I plan on getting into street mod truck pulling and wanted some advise on a motor. One guy I hnow at the pulls said that a my idea would beat all of the guys there at the pulls. My idea with a cube limit of 520 IIRC I would like to buy an aluminum shelby block and have a bored and stroked tunnel port 427 that will turn 8grand on alcohol with dual carbs and headers out the hood with a crower clutch and all that stuff, or would it be better to go with a bored, stroked 460/429 with all the bells and whistles on alcohol. What I am asking is the 460/429 better at making power than a tunnel port or highriser 427. I know its kinda hard to understand what I am asking, THanx hoping to hear from ratsmoker, thanx

 

Shawn, While the 427 is a mighty warrior, and king of the hill, anything related to it is very very pricey. Go with the 460, things will break and you won't get run out of the game after a couple. The engine is a major factor, but not the only one when thinking about a project like this. IMHO
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In the cool still quiet of night, you can hear chevies rusting away.

 

With a 520 ci limit, I'd look at the Ford Motorsports stroker kit for the 460. I think it gives 521 but you could buy the stroker kit and get a 460 block that doesn't need overbore and be within the limit.

Dollar for dollar you'd be running 100 cubes under the limit and you'd be paying quite a bit for it. The 427 is really an exotic engine and the price reflects that. I'd check out some of the specs on the 460 stroker kits, but I think you'd get 514 out of it.

 

I agree with these guys. An aluminum stroker kit from shelby would be cool but for way less money you could get a 460 and work with it. There are kits out there to make over 800 cubes with a 460. You can also get some heads for the 460 that flow just as well as the tunnel ports with a little porting. Let us know what you choose and how it goes. If I did have a bottomless wallet that was clear full I would have to go with the shelby or genesis block.

 

I know it would cost more to go to the 427 but I feel I would get that much more out of it. I Lost my rules book and have to get another just to be shure about the cube limit but I feel I could run the 427 at 8 grand all day without a problem. rering and put new bearings in every years like all the other guys. in all th e years I have been at the pulls I have never seen a motor realated failure. now I dont mean to sound pissy butI ask again can I build more power out of a 427 tunnel port than I can out of a 429/460 both running on alcohol if money wasnt a real big factor. If I am going to do it i am gonna do it right so I can be good at it. its mostly motor, gears and tires since I will run a solid susp and have a bulletproof drive-train. thanx

 

Sorry re-ring ever 4 years.

 

depends on how tight you want to spin it..... the 427, if you ran a genisis or dove block, bored out to 4.375, and a scat crank at 4.250 would give you about 512 inches. The T-ports would probably be the way to go. The 460, built up to the same size would have a bigger bore and the oppourtunity to run larger valves than will fit in the 427 head. I am thinking that either will make fine power, but the FE will make it sooner and have more torque at lower rpm. What is the track you pull at like ? Is there plenty of traction at the start ? If so, maybe the FE will shine there. If the track is loose at the launch, you may want the 460 based engine where the power pours on later, after you are already moving. DF

 

The only thing I know about truck pulling is that it is almost as cool as drag racing to me anyway. If I am correct you will come off the line at almost max RPM so low end grunt makes no difference. Here is one thing I would be worried about. You are going to be pushing a huge amount of power with that aluminum block. I don't know how well these blocks hold up compared to the iron blocks under these conditions. I know they make great street blocks and bracket racing blocks. I don't know of anyone who has put these blocks through as much torture as you are going to. They might even hold up better than iron but I would research this more before deciding. Aluminum alloys keep getting better and better these days. They are cast with massive amounts of reinforcements especially along the lifter valley. A professionally ported tunnel port head can flow up to 385cfm@28inHG on the intake so you can definitely make them flow great. 8,000 rpm is a lot at a 4.25" but I'm not saying its impossible by any means. From what I have heard Crower makes the best FE rod but expect to pay about $1600 a set. For stroker kits take a look at www.flatlanderracing.com . They have a lot of them for the FE and many other engines. I would consider also looking into the genesis block. I think they are the best but of course I am not speaking from experience.

 

Also when you get your plans laid out I would be more than happy to run a desktop dyno graphs to help you pick out a cam if your trust the program.

 

Go with the 385 series (460) motor. The FE is vintage stuff designed in the 50's, (well ok, the TP heads were designed in the late 60's) There is nothing you can do to a TP head to get it to flow as well as the 385 series head. The 385 series is basically a BB chevy design, (did I mention the valve covers interchange?) and will outperform the TP. As far as turning 8 Grand, those ancient 50's design shaft rockers on the 427 do not like anything much above 7. The Shelby stuff is super cool for people who want the vintage thing but for practicality and modern day use, the 385 is a much better choice.

 

I really like the FE engines (note username), but a 460 based engine is absolutely the way to go for competition use. c460 heads flow 400cfm out of the box....no need for a $5000 block...the advantages are endless really.

 

 

I have become an FE nut in the last few years because I have one so why not build it kind of thing. The Fe is an awsome engine. It makes tons of power made alot of chevy guys go, "huh" back in the day. With one of the new blocks from Genesis or Dove or Shelby you can get the CUBES no worries. Good heads can be found for the FE also. There are tons of support out there for the FE also. Good old stock floating around. All in all there is alot of stuff for the FE out there.


Now the other part. If it were me (it isn't) I would probably go with a 385 series motor. Like said before there is alot more support price is close to half or less in some cases. For the price of a Genesis block you can Buy a FORD Factory Crate motor. 600 Horse 514 CI motor. all you have to do is add a carb and some headers. You could bulid it up more or less how ever you want. My Money would be on a 460 stroker kit. The other thing is the head design of the 460 is much much better. As good as the tunnel port out of the box. A little work could get you a lot more power than that.

In what I have seen 600 HP from a FE is not unheard of. But, It is not easy to do and it can really get expensive.

Hope this helps.


Scott