Chrome Air Cleaner and Valve Covers

[fordboy69]

Until I actually get the alum intake I will probably stay with the factory air cleaner but that is good to know, Thanks Guys.

[fordboy69]

Whats a good aluminum intake and 4bbl carb set up that isn't crazy expensive?

[fordboy69]

What do you run and what should I go with a holley or edelbrock? or is it just pereference?

[court1100f]

I'd go with a Holley theres option 1 a universal vacuum secondary 650CFM that'd work great and get you better gas mileage Vacuum secondaries open the back two barrels based off the stiffness of the spring in the vacuum cannister and the vacuum of the engine if theres not enough vacuum to over power the spring the back two don't open fully basicly it caters to the demands of the engine based off of manifold vacuum/then theres option 2 mechanical secondaries if your just interested in performance at the cost of fuel economy the mechanical secondaries open the back two barrels with mechanical linkage so you can set it up to open them as quickly or slowly as you want /then theres option 3 a Holley Double pumper for all out performance which has mechanical secondaries and dual acellerator pumps stock they're 30cc but can be changed out to 50cc, As for what I run presently the 68 still has the factory two barrel intake on it.......But I intend to get a Edelbrock Streetmaster for mine feels alittle strange getting a single plenum for an application that'd ordinarily benefit most from a dual plenum but I saw the numbers myself and they don't lie the streetmaster kicked ass

[fomocoguy]

If you are running the stock 360 in your truck I'd go with a vacuum secondary 600cfm carb, Holley or Edelbrock. You will probably see a slightly better mileage out of the Edelbrock, but maybe a few more ponies out of the Holley. The Edelbrock has smaller primaries for normal driving. As a general rule, if you know nothing about tuning a carb the Edelbrock is a better choice. They are usually ready to run out of the box. I prefer a well tuned Holley, but I also know them pretty well.

As for intakes, you could find a gently used Edelbrock performer for probably $150 or less. Your other option is a factory 4 barrel intake from a 390. These can usually be found for chump change in the junkyards, and with a cleaning and some paint it would look great. The downside is that the factory iron intake weighs about 85 lbs!

[court1100f]

yeah but the thing is a Regular Performers a turd though man. not worth the money you'd pay for it. and since he wants a Aluminum intake that leaves out the 1 ton monster aswell. which makes the performer RPM or Edelbrock Streetmaster the better options. I mean if you were going to consider the performer intake you might aswell get the factory cast iron heavy weight cause the performance would probly be better than the performer..............in my case the parts I get for the 360 will be the same parts used on my 390-410-or 448 So that means a Streetmaster or performer RPM/Holley 650CFM haven't decided entirely on whether it'll be a vacuum or mechanical secondaries carburetor yet,Headers,XE262H Cam,Pertronix Distributor and a 50,000 Volt Coil,and H or X Pipe and true dual exhaust all of which will compliment the future build that way I don't spend money on crap that I'll have to waste more money replacing later when the engines upgraded

[fomocoguy]

With headers and a cam you will probably be ok with the 650 if it's vacuum secondary. Mechanical secondaries are for light vehicles with steep gearing. You can get away with it in a heavy car/truck but you will need some tall gears to get the rpms up quick. A heavy vehicle with normal (3.00- 3.50) gears will bog like crazy with a mechanical secondary carb, not to mention belch stinky black stuff from the tailpipes.

As for the intake, the performer is an excellent choice for a stock engine. It may not build power any better than a factory 4 barrel intake, but for a stock 360 like his he doesn't need to. His low compression truck motor can't handle any more air and fuel than a 600 and the performer can deliver.

As a person who has done this swap numerous times I can tell you that a 600 Edelbrock and a performer intake on a STOCK 360 FE (no cam, headers, etc) will get as good a mileage as can be expected, idle smooth as glass, rarely if ever need adjustment, and add quite a bit of power throughout the rpm range, especially up higher, without losing any torque.

Keep in mind it's very easy to kill the torque these engines make in stock form by oversizing things like carbs.

[george worley]

Get a stock iron manifold and put a 1 inch carb spacer on it and a 600 Holley with a 14' crome air cleaner. It will run strong up to 4200 RPM and won't cost a arm and a leg. That is what I run.

[fomocoguy]

That's what I'm doing with my truck, except I picked up a used performer intake.

