Ever heard of a 352?

My father has an original owned 65" Twin I beam Ford.  My brother told me it has a rare engine in it called a 352.  Have you guys ever heard of it?  Well its all original and he is going to restore sometime in the future.  He is thinking about doing a total custom job on it. 

The 352 was one of the earlier ones of the FE series. The FE series covers a 332, 352, 360 Truck, 390, 406, 410, 427, 428.

The FE series was a real work horse, used it several models, and used everything from a 2 barrel, to 2 x 4.

The 352 is generally thought of as a "Truck" motor of its era, as is the 360.  My dad had a 65 Galaxy 500 with the 390 and 4bbl with posi rear and it would scream for mercy, leave two black streaks, and still gave over 16 mpg.  The 352 and 360 would suck down gas if you just turned them over.  As far as bing a performance motor, they were know for torque at low rpm, not high rpm performers.  

Well thanks for the info.  This truck as a lot of history for us.  When it was purchased back in 1965 it was purchased with nothing but an am radio, heavy duty shocks to support a large camper and other things like lots of fire wood of which I had to stack when I was a little kid.  The truck is all original and sitting in a garage.  It has 180,000k miles on it.  It has some rust but not a lot.  It drives like its brand new and starts up better than a new Ford.  My dad told me it shifts better (column Shift) than a new Ford but I think it's just him.  My brother want to chop the top (maybe), install a crate motor with EFI, and make it power every thing.  BTW the way the clutch original.  Is that common?

Your Dad KNOWS how to take good care of his equipment.  Excessive reving while letting the clutch out is what gets them cooked in a hurry... its possible to ruin one in 10 minutes without trying hard.

We're going thru the same delima with our old 84 F150.  It has a 351W 4bbl and it gets into my gas pocket while I'm still just walking out to get into it.  I'd like to stick in a stock late model 5.0 with EFI and be done with it... make a resto mod out of it.  The rear has a 3.55 in it and would still provide good peformance for a truck.  I know of several local guys who did that and are happy.

I'm sure that by now you've been told all about the 352 being an FE engine with sizes from 332,352,390,406 and 427. It is a heavy engine but, being 48 and having experienced one in a '59 Fairlane, they are worth rebuilding. Hot Rod did an article in 1960 on the police model, and that doesn't even cover all the new parts that are being made. Whether you go stock, antique mods, or modern specs, it will make loads of torque! Good luck and don't let them talk you into a modern engine swap. Anyone can do them now, and as a frequent carshow participant, the same old 5.0 swap gets less spectator time than a built 'antique engine'.  

A friend of mine found a 352 by accident in a pile of junk. I did a little research for him to figure out what it was, he wasnt impressed at first, but after talkin to another buddy, he decided to rebuild it for his fairlane.

352 is an old FE block. Part of the 390 family. Good find!