So I have a 1970 429 out of a torino, It has the D0VE-C heads, stock 4v intake, and manifiolds.the engine is completely stock as it sits. I picked it up for 500$
I'm looking for a somewhat high horespower engine that wont be to crazy for a c6 tranny ( I don't want to spend to much on transmission parts or a rebuild Unless it's absolutely necessary) I want this engine to be used in a street driven vehicle that's able to be taken to the strip now and then, a 71 f100 (it's got a 390 in it now, I know I will need mounts, ect.) So I would like to be able to use pump gas, 87-91octane is what we have up here. What kind of head work would I need done to get more then factory horespower while being able to run pump gas? Also what kind of cam would be good for the 429 in my application, I don't plan on having a stall converter set up, what's the best size carbs for these engines, and as far as a intake goes I'm thinking ether a performer or weiand intake. With all that being said, what kind of horespower and torque could I possibly see. Thank you all so much as I am new to engine rebuilding and this is my first one. Thanks! Forget to add I will be using headers in this application.

 

A 1970 429 will be an 11.3 CR motor. You will be lucky to make it run with 93 octane.

Stock they were rated 360 HP, (370/375 for CJ and SCJ versions), so net figure probably an honest 300 HP net for the standard motor, and probably a lot more for the CJ/SCJ as they were intentionally underrated.

You can shop cams--a lumpy cam can reduce octane requirements as it bleeds off cylinder pressure, but it's no guarantee it will run right on the lower octane gas.

JMO if it's a runner, install it, run it and get it sorted out. Then fiddle with a different intake and bigger carb, then cam. Your rear axle and suspension will not handle the power in stock configuration, so you will need to sort that out too. Traction bars will be a must.

As for head work for more power, that will lead you to 93+ octane with higher compression, or you can port and polish without changing the existing CR. Run it first.

You can drag race anything. Consistency is more important than power, unless you are doing "street race" type match ups with mismatched vehicles--trying to outrun a turbo Civic or supercharged Corvette for example.....

 

I had a pair of 1970 460s, the D0VE early high-compression 460. They were 10.5:1 as per the Ford spec book. They were absolute screamers! "Conservatively" rated @ 365 HP, 500 ft. lbs. in the old rating system. It was well known that the actual HP was much higher.

The stock intake manifold is a dual-plane, I think one of the first dual-planes out.

The original carb was the Autolite/Motorcraft 4300, a complex carb with internal dashpots that used gasoline as the damping medium. These carbs were prone to leaking due to the main-body casting sagging down over time in the front where the bowl overhangs. This would cause an air horn to main body leak. I had my hands in these too many times!

IIRC, the 4300 was 500 CFM, I can check that if you need it.

The 4300 was a slightly-spreadbore carb, so of course the intake matches it. The cast-iron manifold is very heavy, but being cast-iron, its expansion coefficient is the same as the block and the heads, so intake manifold to head gasketing issues were rare, unlike aluminum manifolds of later years on Ford V8s.

When replacing engine block casting plugs ("freeze plugs" to some), I found that there was a lot of casting sand left in the bottom of the water jacket on these engines.

I ran mine on 92? octane with timing set to factory specs, I also used CD-2 lead substitute to avoid valve fretting as these were lower-mileage engines and I had no desire to burn up the valves just to have to replace them and install hardened valve seats.

An impressive engine... which increasing emission requirements and the Arab oil embargo later emasculated. A couple years later, the 460 was just a dim shadow of the original 1968 1/2 - 1971 high-compression engines.

 

another option to look at is replacing the DOVE heads with a set of aluminum heads. the DOVE heads while decent heads are the biggest restriction on these motors to making hp. they have very restrictive exhaust ports, more then likely don't have hardened seats, are the small chamber heads, small vavles and have the non-adjustable valve train setup that limits your cam selection. by the time you get the heads rebuilt with new hardened seats, new springs and retainers to match your cam, new rocker studs and guide plates, probably new valves and porting work you will have spent probably as much or more then a new set of either Edelbrock or TFS heads and still not have as good of a flowing head. plus they have the larger valves in them and better ports.
me personally I would not put any money into the factory heads as their are lots of really good aftermarket heads out there that are much better then the factory heads and weigh a lot less.


Rgds
Mike