[court1100f]

With headers and a cam you will probably be ok with the 650 if it's vacuum secondary. Mechanical secondaries are for light vehicles with steep gearing. You can get away with it in a heavy car/truck but you will need some tall gears to get the rpms up quick. A heavy vehicle with normal (3.00- 3.50) gears will bog like crazy with a mechanical secondary carb, not to mention belch stinky black stuff from the tailpipes.

As for the intake, the performer is an excellent choice for a stock engine. It may not build power any better than a factory 4 barrel intake, but for a stock 360 like his he doesn't need to. His low compression truck motor can't handle any more air and fuel than a 600 and the performer can deliver.

As a person who has done this swap numerous times I can tell you that a 600 Edelbrock and a performer intake on a STOCK 360 FE (no cam, headers, etc) will get as good a mileage as can be expected, idle smooth as glass, rarely if ever need adjustment, and add quite a bit of power throughout the rpm range, especially up higher, without losing any torque.

Keep in mind it's very easy to kill the torque these engines make in stock form by oversizing things like carbs.

too big of a carb will kill the power on damn near any vehicle bro not just an FE,to that end I've gotta stock low mileage 360 aswell but having said that I want to get all the right parts so that when I upgrade the engine to a higher displacment it will already have what it needs. I'd think that a mechanical secondary carburetor would be capable of being calibrated for any engine in a 1/2 ton to 1 ton truck since CFM wouldn't be affected I've known of several double pumper based trucks with smaller engines than ours think (305/and 302) that ran like a bat out of hell. the Vacuum secondaries just make life easier cause you don't have to dial it in to open at the right ratio, but irregardless of the fact yeah Vacuum secondaries is probly the better option for ease of use I plan to use Vacuum advance aswell

[fomocoguy]

I just pulled this quote straight from Holleys Q and A page on their website:

"QUESTION: How do I know if a vacuum or mechanical secondary carburetor is best for me?

ANSWER: For streetcars the vacuum secondary carburetor works best on mid-weight or heavyweight cars with an automatic transmission. They are more forgiving than a double pumper is because they work by sensing engine load. The mechanical secondary carburetor is best on a lighter car with radical camshaft and a lower gear and manual transmission or on a car that is going to be used for racing purposes. "

You can check it out yourself if you like at http://www.holley.com/TechService/FAQ.a ... Carburetor

I'm sure you could calibrate it to work on the wrong vehicle with the wrong setup, but why? The fact is that the delivered CFM at low rpms DRAMATICALLY increases with a mechanical secondary carb. Where a vacuum secondary (on a 600 Holley for example) is only using the primaries and 300 cfm untill the engine builds enough vacuum to open up the secondaries and feed all four barrels, the mechanical secondary carb is dumping it all in as soon as you mash the go pedal. Terrible if you have a heavy vehicle, ie 3500 lb curb weight or more, and a low rpm torque engine like ours.

I'm not disagreeing with what your doing; I completely agree that the changes you are making will work in your situation, and you will be prepared when you build your motor. I would do the same thing!

[court1100f]

hmm well whether the mech sec would work or not is unimportant really to be perfectly honest I'm planning to go with a universally calibrated Holley 650CFM Vacuum Secondary NOW to that end pretty much all the parts I buy will work on the new engine once built BUT I'm thinking replacing the bump stick would be a pertinent thing to do since it would be used ofcourse hell IT might even be reusable depending on the extent of wear my 68 has the fun 3 on the Tree so no concern about automatic compatibility BUT I do want optimum performance and Fuel economy. could I get Large Stepped tube Headers for the FE in a Truck Application????

[fomocoguy]

There are definetly some options for headers like you want. If you were to order a PAW (performance automotive warehouse) catalog they list lots of styles and brands for our trucks. They are a GREAT resource, as they have a Ford dedicated catalog. Also check with summitracing.com. I have a set of Hedmans on my truck (only because they were brand new and $40 on craigslist!). They have the welded bead type mating surface and were a pain to buy gaskets for. The better ones like you want should have machined smooth flanges, but they are pricey for sure.

[fordboy69]

Thanks, for all the info now I just need money for all this.

[george worley]

Hey Kaptn. I like the fan, is that a stock Ford fan? I bet it cools good, is it noisey?

George