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Original Message
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| RE: How to Tell |
| By Kevin66 - 07/02/2005 4:19:30 AM; IP 216.210.111.13 |
Jason, a huge percentage of Ford FE engine blocks say '352' on them somewhere...on the right front of the block, in the valley, etc. It literally means almost nothing.
The only 'for sure' way to tell if you have a 390 is to measure the bore and stroke. The bore is important because anything between 4.00" and 4.05" means it started out as a 332/352. But even with a 4.05" or larger bore, it could still be a 360 truck engine, with the 3.50" stroke. So it's the 3.78" stroke that will confirm it's a 390.
You can verify this without dismantling the engine. Remove the spark plugs from the #1 and #6 cylinders, and bring the motor around until the timing pointer lines up with TDC.
Take about a 12" piece of straight coat hanger wire, and insert it straight down into the #1 cylinder until it contacts the piston top. Mark the wire by laying a felt pen across the flat on the top of the #1 exhaust port, with the tip touching the wire. Rotate the wire with your fingers, so the pen scribes a line around the wire.
Next, repeat this same procedure on the #6 cylinder. Then measure the distance between the two marks. If it's around 3.5", you've got a 352 or 360. If it's around 3.75", you've most likely got a 390.
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