What block is it??

[westcott cobra]

@ all FE gurus,

I got hold of a used SA engine, i disassembled, cleaned, checked, measured the bores and mains for taper and wear. At the end i replaced all bearings, rings etc and now i'm in the middle of the assembly process..

The block must be a 352 because of it's 4.027 bore but i can't find a casting number as i could on any other block i used before.

What i found, all seen in driving direction:
Front left:The usual 352 with 44
Rear: 352 with 24
Left: 29 DIF, 8D1T stamped in the left front boss directly beside the Nr5 bore,
Left at oil adapter location: 8C29 as date code and a "EI" above

Beside the mold#, the 352 and the date code there is no other casting number, just plane rectangular surface. This plane has casted surface, nothing milled off...see the pics below..

Other details:
- 4 bolt engine mounts
- casting surfaces outside look more gritty or sandy then others i got before

I assume it is a 352, bored first time. Is it a service block ??


For the ones interested in more build details:

The cross bolts are fake....

The scat rotating assy is checked and o.k. , goes in again with Speed Pro file fit rings installed.

All new parts as cloyes true roller with FMS excenter and comp cams 270H, matching lifters, cobra pan with baffles and trap doors are waiting.

Intake is Edelbrock with 60069 428 Style heads, mild port job done to them. Rockers are Ersons from Barry.
For the edelbrock heads i did some notching to the bores because there where very small hammer marks from the exhaust valves on all bores.

Restrictors are installed in the block oiling passages to the heads.

ARP all around, aluminum flywheel with centerforce clutch, roller pilot bearing and quicktime bellhousing.

At the end it will be a 433 with bottom torque for all day use together with a 2.88 rear good for long distance cruises..

Former owner was silverline.

Westcott, swapping from Cleveland to FE...

[Excaliber]

Can't help on the motor, but curios what trans your running with the 2.88 rear gear?

[Woodz428]

If the cylinders aren't sleeved down, it would have to be a service block 352, the 4 bolt mount pads weren't until probably the '66 model year and the last for the 352 engine. I have come across many FEs without casting numbers. the date code and bore pretty much indicate it to be a service 352. The one date code with a T at the end and stamped in was likely the original assembly date, also indicating a service built engine/shortblock. It is not unlikely that they were using 390 blocks not bored fully. The .027 overbore would also be what the .030 rebuild size, which would have likely been in a remanufactured engine form Ford. The assembly date code would suggest that it WAS assembled at a Ford plant and the casting date would indicate it was cast 2 years after the 352 left production.

That's not a hairline crack in the oil pan flange, in the pic by the filter mount, is it??

[FWB]

the 352 seems correct, the 4.027 bore.......the march of 1968 cast date would mean an over the counter block. use it enjoy...

[westcott cobra]

Thanks a lot, so it seems that my block is now a virgin 390

Is it correct that a 352 service block is a 390 just bored 4.00 ?? There would be plenty of material to overbore if necessary, perfect...

The FMS cobra oil pan has a hole pattern slightly out of center, therefore i had to grind the radius at the end of the flange down in some areas to fit the bigger dia canton nuts comming with the windage tray. Before grinding they sat on the radius not on the planar flange surface.

Out of center means a bit out of the engines centerline, but more out of center of the flange width. The holes are closer to te pan then to the outer line of the flange. I had to grind nearly 70 percent of all hole areas.

A not smoothed out grind line is what you see on the pic. I will go over all grinding surfaces again next week.

My trans is a 3550 Tremec with .68 5th. Just fine to go 145 Km/h with 2000rpm on the highway, nice for long distance travels. (long distance travel here in Germany means everything between 200 - 600 Kilometers)

May the torque be with it..without loosing anything

westcott

[RICK LAKE]

westcott cobra That 3550 will not last with an .68 5th gear and 2.88 rear dif gears. Even running under size tires. There are a few threads about this undr trannies. The motor with 400+ ft of torque is going to pound that trans which is ment for a 300+ ft of torque sb motor. 3.07 with the .87 gearing or 3.31 with the .68 will be min. This will also need a strong lowend motor with alot of torque to not lug the motor in the 1,70-1,900 rpm range. You are driving a flying brick, the faster you go the more resistance the car makes. You also need to be about 500 to 750 rpms inside the torque band of your motor for good drivibility. Rick L.

[westcott cobra]

Rick, the 3550 is in since 2003 sitting behind a very good modified 351C. A lot of times with high speed use on the autobahn up to 260 Km/h(161mph) in 4th, never in 5th !!

The 5th was and is just used to lower engine rpm after i reached 80 mph, never at lower speed and never to speed up quickly in 5th.

No issues at all but not the low end torque i will have with the FE.

Very close to tested dyno reality this is what i have right now with the cleveland. I'm allways above 2500 rpm with 7000 set as limit by the ignition box.

I hit the limiter a lot of times

The most destructive situation for the tranny will be the higher torque at low rpm.
You are absolutely right.

I used the 3550 times as a normal 4 speed because of its 1:1 4th gear, 5th was just selected on autobahn.

Westcott