Replacement Carburetor and some for 360FE

[Yellabelly007]

I need to replace the carburetor on my 1972 f250 2 wheel drive. It has the 360FE engine and the only mods are electronic ignition and electric cooling fan. I like to get a few more horse's and better sound out of this and wondering if it's worth changing the headers and mufflers at the same time as the carburetor. Do anyone have any recommendations as to what Carb, headers and muffler set up to put on?

[idaho_cowboy]

Good-day!

Firstly, verify that your engine is healthy with a compression check. Post the results here for each cyl. Then we'll take the next step.

- Joseph

[Yellabelly007]

Good-Day Joseph,

Thanks for the response, i do not have a compression gauge to check it. However, i did have someone do a compression test a few years ago and everything checked out ok. The truck does not do much mileage and but runs well from a power perspective. The mechanic that checked it out said it needed a carb rebuild but it was probably cheaper to just buy a new carb and bolt it on, hence the start of the questions which one and what else could i do.

Just looking for some guidance, not looking for a hard core tune up.

Thanks for any advice you can give.

[DuckRyder]

Randy has posted a company he has had good luck with.

Holley 2bbl electric choke ford kick down is a common replacement for the OE manifold.

Past that, skys the limit...

[sargentrs]

These guys!! http://www.guaranteedcarburetors.com Call 'em, tell them about your truck and let them make a recommendation. I've bought 3 carbs from them for 3 different vehicles and all have been bolt on and go. Unlimited lifetime warranty. They offer rebuild services too.

[6Delta]

Your mechanic doesn't want to rebuild your carburetor because for him to do a good job he can that stand behind it takes too long. To get it right it really he needs to tear it down and let it soak overnight. The actual time to take it apart and put it together is only about an hour but he will have it for a lot longer. (You might ask him how much it would cost if you dropped it off the picked it up a few days later.)

A carb is easy to rebuild and you could consider doing it yourself. The cost of a good complete kit is less than $40.00 and unless your carb's throttle shaft is worn you can save some cash. If you are only going to rebuild 1 then you "can" do it with a couple of cans of the spray cleaner (I don't like doing it that way and because I have so many vehicles a 5 gallon can of cleaner lasts for years). Plus you can tear it apart then put it together at the [censored] table. Really other that the shaft getting sloppy most carbs just get gummed up from crappy gas over time. A good over night soak and blowing every port out with 50-60 lbs of air pressure is not as easy as just bolting a replacement on but a lot of the rebuilds I have seen are really not worth buying. Many of the ones I have seen have too much play at the shaft right out of the box. If you go with a rebuild I suggest you check them carefully before taking one home. The companies recommended by the members here have their reputation to consider so they are more likely to provide a much better product than the local Napa or Autozone can.

As far as headers and mufflers, unless you can get a good set of headers at a swap meet or on CL you really won't get your $ worth from them. An F250 with a 360 has plenty of power for around town/general use and the mileage is going to stay basically the same (crappy). I have headers, aluminum intake, flow through mufflers, etc. and get to the speed limit really fast at about 10 mpg. Until I change my rear gear ratio my mileage won't get much better and I can only burn so much rubber. If you need to replace those items that is the time to do so. Then the money is better spent. (IMO)

[sargentrs]

If you do it yourself and you want to make it pretty, check out my video on rebuilding my Edelbrock 600cfm 4bbl. It's not a complete rebuild, just tips and tricks. At the 2 minute mark I show my home made soda blaster rig and the results. Well worth the $10 I spent making it. https://youtu.be/5Fj-qiZj_WU

[Twisted_Steel]

Hey Sarge,
What PSI did you use for your powder blasting on the carburetor? I may do that very thing when I tear apart my 600 Holley to find the reason for the dead spot that I'm getting just off idle

[sargentrs]

I had it cranked up to 60 psi. Small compressor though so only about 4-6 cfm max.

[derekm803]

If you've never rebuilt a carb before you definitey DO NOT want to do it yourself. Itll take you forever, you'll be lucky to get it back together right and you'll never get it tuned. I just got a carb from guaranteed carbs and they hooked me straight up. Bolt on n go just like the other guy said.

[6Delta]

If the carb is the basic "2100" Ford item I can't think of a better one to start on. It is a very simple design and really is one of Ford's better ideas. There are some complicated carburetors out there but the 2100 is not one. The diagram supplied with most kits shows where everything goes and I think there is only one check ball (it's been a while so there might be 2). Depending on how many miles are on the body there isn't much to wear out. They just get gummed up, a gasket dries out or the float fails. The jets will be fine if they are clean and you know they are correct so if it ran fine once before it will again. A rebuilt may be faster but might not be better. Definitely get one from one of the suppliers recommended and not AutoZone or O'Reilly to help rule out the chances of a bad rebuild. They used to carry pretty much the same stuff that was just cranked out as fast as possible, but now I don’t really know. The rebuilt ones I have seen tended to use composite floats and not brass ones which might not even been set properly. Then there were the ones where the idle mixture screws had been tightened down to much and messed up either the screw or its seat. Resulting in problems getting it to run well.

If you go new I would get the Holley. I think I even have a 350 cfm somewhere on a shelf waiting for something. I don't think you really need a 500 cfm on a 360 but others may not agree.