Okay all, I'm not sure where all this fasination with boring came from, but since you asked- yeah, you can bore a 352 or a 360/390 out to 427 size if you want. You will not stike water. At the shop where I have been working, we bore the 390 to 4.250 to install sleeves to get back to the 4.050 original bore. Some of the blocks had porousity problems at this size, but there is meat all around the bore. It does leave you with paper thin cylinder walls. If you want a drag-race only engine, you bore to 427 size and FILL the water jackets with 'hardblock' from Moroso. Then you'll need to add some plumbing for the water to the heads. And then you have an Engine that you can run for about 30 second bursts. Not really practical. If you want to spend some $$, you can have large bore cylinder sleeves funace brazed into the block. The sleeves are 4.55-4.6 O.D., and 4.250 on the inside. The furnace also warps the heck out of everything, and the cam bearing registers, the main saddles, and the decks all need to be remachined. WAY exspensive. Might be cheaper to buy a new block from Shelby or Genesis. You also have to keep in mind that when you get into the 650-675 hp range, the main caps can move around and the block splits in half. The cross bolted blocks can usually handle another 100 hp or so, but crossbolting is again more money to spend, and the new Genesis and Shelby blocks already have it. How much power do you really want, anyway ? The 390 can make 480 HP and 500 lbs-ft of torque with a little effort and without breaking the bank. If you want more, a .030 over 390 with a 4.250 crank from Scat will give you 444 inches. With this 600 lbs-ft of torque is easy. How much power do you want ? And how much can you afford to spend to get it ? Before you think you just gotta have every last bit of power available, keep in mind that care and feeding of a 500lb-ft engine can be exspensive. My FEs have been dead nuts reliable, but I have broken trannys, bent axles, and grenaded several U joints. Is the rest of your truck up to the power ? Just a thought. DF

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 01-11-03 AT 11:43 PM (EST)]I don't see why everyone wants to bore so much to get cubes, I think it's overrated. I would much rather get a stroker crank like that, up the compression and get a hotter cam. Now that you mention it I am torn between stroking my existing 410 out to that much or getting a 460 and doing the same. To answer the question, there is no such thing as too much. At least for me anyway. At what RPM's would a 444ci FE make that kind of power and what kind of cam would compliment this motor for 4x4 use when you want power in the 2000+ range and a healthy lopey sound?

 

DF
In all the posts I read about mega horsepower and all these desired cubic inches, i have yet to come across a post that mentions STREETABLE HP. I mean think about it, those #'s look great on paper but are those #'s in an RPM range where most of us drive? Then there is the issue that you brought up about breaking parts. Personally, I would love to have a 500+ HP monster under my hood! what die hard gear-head wouldnt?? ON the same token, Im not going to be spending thousands to replace broken and or prematurely worn out parts because of that power. Thats just flat out ludicrous! All my FE's are pretty much bone stock except for headers, manifolds and a good exhaust. They make plenty of STREETABLE power for my tastes. I dont know about anyone else on this forum, but I dont have a $$$ tree in my backyard I agree with DF, THINK about the intended application and the ramifications of taking such a route. I guess it all comes down to how deep your pockets really are!
regards
Ben

 

>I don't see why everyone wants to bore so much to get cubes,
>I think it's overrated. I would much rather get a stroker
>crank like that, up the compression and get a hotter cam.
>Now that you mention it I am torn between stroking my
>existing 410 out to that much or getting a 460 and doing the
>same. To answer the question, there is no such thing as too
>much. At least for me anyway. At what RPM's would a 444ci FE
>make that kind of power and what kind of cam would
>compliment this motor for 4x4 use when you want power in the
>2000+ range and a healthy lopey sound?

I have heard that a by square (what I mean by that, is bore and stroke the same) engine will accerlerate esier, and that if you use the longest rod you can, that the rod angles away from tdc quicker wich make it eisier for piston to go downward, wich in turn creates more power. Since the power is initially created in the combution chamer, if you have a small bore and a long stroke it uses a higher percent of power to push a longer stroke downward wich creates less engine power. One thing that is for sure bore cubes are not the same as stroke cubes even though they ad up the same.

 

Yes, longer rods will create more power as the piston will "hang around" at top dead center longer giving more comlplete combustion and the piston will accelerate up and down in a smoother motion. Square bore engines don't really have a thing for reving faster. I you take a 390 and a 427 with a 332 crank (both around 390 cubes) with identical parts the short stroke engine will rev faster. In neutral anyway. However low end torque will suffer in the short stroke engine.

 

I think most people just want to meet a cute little ricer at a stop light, and when they think of a ford as a piece of rusting junk. You can spank them with well over 400 horsepower and torque to their 87 horsepower. Think about it if you want to then just do it. But keep in mind they dont have a lot of resale value so dont set the HP goal to high. By the way I can beat most of the ricers here at the local dragstrip. 79' 400M stroked to 427ci 1/2 ton 2wd 2.75LS 16" tires. And it tows, plus I get awesome gas mileage. I wont ever complain about it being weak. thanks

 

>Yes, longer rods will create more power as the piston will
>"hang around" at top dead center longer giving more
>comlplete combustion and the piston will accelerate up and
>down in a smoother motion. Square bore engines don't really
>have a thing for reving faster. I you take a 390 and a 427
>with a 332 crank (both around 390 cubes) with identical
>parts the short stroke engine will rev faster. In neutral
>anyway. However low end torque will suffer in the short
>stroke engine.

Good point. What I am trying to say here is that if you take an engine that has a long stroke and a smaller bore and increase the bore diameter to compliment the stroke, you would end up with a very strong engine throughout RPM range and tie the hole deal up with a longer stronger rod. Where I live there are few Fords and very strong runng Cuda's and 400 ci Camaro's this little Fairlane Ranchero is going to show these guys a few things. We are trying to get a 1/4 mile track here soon. We will see thanks guys

 

You can talk about the advantages and disadvantages of over/under square engines but once you're making decent power, it's the chassis that limits you. Case in point, the '68 Cougar with the oversquare 427MR ran just about the same times as the near-square 428CJ. I'm no chassis expert but have seen those 429 Ranchero's have a real hard time launching. No weight in the back and no weight transfer. To keep from going up in smoke, you need traction bars, gears, a locker, biggest slicks you can fit and a full tank of fuel.

Good luck and have fun! A Mopar? No problem! We beat a guy in a Hemi 'Cuda with four people in a Shelby KR!!

Barry

 

At the drag strip we have up here, actually all three, they have an open stockers class where for free anybody can race what they have after some fairly minor safety inspections. The only big thing is the Five point harness. they also check to make sure you arent losing any oil on the track. But I still beat a lot of people with a bone stock 79 1/2 ton 2wd with a 351M with a 2.75 LS rear diff. I think iuts rather cool. I dont like to race my other trucks I dont need to wreck a $3500 paint job and countless hours of searching to find decent parts. I think that if you want 1000 HP then go do it its fun to see what happens and you are only limited by your common sense and your wallet.