Any other 534 owners?
 

We have a forum for the orignal "Super Duty" Ford Engines now :-X04
I would like to hear from others that have/had one of these monster engines! I like the stories from the old (& not so old) timers about how my 534 cu in Super duty grain truck pulled 6 chev^^s out of the mud at one time, etc....

I just purchased a 1969 F1000 Dump with the 534 cu in. Don't have any stories to tell yet! As soon as I do...I will post it.

Thanks!!
AJ

Hi AJ, :-wink
My dad used to drive a 1960 F-1100 single axle custom cab with the 534 Super Duty. He had straight pipes on it, and man would that thing bark! He said it was a real flying machine as far as tractors went. :)

Wow, I'd like to see a picture of that 69 F-1000! Want to put up a gallery by any chance? :)

I will put it on my gallery. I tried the other night, but had problems creating the gallery. I'll try again.

thanks
AJ

hey is that 534 a stump puller? i wonder if you could pull it out of the 1000 and put it in a race car or half ton ford? that would be kick-***!534 cubic inches man you could kick the crap out of everyone in races, except for the 572 chevys.

i saw a 534 sittin under a tarp in the junkyard the otherday, it was huge, the junk man wanted 100 bucks for it, it didnt look like it had run in 30 years so i let it sit.

My grandpa was on the fire dept., and on the first trip out with the new truck, which had a 534, left dual rear wheel posi marks on the station floor, carrying a full 1000 gallons of water(8400 lbs) 6 men(960 lbs) all equipment(600+lbs) and full load of fuel. If that's not enough, it threw 2 guys off the back as he turned the corner. Before the next fire, needless to say, it had a governor on it.

This probably don't qualify. My dad had a 534 ford engine on our irrigation well for close to25 years. Just retired that motor a few years back. Must have had a zillion hours on it. Avalve went out on it. Those valves were adjustable on that particular engine, The thing I hated most about that engine was the oil filter. It was a canister type located by the engine pan. Kind of messy to change. You also had to tighten the filter up just right or it would leak. A pretty durable motor otherwise. I do believe the 460 we have on there now has way more power. The 534 produced most of its power at a lower R.P.M. than a 460.

yeah it sounds like its a work motor not a fun motor i looked at the specs and its not a race engine but it could pull some stumps im sure

We ran one on an irrigation well for years. We bought it to replace a 800 cu in Minneapolis Moline engine that was nothing but trouble. The 534 ran for about 10 years, just pulling it's guts out. After it started using quite a bit of oil (a gallon every 12 hours) we hooked a 390 onto the front of the crankshaft to help it and oil consumption went to nearly nothing. Sure looked funny, those 2 tied together, but it worked really well. Some neighbors who found the 534 wasn't enough power, tied 2 of them together, other turbocharged them. It's a tough engine but not too fuel efficient, therefore they are all gone now. Most guys have gone to that big ch**y and twinned them up. I did install one 534 in my C-800 single axle grain truck. It is huge but it puts out a lot of torque and will pull quite a load. The truck regularly grosses a weight of 42-44,000 lbs. and will just walk out of a soft field with that load. It's not a hot rod by any means, redline rpm is 3200. The valves are too small to let it wrap up much tighter. It's just a heavy truck motor.

The 460 was amuch better motor than the 534 for power and durability. Have two of those on my wells right now. Couldn,t be more happier. Never have seen two motors like that tied together takes some real coordination there.

Twinned motors isn't rocket science. Both have clutches, separate safety guages and I had starters on both engines of my setups. The trick was some means of tying the output shaft of the front to the harmonic balancer on the rear. We used a driveshaft about a foot long. The rear engine has to have a heavy crank snout. The 534 and 391 worked good on the rear, the 428 on the rear would break the crank right behind the balancer. I've seen twin 460s but I haven't ran them, so I don't know anything about longevity. I know where there's a pile of them, though.

You must have some deep wells in your area.

I must be young, dumb, or too close to the city. The only thing I've ever heard of are the tiny well pumps that you put in drinking water wells.

Irrigation wells to irrigate cropland. These well typically put out500+ gallons per minute and are as deep as the water table is. They take pretty good size motors to run these wells. Learn something hear all the time don't we. Hope this helps.

Thanks. I was wondering just how deep your well would be if you need an auto engine to pump it. Well, I did learn something new.

Our wells run 300 to 500 ft and pump 1000 to 1500 gallons per minute. It takes a lot of power to lift that much weight. The gas companies love it. Most wells are 8 inch and some are 10 in. in diameter then they shove the water down a pipeline to a sprinkler or pivot that may be 1/2 mile long. They usually run 24/7 from April to September. It's a whole different ball game than that submersible out behind the house.

I heard they ran these in the oil fields of Labrador wide open throttle for 6 months at a time for ten years... by my calculations that would be over 40,000 hours.
I own a 534 Ford Seamaster marine engine and have run it a 1929 HackerCraft mahogany speedboat for many years. These seamasters were built from the late '50's into the late '70's. Extremely durable engines. I think the high fuel consumption is partly due to the low compression ratio and the fact that a lot of the fuel goes out unburned. This probably causes high exhaust temperatures. I am thinking about rebuilding mine with 8.75 or 9:1 pistons and a little more agresive cam. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks, 534Seamaster

x( I want a pile of 460's.

Where are you getting the cam and pistons?

