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390 heads on a 352

im wondering if the heads from a 390 would work on a 352. i have a 66 f100 with a 352 2v 4/sp tranny i have aquired an edelbrock performer 4v intake & a 600 cfm edelbrock carb that i would like to install soon but keep hearing the 352 does not breath very well & therefore the 4v set up will not perform to good unless i upgrade the heads. i already have a pair of 390 heads, and am hoping to use them any info would be greatly appreciated. thank you!
 

Fellro

Moderator
Staff member
They will bolt, as the blocks are common. What I am not certain about it is the combustion chamber size if it is the same or not. If the 352 has smaller combustion chambers than the 390 heads, you will lose compression.
 
They will bolt, as the blocks are common. What I am not certain about it is the combustion chamber size if it is the same or not. If the 352 has smaller combustion chambers than the 390 heads, you will lose compression.

I was thinking the same ,because I always heard that over the years!
I always heard that people some times will change to a smaller head
to gain a higher compression.
 

Fellro

Moderator
Staff member
Yes, that is a common way to cheaply bump up compression. I just am not versed in which ones are what cc.
 

SuperCab

Moderator
Staff member
10,068
547
Montana
So if I remember right the 352 was normally seen with 58cc heads and the 390 with 65ish cc heads. Been a long time since I messed with such things but if I did the numbers right that could be enough to lose almost a full point in compression ratio. I.e. 8:1 instead of 9:1

Don't quote me on anything though as I'm pretty rusty on FE engines these days
 

Fellro

Moderator
Staff member
And it may depend on the head itself, had the better performance heads and the stock performance heads... Can't say if they had a compression difference or not though.
 

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