by Wild About Cars Staff – reprint with permission only

The 352 was Introduced in 1958 as part of the “Interceptor” (high performance) line of FE engines. The 352 has an actual displacement of 351.9 CID. It is a stroked 332 with 3.50″ stroke while retaining the 332’s 4.00″ bore.

1958: In its initial year, the 352 was released as a high output 4-barrel model, and called “Interceptor Special V-8” that made 300 HP @ 4600 rpm and 395 ft. lbs. of torque @ 2800 rpm with 10.5:1 compression. There was an engine available for racing in 1958 called “Interceptor V-8 Thunderbird Special”, though no HP and Torque figures were released. It used a special camshaft and mechanical lifters, but was otherwise no different from the standard 352.

1959: For 1959 model year, the FE engine series was renamed “Thunderbird V-8” and “Thunderbird Special V-8” and were rated the same as in 1958. When installed in Mercury vehicles, these engines were named “Marauder.” It continued in service in the Edsel line in 1960, where it was called the “Super Express” V8 being rated at 300 HP @ 4400 rpm and 381 ft. lbs. of torque @ 2800 rpm with 9.6:1 compression. The racing version of the 352 was unchanged from 1958.

1960: The 1960 standard 352 CID V8 continued unchanged from 1959. However, in 1960 Ford created a true High Performance version of the 352 rated at 360 HP @ 6000 rpm. It featured an aluminum 4bbl intake manifold, a Holley 4160 Carburetor, cast iron “header” style exhaust manifolds, 10.5:1 compression ratio and a special solid lifter long duration camshaft.

1961-1966: The 352 continued on as a medium performance engine from 1961 through 1966. It was equipped with a 2-barrel carburetor. During the period 1961-63 it had 8.6:1 compression, made 220 HP @ 4400 rpm and 336 ft. lbs. of torque @ 2400 rpm. From 1964-66 it had 9.3:1 compression, made 250 HP @ 4400 rpm and 352 ft. lbs. of torque @ 2600 rpm.