I am assuming that the pistons will have to be special pieces from JE/Ross/Venolia, etc. The cam.. well I just bought a new Clevite cam on Ebay and I thought I'd send it to a cam guy I know and see if he can regrind it.. I assume it's cast iron so I suppose what can be done with it is limited. Any ideas or thoughts??

I'd think you might get some bad ping with that much compression with no quench area in the heads. Having a flat plank type head, there is little turbulence, and this translates into the need for lower compression ratios so it doesn't ping. I would suggest custom pistons, where there is a raised flat part on either side of the valves that comes within like .050" of the heads, and a big dish / valve pocket. In effect, it'd be kind of like an upside down combustion chamber in the pistons.

The cam can be welded thicker in areas where needed and reground. I'd also see about putting bigger valves in it, as 534 cubes are going to need all the air they can get.

Sounds like a cool (but expensive) project. Keep us informed. :-X22

Ford 880 with 534 power
 

I am driving a 1972 Ford 880 tandem truck with 534 Ford power and a 5&4 transmission. The engine is propane fueled to control costs as the truck only gets about 5mpg on propane which is about 60% of the gasoline cost here. The truck has an SKB Model 6TM articulated hydraulic crane mounted behind the cab capable of lifting up to 9,000 lbs. The remaining deck is a 22' flatbed used for hauling drill pipe and casing in my well drilling business.
The only problem I have encountered has been the starter which has an inertia drive which jams & breaks occasionally and is costly to repair. I would like to install a more modern and less costly starter if I could find one that fits, or at least have a spare starter on standby. Does anyone know if this is feasible?

AJ, I might have to look you up the next time I'm in Apex, I live up in Butner, about an hour north of there. I want to see that truck, it looks awesome, and I've never seen a '69 F-Series that looks like that, nor in that good of condition! How did you find such a truck?

MW95F250
Come on down anytime!! I would love to show it off. :-X10

I found that truck on Ebay, of all places. i was looking for a cheaper dump truck for some projects that i have around here, and low and behold i found the F1000. the guys I bought it from also have a completely restored one. they are located in PA. anyway, email me if you want to come by sometime. aj1@pobox.com

thanks

Aj

how much does a 534 weigh?

:-wink
The 534 weighs in at 1,032 lbs. :)

1978 F-800 Exhaust Manifold for a 534
 

I have a 1978 F-800 with a 534 and am looking for an exhaust manifold for the driver side of the truck. It is a Fire Engine and I need it to pass DOT inspection. If anyone knows where I can get one please email me at scipper@hotmail.com.

Thanks so much

Kevin

Gillig Transit Bus with Ford 477
 

I own a Gillig Transit Bus (now an RV) powered by a Ford 477 Engine installed as a "pusher" (rear engine). These busses were designed by the Neoplan Bus Company back in 1978/79 and were used in a few cities, including San Jose, California. The unique property is that they operate on propane using an IMPCO Propane Carburator. This was during the oil embargo when you could not buy gas - so about 200 of these were made - with power steering, independent front suspension and special Neoplan rear suspension, including air bags all around. The Ford 477 is bolted to the frame and drives an Allison automatic transmission. Not exactly a performance vehicle - but 80 MPH here in Nevada is not unusual!

I have a 534 engine in my 65 FT-850. The older ones were definitely torquers. My dad worked at a Ford truck dealer in the 1960s when these engines were in their heyday. The trucks with these engines were well respected and would run with many of the diesels of the day. I have devoted a page on my web site to the almost forgotten N series Ford trucks of the sixties that used many of these engines. See it at www.michellesfords.com go to the bottom of the opening page and click on N series page. My next project is to build an N series truck into a rod hauler.

Michelle

Ms michelle where have you been for 2 years?. You have some great posts.

I have been off the boards for a couple of years. Actually I use to make quite a few post in 97, 98, 99. when the boards were in the form of a digest and was e-mailed to you each day. I was a member of the board that covered the 1956 models and a board that covered the 60s models too. I even wrote a short assay on the 401, 477, and 534 engines in 98. At that time there were very few people on the board that even knew what they were. I got a lot of responses to that post. A picture of my 56 F-100 was on the cover of the very first issue of the Club FTE magazine. So really I have been around for a good while. I love Fords and have quite a stable of them. You can see my 56 F-100 on this site or at my web site along with my other Fords www.michellesfords.com

Michelle

Michelle keep up the good work. Glad your back.

:-wink
Good to have you back Michelle.
I remember that '56 on the cover. beautiful truck! :)

I found that truck on Ebay, of all places. i was looking for a cheaper dump truck for some projects that i have around here, and low and behold i found the F1000. the guys I bought it from also have a completely restored one. they are located in PA. anyway, email me if you want to come by sometime. (Click Here to find out why email addresses are removed from posts.)

You just bought the truck, I had seen it on E-bay just a couple of weeks ago. Way cool truck.

Michelle

:-wink
Which truck? :)

Whats going on with your dump truck, I see it is listed on E-bay again? Are you selling it already?

Michelle

the 383/410/430/462 MEL engines had a wedge head setup, and the 462 had 11:1 compression, and would run on pump gas with no pinging.

I dont think it would be a problem.

Brother got a 68 f850 for the box and hoist guy said engine was shot but her running. 120lbs on all 8 some fun to keep on the road the 6sp allison is kinda cool.

Just found this site, I have a 75 Ford 880 with a 534, having some ignition problems and was wondering if I can switch to electronic ignition, and if so where do I find what I need?