hi, I just bought a 1968 429 that turns over but needs rebuilt. This 429 is the one with the 4bbl carb on it (I heard there was a version with the 2 bbl) I looked in summit for a rebuild kit and found one from sealed power for 550.00. since the 429 came stock with 360 horses am i asking to much to get 450 to 500 horses or maybe more, and would that rebuild kit be a good one. I plan to put a cam in , put a high rise aluminim intake manifold, and an edelbrock perfrmer on this engine. I guess the question im asking is what other performance up grades and what brands of parts would you perfer to reach my horse power goal. I have heard of putting he 460 crank in the 429 and it makes them run good is that true? also what cfm of carb would be perferred? I also was wondering what heads i could put on for more horses, and im not talkin $2,000 aluminim heads, i mean like old police interceptor or cj heads or would it be just as easy to get mine machined. Would all of these performance upgrades require new connecting rods or will my stock rods hold up. this will be one sweet 69 short bed when im done, and my next project will be tubbing it. id appreciate some advice,... thanks

 

Yes you can drop a 460 rotating assembly in it, and make the added cid since you are rebuilding it anyway or you can leave it as a 429 the different between a 429, and a 460 is the stroke and all that needs changed is the crank, and pistons. Rods are the same on both engines.
For the heads you already have ones that are as good as any for stock heads although they do tend to keep the compression up pretty high. I would look to buy some one piece stainless valves they aren't that expensive, and are a good investment. also if it doesn't have them on already have the heads machined for using guide plates, and run roller rockers.
for cam, carb, and intake recommendations we would really need more idea what you want to do with this truck but reaching your 450 hp goal shouldn't be to much problem. your probably going to want the bigger carb with that hp number in mind,and go with something like a 750 I prefer the demon carbs if you want to go with a holley type of carb although they are pretty high priced in comparison. A roller cam is another pricey item but definatly makes building hp easier. Another way to reach a 500hp goal is a stroker kit. building 500hp with a 514 isn't even a challenge if thats in your budget. guess thats someting else I should ask what is your budget?
I bet with a little discussion here about your goals and budget we can get you set up with a screamer that will be a really sweet deal in that truck.

 

Monsterbaby,

You mentioned a roller cam and I was wondering if that was a solid roller or hydraulic? I was all set to go Crane hydraulic roller in my motor but I saw a post somewhere, either here or net54, where somebody stated that he didn't like the hydraulic rollers in the 385 because of the lifter angle or some such thing; I'll admit it was slightly over my head. Have you any experience with the hydraulic roller set-up?

 

the only personal experiece I have with hyd rollers is on small blocks which are straight up, so take this with that in mind. I was suggesting hyd roller if this is used on the street the main problem with hyd rollers in a canted valve engines is the amount of preasure that pushing sideways with heavier springs does to hyd. lifters, and roller cams require stronger springs than flat tappet so that is why some guys don't like them, but if you use a fairly mild (in relationship to say my cam) hyd roller cam then you will build more power than an equivalant flat tappet cam, have more vacum than the flat tappet cam for use by the power brakes if you have them, and less wear issues.
Now if a person is building a engine that will see more strip time than street and/or doesn't mind the added time involved with occasionally adjusting the lifters than I say definatly go with a solid roller cause you can get pretty crazy with the lift, and duration which will help build a lot of hp.

 

I like the sound of that 514, but what does a stroker kit cost.. Honostly I dont know my budget, which sounds stupid but im 15 and i dont even have my liscense I get it in january. I Think that the 514 kit would be more than likely out of my ball park, but just for craps and laughs what does that run, and where would you recommend getting it from. I honostly am not sure if it would be worth the 514 kit either, becase i know how hard it is on a truck to get all the power to the ground with the traction they get, I would like a posi, but thats in the future. This truck will be a sort of highschool drags truck, but also will be rollin around in the high parking alot about 2 to 3 times a week and will be my cruising truck, so im going for the center line between street and strip. I have alot of vehichle back ground knowledge for being 15, but im not to familiar with roller rockers, im just wondering what converting consists of. I like the edelbrock carb because of the price and because my family for some reason is scared of holleys, they wont beleive me that new holleys power valves dont blow out like the old ones. What are your reasons for liking the holley? I guess my budget ill be what ever i make for harvest (I farm) an what i can scroung up during this school year working. I'm still sorry i cant get you a good budget estimate i know how much easier it would make things. I think 450 or 500 horses would be great in that short bed, which im proud of my self I just completed, I did the whole long bed to short bed conversion myself in my garage. Thanks