Im new to the FE forum and am wondering about the availability of the 427 and 428 parts and performance wise. Are they good motors to search for and are they difficult to find or would a 460 be more reasonable. My friend is working on a "project" aka old mustang and wants to put out around 500hp

 

428 is going to be the way to go if you can find one. they are not as common as the 390ci but they are out there. the FE's are hoped up quite alot, so i dont imagine that parts are hard to find. i had no problems building my 390, but a 460 might be aot easier to find.

 

There is an assortment of places that sell 427 and 428 parts but you better have a thick wallet. Try www.dscmotorsport.com. This guy knows his FEs and is very down to earth. He searches the whole country for his parts so he expects to be paid a good amount for them but this is no different from any other vendor.

 

If he's already setup for an FE as for motor mounts and tranny bell-housing, as well as any block mounted accessories, then staying with an FE will be less work. But, you'll probably spend as much as you would on a 460 even with the conversion parts.

To me , there's nothing cooler than a 427 or 428, but you got to pay for it $$$.

A 427 is really going to cost you. They are rare and very much in demand for Cobras, Mustangs and Galaxies etc.

 

You've asked a question that covers a lot of issues and the answer depends on what your friend wants to accomplish. If he wants to build a pro-street or drag car in the easiest and cheapest manner then he should dump the Mustang and get a Camaro or Chevelle; he can buy parts at Walmart for those. If he wants to restore the Mustang to it's former glory then the points made about the original drivetrain are appropriate. Or, if he just loves Mustangs and wants to make this one go as fast as possible then we can debate the relative advantages of the FE and 385 series motors. So which is it?

In comparing the FE and 385 motors the issue of horsepower potential is really the key. Looking at cost, getting a 428 shortblock will cost a bit more than a 460 shortblock. If you're patient, you can get a nice 428CJ shortblock on Ebay for about $1600. Or you can get a stroked 428 like GTEX did for a bit more. A 460 stroker shortblock will cost about half of a comparable 428CJ. Once you have the shortblocks the rest of the parts (heads, intakes, etc.) are comparable in cost. However, as much as I love the FE I have to admit that you can make more horsepower with a 385 motor. From what I've seen on this forum the realistic upper horsepower limit for a streetable FE is about 500 HP, give or take. You can write a $8000 check to Jeg's or Summit today and get a brand new Motorcraft 514 (stroked 460) rated at 600 HP.

So, in the end it all relates to goals and passions. Sorry for the long post.

 

I wish I'd have seen one of these 428CJ short blocks for $1600 :-)

I watched Ebay for a while, and it looked like mostly material that needed rebuilding and, I saw very few complete short-blocks. I'm sure, as soon as I ordered my stroker, a half dozen 428s would end up on Ebay :-)


If money's no obeject, then follow Shelby's recent path to a 1200 HP blown, injected 500 CI FE aluminum block. you could probably build it for $20,000 :-) OK, maybe $30K.

 

Ebay does require patience. I was watching pretty closely about a year ago (until I bought mine) and saw some pretty good 428CJ deals go by. They tend to come in waves. One guy lists a motor and does pretty well and suddenly four more come out of the woodwork. Of course, there's more risk buying from a private party. I lucked out and found one of the honest ones so I did okay. Then SCAT came out with their stroker setup. Doh!

 

Watch out now... don't stank up our nice forum with talk about "that brand"!!

 

I don't know why a Camaro would be any cheaper than an old Mustang. 302s or 351s are almost as cheap as 350s.

 

Building an old chevy isn't much cheaper than a ford. Cams, heads, pistons, intakes, rods, and cranks are pretty much the same price. There are tons of parts out there to restore mustangs. The FE is one of the more expensive engines to build. I'll pay a little more for the quality. If you are talking about aftermarket chevy blocks so you can actually run some serious power through them then you are talking mega bucks anyway.

 

I knew I'd stir up things with that post! My comment was more to availability of the Chebby parts than cost. I agree that a small block Ford is about as cheap to work on (or hop up) as anything. But go into a Kragens or Autozone. They usually have a small amount of Edelbrock stuff. Pick up the first intake you see; it'll probably be for a small block Chebby. The valve covers and other stuff will probably be for the same application. Now, if you're looking at stuff for cars from the mid-80's, then 5.0 parts are everywhere and way cheap. Go Blue Oval!

 

And....If I am not mistaken, there is a full blown FE on the "Bay" now for only $22,000.only .

 

Thanks for all the replys next time I see him Ill give him this website. I Think this should help him out