Well what started out at an overhaul on a poorly assembled 390 has turned into a 428 pi(my dream engine)buildup.I happened to get a IU crank ready to go with a receipt for 500 bucks.I am also buying a 428 pi block ready to go for 800 bucks,just have to mic everything and balance(i'll do the blueprinting myself)I am going to put the edelbrock performer heads,harland sharp roller rockers(1.76:1),performer intake, duraspark ignition with msd blaster coil,moroso cap and wires,doug thorley fenderwell headers(2.5"collectors)and a crane roller hydraulic cam and lifters.I have a few questions but first let me describe my truck and what I want to do.I have a 75 ford f250 with a np435,np205,dana 60 rear and upgrading to a dana 60 front(4:10's).I want torque off the line but when I am on the highway I want to step on it and go(to show those diesel guys who drives and who bites the pillow)my ride has to sit in traffic for hours at a time and has to have vaccuum(I have p/b and air and I'm gonna use it!!!!!!!!!!)Few questions,1)what cc combustion chamber(i want to run 10.0:1 to 10.5:1 compression)72 or 76 cc and what size valves,2)I have a crane powermax hydraulic roller cam 222/228 duration .584/.604 lift 110 degree LSA any suggestions on grinding specs?3)My operating range is 1000-4000 rpm what cfm carb would be best?(alot of mid range operation)4)I see that oil restriction to the heads seems to be in order whats the best way(i have roller rockers)5)The plant should be 450-500 hp stock reconditoned rods ok?what about the wrist pins?6)I want to paint the whole plant dark ford blue ant problems with the paint on alum?6)with the power upgrade what about the radiator7)what about the rear? any input would be greatly appreciated,I am a fireman in NYC but I am a heavy truck mechanic by trade,it has been some time since i have put together a gas job and any advice would be greatly appreciated.Thanks
<!-- / message --> <!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: ad_showthread_firstpost_sig --> <!-- END TEMPLATE: ad_showthread_firstpost_sig --> <!-- controls -->

 

About the only thing I'm going to say is you might wanna use Zinc Chromate primer on the heads and anything else aluminum. That stuff really sticks to aluminum. You can find it in marine supply stores.

Stock recon'd rods are fine. The radiator can be recored with as many cores as possible. As for the rest of the questions, the other guys here should be along any time now

 

Skip the Performer intake and run the Performer RPM, your engine will make plenty of torque and the RPM intake will help it out at higher RPM's. The head cc's are dependent on the piston and finished deck height, you will need that info before a head size can be determined. The larger valves seem to help the FE, I would use the 2.09/1.65 sizes. The carb will likely need to be in the 700 to 750 cfm range to support your engines breathing.

 

I like my 770 Truck Avenger alot but you have to make up your own mind. Your build is very simaler to mine.

 

WarWagon75,

I see you are using a hydraulic cam. What is the date code on the 428 block you are buying? Am I correct to understand that it was not origiinally a solid lifter block?

I'm also building a 66 428 PI engine for a 66 F250. Although it was not originally a solid lifter block (which some were is 66) I'm using solid lifters. My understanding is that on a original solid lifter block the cam boss was not drilled out and fitted with plugs in some fashion. I've seen pic's of this but I can't locate the link at ths time.

For a carb I'm using a Holly 750 single pump with manual choke with vacuum secondary.

Sound like a great setup. I can relate to you idea of supprising a few of those diesels when pulling a hill on the interstate with trailer in tow. Good luck with your build.

 

TWW, I would agree that the performer intake is not the way to go. The performer RPM is better, and the Blue Thunder is better still. I wouldn't run anything smaller than a 750 for a carb, and the reconned stock rods, with new bolts, are fine. You should get new wrist pins in your new pistons. If I might ask, why are you limiting yourself to 4000 ? You can do better than that. If I couldn't spin to at least 5500, I'd be pretty unhappy. I like to watch my tach in a 390 truck spike up to 6500 between gears. Everyday. Your FE can do this easily. There is a problem, or at least there used to be, with the springs that Crane recommends for their hydro rollers. They were not always recommending enough pressure. I would like to see 125 lbs on the seat and 450 over the nose. Some guys have had the threads pull out of the edel heads when running lots of pressure. If you put a timesert or something similar in the holes that the rockers bolt to, it would be cheap insurance. Endstands and spacers would seem like more cheap insurance.


DinosaurFan

 

I like the blue thunder also but I allready had a RPM intake. If I buy another it will be the Blue Thunder. Warwagon did you get your block yet?

 

I bought the block from a guy in Idaho,shipped out yesterday,see the post for "bought the 428 block"it got pretty heated,a fistfight almost broke out,it went on for about a day,lol
I'm psyched t get my block and get this show on the road.Just got back from Long Island with my Dana 60,better than expected,turns out it was out of a plow truck used exclusively in a church parking lot(I guess Jesus is my co-pilot now),it was their drive around vehicle,It had only 70000 miles on it.I am going to prep it next weekend,new rotors calipers paint and so on,.I think it has 3:54 gears in it i think i'm going to change my rear to 3:54 so it's not screamin down the highway and I get better top end speed.What do i need to make the swap happen,u-bolts and so on?Is the power assist I have on there a direct bolt up?I am going to change the master to a '79 but I am also going with rear disc,would you recommend a different master with a larger rear volume for the calipers?Any help would be appreciated,I am going to do this in a weekend and I want it to go smoothly or at least so I can drive my rig home.

