There were just three FE models available at first, displacing 332, 352, and 361 cubic inches. While the 361 was the only Edsel, the 332 and 352 were Ford and Mercury mills. The brand-new FE had a ton of potential because there was room for development. It went because it was a large, robust Y-block design with room for bore and stroke expansion. When the 406 and 427ci engines were converted to cross-bolted central bearing arrangements, those substantial block skirts provided tremendous bolstering for the crankshaft conspicuous bearing journals, which would become an important characteristic.
For cubic-inch displacements, the FE (Ford Engine; not Ford-Edsel or Ford Engineering) type uses a wide range of bore and stroke diameters. The 332 and 352 are fraternal twins with 4.00-inch bores that are essentially similar engines. Their strokes differ, measuring 3.50 inches for the 352 and 2.30 inches for the 332. The blocks of those earliest ’58 FE engines weren’t configured for hydraulic lifters since they used mechanical, not hydraulic, lifters.
What is a 352 Engine?
Between 1958 and 1976, Ford V8 engines with the Ford FE designation were installed in automobiles sold in North America. The Ford Y-block engine was replaced with the FE, which was only used briefly in the USA because American vehicles and trucks were outgrowing it. It was created as a top oiler, and side-oiler with displacements ranging from 332 cu in (5.4 L) to 428 cu in, with space significantly extended (7.0 L).
Versions of the FE line created for use in medium and heavy trucks and school buses from 1964 to 1978 were known as “FT,” for “Ford-Truck.” “FE” is an abbreviation for “Ford-Edsel.” Their main differences included steel crankshafts (instead of nodular iron), larger ports and valves, distributor shafts, water pumps, and more effective use of iron in their parts.
The Ford 352, which had an actual displacement of 351.86 cu in (5.77 L) and was introduced in 1958 as a member of the Interceptor series of Ford V8 engines, took the place of the Lincoln Y-block. It is a stroked 332 with a 3.5-inch stroke and a 4-inch bore. The engine’s power ranged from 208 bhp (155.1 kW) with a 2-barrel carburettor to over 300 horsepower (223.7 kW) on variants with four barrels. When these engines were first released, the names of the base models’ versions were Interceptor V-8, and the 4-barrel models’ versions were Interceptor Special V-8.
According to page 483 of the 1958 Ford V8 Cars & Thunderbird Service Manual, the 1958 H coded 352 was known as the Interceptor V-8 Thunderbird Special. In 1958, the Interceptor engine had the lowest performance level. The Thunderbird V-8 and Thunderbird Special V-8 were given to the FE engine family for the 1959 model year. These engines were named “Marauder” when they were put into Mercury automobiles. Typically, this series of engines weighed more than 650 lb (295 kg). Ford produced a high-performance 352 in 1960 with a 360 horsepower (270 kW) rating and included solid lifters, an aluminium intake manifold, a Holley 4160 4-barrel (4-choke) carburettor, cast iron exhaust manifolds in the style of headers, and a compression ratio of 10.5:1.
352 engine configurations and applications
- 2V
- 8.4:1 — 208 horsepower (155 kW) at 4000 rpm and 310 lb-ft (420 N⋅m) at 2800 rpm
- 1965–1967 Ford F-Series
- 8.9:1 — 220 horsepower (160 kW) at 4400 rpm and 370 lb-ft (502 N⋅m) at 2400 rpm
- 1961–1963 Ford
- 1961–1963 Mercury (1961 Meteor and 1961–1963 Monterey, Commuter Wagon, Colony Park)
- 8.4:1 — 208 horsepower (155 kW) at 4000 rpm and 310 lb-ft (420 N⋅m) at 2800 rpm
- 4V
- 10.2:1 — 300 horsepower (220 kW) at 4600 rpm and 395 lb-ft (536 N⋅m) at 2800 rpm
- 1958 Ford Interceptor
- 1958–1959 Ford
- 1958–1959 Ford Thunderbird
- 9.6:1 — 300 horsepower (220 kW) at 4600 rpm and 380 lb-ft (515 N⋅m) at 2800 rpm
- 1960 Ford
- 1960 Edsel
- 1960 Ford Thunderbird
- 10.6:1 — 360 horsepower (270 kW) at 6000 rpm and 380 lb-ft (515 N⋅m) at 3400 rpm
- 1960 Ford
- 8.9:1 — 235 horsepower (175 kW) at 4400 rpm and 350 lb-ft (475 N⋅m) at 2400 rpm
- 1960 Ford
- 9.3:1 — 250 horsepower (190 kW) at 4400 rpm and 352 lb-ft (477 N⋅m) at 2800 rpm
- 1964–1966 Ford
- 10.2:1 — 300 horsepower (220 kW) at 4600 rpm and 395 lb-ft (536 N⋅m) at 2800 rpm
352 Engine Specs
In 1960, the 352-cubic-inch V8 engine was employed in several Ford Motor Company models. The engine was offered in three horsepower variants to accommodate customers’ needs. From 1958 through 1967, the 352 engine was used in various vehicles, including police interceptors, family sedans, and pickup trucks. The robustness and toughness of the 352 led to its 10-year production run.
Horsepower
At 4,300 revolutions per minute, the 1960 two-barrel carburettor 352 engine produces 220 horsepower (RPM). The 220-horsepower engine has a 336 ft-lbs of torque rating at 2,600 RPM. A four-barrel carburettor on the second engine produces 300 horsepower at 4,600 RPM. The 300-horsepower engine has a 381 ft-lbs of torque rating at 2,800 RPM. Police interceptor applications use the third engine arrangement, capable of 360 horsepower at 4600 RPM. Full-size family automobiles and pickup trucks were equipped with the engine’s 220-horsepower variant. The Thunderbirds were equipped with 300- and 360-horsepower engines, also an option for the Galaxie.
Engine Specs
Considered an enormous block engine is the Ford 352. 4.0 by 3.5 inches each make up the bore and stroke. The 220-horsepower engine has a compression ratio of 8.9:1. The compression ratio calculates how much of the fuel-air mixture is compressed by the piston before the spark plug fires. The 300-horsepower engine has a 9.6:1 compression ratio, whereas the 360-horsepower engine has a 10:1 compression ratio. 43 to 54 pounds of operating oil pressure are anticipated. Mechanical lifters were a part of the engine’s early iterations. Ford changed the engine heads to make it easier to employ hydraulic lifters in response to consumer demands to avoid repeatedly changing the mechanical lifters.
Tuneup Specs
The 352 V8 engine’s firing order is 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8. The sequence in which the ignition system fires each cylinder is known as the firing order. An automatic transmission car’s ignition timing is eight degrees before the top dead centre, compared to five degrees for a vehicle with a standard transmission. The points in the distributor need to be set since engines designed in the 1960s were constructed long before electronic ignition was invented. The dwell angle should be between 26 and 28, and the ignition point gap should be adjusted at.015. Lastly, a.034 spark plug gap should be used. Customers rebuilding a 352 engine for high-performance uses will have particular tuning requirements.
Conclusion
The Ford 352 V8 was initially released in 1958 and was offered by Ford until 1966. The 352 was also a part of the Ford-Edsel “FE” series, which ran for a long time. Until the Ford 430 debuted a year later, the second generation Thunderbird would only use the 352 engine in 1958.
The Galaxie 500 and the Fairlane 500 were two Ford models that would use the 352 by 1959. Ford awarded the engine model the moniker 352, which is also frequently known as the Interceptor. Others contend that this model was little more than a standard 352 engine with a 2-barrel carburettor, although many believe an Interceptor engine is a high-performance police vehicle type.