards to 10 grand.........okay, maybe more than a few mods but for a big block it's a screamer. If you want a stump puller, the 390 can be drilled out to a 410. It'll pull a trailer or pull the tongue off of it. I have one in a 74 F350 dually with a 5 speed.

 

Great info everyone

Thanks! Other than 4x2, exactly how I wanted that truck. So many crew cabs never hooked to anything runnin' around, the regular cab stands out other than contractor trucks. As soon as I track down a good S6-650 ZF of the 4x4 type, I'll switch it out, but sticks are hard to find in these trucks.

As I was headin' for bed the other night I remembered I've got a 360 I saved from a running F-250 I scrapped. First world truck hoarding problems... Maybe use that one to tinker with as I putter around on the 352 in the slow lane.



I'll check that out quick.

Adrianspeeder

 

Little bit irritated at rock auto, but it is what it is. First radiator I ordered was probably my fault, but I didn't see an AC non AC option. Either way the trucks that came with AC must have shared the radiator with an F-700. Huge mammer jammer, beautifully soldered brass and copper unit. Had to send it back for not being close at all though. Second try the guy assured me it was an all metal tank unit, even though it was a lot cheaper. Course when I pick that box up it is instantly felt to be an aluminum unit with plastic tanks. Grrrrrrrrr......

Crappy part is I messed up by pulling the old falling apart factory radiator before I had opened the first box. Thought about sending this second one back, but just hit with the notice of my forth deployment next week, so gotta get this thing mobile to get insured, tagged, and put in storage.

Then my day gets more irritated when putting this stupid plastic thing in. Both brackets are flipped so the flanges are not on the right sides, but was able to unbolt everything and flip to the right direction. Almost. Now there is no room at the top of the core support for the wiring to run across. Grrrrrrrrr......

So as much as it pains me to hack job it, used longer bolts and nuts as spacers.



Home free? Nope. Top hose outlet on this stupid plastic tank is 1 3/4" wide, not 2" like the hoses I have, or like any book says it should be.



Napa's closed and the sun is going down, but the dude at autozone actually wasn't a waste of space and looked all the racks to see if there was a hose 90ish degrees with 2" on one end and 1 3/4" on the other. Not that lucky of course, but came up with a temporary plan of paid 15 bucks for a random Toyota hose to cut a little bit of the 1 3/4" off to cheat on the radiator and clamp the ******* off the 2" hose I had over that.

Filled up, pressurized, bumbled around the farm a little bit, and I'll take it to the gas station tomorrow before putting in storage until the unknown time when I get back from fun in the sand and sun.

Adrianspeeder