measured the stroke on the FE today

[fordman]

the head shape for the gasket should eb the same. if anything the ft head gaskets will be different because of the water ports. i think. maybe that would only apply to the intake gaskets.

[quantumleap]

could it be an ft? even with my "352" stamped front end?

[fordman]

no probably not. the ft was used in the larger trucks. and uhaul used a version of them including the xd and md.

[quantumleap]

thanks for the info fordman

[Dragon]

You could not mistake the FT for an FE.

Use only 1 cylinder. Set it at 0 on the timing wheel and then turn 90 degrees and find the bottom. I read 4-1/8th on your tape every time.
4-1/8 stoke on a 390 is 425
EDit
same stroke on a 428 is a 442.

[quantumleap]

just so im clear on all this...we've come to the conclusion that its more than likely a 390...any reason for no casting numbers on the block itself?

[Dragon]

It might have started as a 390 but I did the same two cylinder test as you on my 390 the exact sharpy dowel rod way and I get 3.75 so close to the 3.78 as a tape can read. There is no way your 4-1/8 is a mistake. Unless you did the rod straight once and angled the other time twice in a row.

So a 390 bore would be a 425 though they might have overbored it. Even if you were off by an eighth you would still be bigger than a 390. I cannot get my tape to be an 1/8 off. So I highly doubt the engine is a 390 anymore.

[quantumleap]

It might have started as a 390 but I did the same two cylinder test as you on my 390 the exact sharpy dowel rod way and I get 3.75 so close to the 3.78 as a tape can read. There is no way your 4-1/8 is a mistake. Unless you did the rod straight once and angled the other time twice in a row.

So a 390 bore would be a 425 though they might have overbored it. Even if you were off by an eighth you would still be bigger than a 390. I cannot get my tape to be an 1/8 off. So I highly doubt the engine is a 390 anymore.

what do u think it is then?

[hazelnut]

Hard to say what the stroke is with a sharpie putting on a wide line like that, maybe you should use something with a finer point on it to get a more accurate measurement. A 4 1/8th would be a stroker crank. with the lines being wide like that it wouldnt be hard to be off by 1/8th.

[leavittt]

I've always had problems trying to measure strokes to identify an FE so I always try to identify them by looking at the different components. There's a difference between the flywheels on a stock 410/428 vs. a 390 unless the 410/428 has been internally balanced by a shop. The flywheel on my brother's 428 has some weights on it while the flywheel on my 390 doesn't have the same kind of weight setup. Sorry, I don't have pictures distinguishing the two so this post might not be as much help as it could be. We've always ran manual transmissions but I'm guessing the flexplates on an automatic would be the same type of deal. So you should be able to get some kind of idea about whether you have a 410/428 or a 390 by looking at the flywheel/flexplate. Then again, if you do have an aftermarket stroker crank, it would most likely be internally balanced anyway and would use a regular 390 flywheel/flexplate.

[Dragon]

I built two internally balanced 428s one built as factory bore and stroke and one custom sleeved 427 block with 4.4 bore and 3.5 stroke. Both fooled the race inspectors into thinking they were not anything but a 390 in the first case and a 352 in the second. So my class performance was top of the class. They asked, I told them, they checked the front balancer for counter weights and let me run.

I did my tests with a dull fat sharpy and both on my test least weak and this night I came up with 3.75. I hold the coat hanger so it touched the valve cover flange and slide the sharpy on that edge and I get the same reading every time. It always looks a hair off 3.75. So I would say his is still 4-1/8.

[fordman]

something i read and i am not 100% sure o fit. but the 390 pistons are marked 410 on them. the way i read it they might be marked on top of them. so that may be another way to tell if its a 390 or soemthing else. another thing you can do is to look up inside the engine with the pan off and look at the piston skirts. the 360 skirts are full skirts. where as the 390 are only partial skirts.

[DuckRyder]

390 TRUCK pistons MIGHT be marked 410 (in other words some were) but it is in the pin area. Aftermarket pistons might well be marked on the top as to part number or oversize (or both).

I sort of wonder if the dowel went in the dish on one piston and on the crown of the other?

[Dragon]

possible but a dish is not 1/4 deep. I always run my test down along the cylinder wall. And it is kind of hard not to do it to the outside bottom the engine leans that way and the normal human thing is to go straight down anyway.

[quantumleap]

kinda confused i guess for now then i just save up for the 347 stroker and then i know for sure