first off welcome to FTE

Now IF the intake is original to the engine then yes it would be a 429, they never used 2bbl carbs on 460s but remember some people did swap them on to try and get better fuel economy (doesn't work though a 4bbl running on just the primaries will do better then a 2bbl carb)

Now if you KNOW that manifold is original to that engine your set but if any doubt the only way to tell is measure the stroke or look for casting numbers on the crank

 

How do you measure the stroke. I don't have a cliper, so is there a easy way to do this?

 

well if you have the heads off it's easy just measure with a tape measure, if you don't have the heads off you can do it with a heavy wire through the plug hole (like mechanics wire or a coat hanger) Mark it at tdc then slowly rotate the engine to bdc and remark then measure if the marks are approx 3-1/2 inch it's a 429 (429 is 3.59" stroke) if it's over 3-3/4" it's a 460 (460=3.85" stroke)

 

Thanks Monster. Here are some shots of what I thought was metal that was inside the valve cover when I removed them to id the heads. On closer inspection it is plastic. Any idea of what it is?

 

yeah those are valve stem seals, pretty typical that they dry out and fall apart after a lot of years and is the major cause of smoke on start up.

 

Can I still run the engine, or should I just leave it be, until I can afford to rebuild it? I have other vehicles, so this is just a for fun project and can sit. It would be fun to drive it though, before having to shell out all the cash on a rebuild.

 

Well on my some of my race engines i never put them in to start with, really won't hurt a thing as long as they don't plug up the oil pickup. clean out as much as you can from the heads. Basically all that will happen is you will have some blue smoke on cold start up. I have seen many many engines with over 100,000 on them AFTER the valve seals go away. If you can get the pan off you could clean it out of it makes you feel better but honestly it's not a deal breaker as it will run just fine.
If you really feel the need and the smoke at start up bothers you, you can replace them without removing the heads using comprssed air and a on engine valve spring compressor but like i said personally on a toy I wouldn't even bother.

 

Thanks monster!

 

Monster, I am getting close to buying a rebuilt long block. I'm debating whether to go with a 429(early 70's with dove-c heads or a 460. It will have a mild cam Edelbrock performer, and intake as well as a 750 cfm edelbrock carb(all matched). Some say go with the extra cc's others say the 429 will have more get up and go. What do you think?
It's going into a 48 Ford F1 truck with a c-6 tranny, and a 9 inch rear end, with 3.0:1 gears.

 

honestly if your not thinking of a stroker it's 6 of one half dozen of the other. The 460 will have a slight advantage in torque, as a base engine the 429 will tend to rev a little faster but your only talking 31 ci so you MIGHT have a 30hp 40ft/lb advantage with the 460, but if your not racing and looking for all it can the 429 just sounds cooler when you tell people what motor you have.

 

Same sort of thing I've been thinking. I like the sound of 429, and quicker to power vs. slightly more power sounds good too. Is the 429 lower compression? I want to stick to gas pump fuel!

 

yes a 429 will be just slightly lower compression. Based on both engines being .030 over bore using a 22cc dish pistons at zero deck with D0VE heads the 429 will be 9.31:1 the 460 would be at 9.91:1

 

I have an 85 ford f250 with a 460 with about 170,000 miles on it
i compression tested it and there is no less than 140 in all cylinders and no more than 145 its a daily driver but i love four wheeling

and i came across a ford 429 with some dove-c heads. I have a pretty low budget and i would like some more power out of my old 4X4. i was looking into just replacing the cam but now i dont know what do you guys think

 

Lets see, you have a known good engine with a clean bill of health as far as compression test goes vs an unknown questionable engine that may need a complete overhaul AND a new cam to get any power out of. Personally i would keep the known engine, change out the timing chain for a double roller and set it straight up, a good free flowing exhaust and possibly a cam and intake depending on budget.

IF you want you can then build one to replace it with later out of the 429 but I wouldn't get rid of an engine that is running good.

 

Thanks alot, i plan on buying this cam if u wouln't mind taking a quick look and telling me what ya think

COMP Cams: High Energy™, 260H: Cam & Kit

thanks again