 

I'm not limiting myself to 4000,thats just the cruising range,I would like to redline at about 6500-7000.I would like to avoid buying another manifold now as I have broken the bank just to get this far.I can always but a manifold at a later date but all the info is helpful and I will keep it in mind.

 

If you have the power steering with 4 hoses I would change your steering over to a 2wd box and a new drag link. I'll try to post pictures of mine but I'am not very good posting them. I put a 2wd box from a 77 F150 on mine with a arm off of a 79 F250 and a drag link for a chevy with bigger ball joints. A friend of mine is a machinest and he made a tool to drill the arms out to a 7 deg. tapper if I rember right. I have a 79 D60 in the front of mine. I also mad a new steering shaft and I'll get you the # for the joints. I seen the other thread you have and stayed out of it.

 

Any updates on your build?

 

Well I got the block from the guy in Idaho,it was beat,in a nutshell,he lied to me.There was no 428 in the water jacket,it was bored out but,bored too thin(he probably didn't count on me having sonic check equipment),the "A" was welded on,also failed the drill bit test.The good news is that I got all my money back plus shipping I wouldn't hesitate to buy on ebay they didn't even flinch at my story the guy didn't either.
So I bought another block from pops performance,a genuine police interceptor just like I wanted,and he is sonic testing it cleaning it magnafluxing it before shipping.I am probably going to buy a set of edelbrock heads from him gone over and tuned a bit with an erson roler rocker setup.Like all projects this one has gotten out of control,what started out as putting a set of heads on the upper end has blossomed into a full overhaul.I have decided to go with a cobra jet lower end(parts are in the toilet now and the guys selling them have removed their ski masks)I also think I will cross bolt the mains.As for the plant I am seriously considering supercharging it(they are junking a detroit generator so i took the blower off it It's a 371)I would just have to modify or make a manifold.I don't want much boost, about 3-5 lbs,it's more for looks.A guy I work with has a small edelbrock supercharger on his chevy 350,I just fell in love with it and it's streetable.I also want a ram air hood scoop so this will fill the space.I did the math and the blower will work.I gotta do some research into ignition systems as there are a few mods that need to be done but with a little work anything is possible.
As for the rest of the truck,it's gotten out of control.I got a dana 60 front and a dana 70 with traction lock for the rear.It was a duel rear wheel setup but I measured my rear and there is only 11/16 difference between the two(I have been doing some research and it seems like most 4 wheel drives have a narrower rear axle)I didn't like the gm caliper setup,i though it was a little cheesy,so I am going to put dayton calipers all the way around and ford rotors to simplify maintenance.I did the math and I think I have it figured out.I am also converting to hydroboost and if the 78-79 master doesn't work I'll just go with one from 4 wheel disc from a van or something if not,I'll just make my own.I am a fanatic about stuff working and will keep at it until it works perfectly.I am also going to install a driveline ebrake that is the same as the rotors and calipers.I like the the hydraulic setup because in the event of total brake failure I will have a reliable brake to slow me down as well as no cables to maintain.I am also going to take the cab and bed off the frame and paint the frame with POR 15.I would also like to lift 2" over stock.One guy on here is running 36's(ranger429) and I really like the stance.I happened to have a connection at spicer so he'll give me a hand on the math for the driveline.It's not as easy as I thought.Although just dropping the transfer case 2" would solve all the driveline issues.I thought about the shackle flip on the rear but decided against it in favor of re arching the springs(I want to pull a horse trailer with allot of horsys)I am also going to fab a front bumper and install a warn 16.5 winch.I am going to stick with my steering because it is much better when you put bigger tires and allot of weight on the front axle.The pitman arm goes inline with the frame so you're not flexing the frame.I have had many problems with the 2wd's when a pushplate is installed and alot of frame mods are required.Most big trucks run the froward to backward setup and this is the reason.I am also going to paint the cab bed with imron(blue hera)so it will be durable in the woods(my truck is no trailer queen)All in all I'm happy with the planning,I am setting up my truck to do what want it to do.Not great at any one thing but functional over a broad band of requirements.This still has to be my daily driver and here in NYC when it snows its tough.they don't even plow the side streets anymore.I'll also be able to do a little off roading and a little drag racing(also planing on a set of traction bars)I will also top my rig off with a stainless steel visor secured with blind nuts.They are really easy to make so,It's all in the details.I seemed to have ruffled a few feathers on here but what are you going to do

 

Thanks for the update. You have to get up preaty early to ruffle my feathers. It's good to hear you got your money back from the scammer. I like your idea of a drive line brake. It's something I should do to mine. A very good idea, expecially for when using the winch. 16.5 is a big winch. I use to have a warn 9000I with the multi mount and liked it alot. I use to pull alot of people out of the mud with it. Some times I needed and used the pulley but allways got everyone out. I have a 12000# on the front of my 69 but have not tried it yet. Keep us posted.

 

I know this thread is kind of old, but I'm really curious how your build turned out! As I was reading about both your engine build and the ay you are setting up the truck, it is almost identical to how I want to do my '75, other than sticking with a .030" overbore on the 360 block.

 

Good luck, the OP last posted 8/09. Try a PM, maybe he will get an email.