What's the recommended limit for a 428? I would say 5500, but I've heard 6000 is OK with stock rods. Assume ARP rod bolts for this question.

I just did some "rough" calculations based on tire diameter, speed, etc., and it looks like I might have shifted out of 2nd at 6600 rpm. Calcs were rough, and I can't watch the tach when I'm doing this, so shift was probably lower. Sure was screaming though.....

 

I dont know about the max rpm of a 428, but a 428CJ with a C6 will shift at 6000rpm +/- at full throttle from the factory. I dont see any reason why you couldnt hit 7-7500, if the valvetrain would hold.
You could always get a tach with a memory dial. It will tell you the max RPM the engone encountered on any given run.

 

Bone stock,, 6000 rpm is ok,, but with oil modifications, rocker arm shaft replacement, 7000 is doable. Remember though,, stock rods, rod bolts, etc are over 40 years old, and should be replaced with aftermarket parts for longevity, if you want to spin your engine around and over 6000 rpm.
Stock rocker arm shafts are a weak point. I have aftermarket high performance parts in our engines and shift a 6800 rpm. Most lightly modified 428 FE's make best hp at around 6000 rpm, depending on many things including the cam.
With a 428 FE you do not need high rpm to make good horsepower.

 

Well you have the limiting factor of making any HP up above the 6000rpm range ! the heads breathing and the intake, the cam, all valvetrain components, A good rule of thumb is to find out where your max hp/rpm is at..and dont go anymore than 500rpm's over that...

My last hotrod made its max hp at 6300rpm....and I shifted it at 6800rpm....and tried 6500rpm and ran the same ET's So it didnt do any good to spin the motor any faster and would be easier on the parts...

But As I said the faster you spin um...the harder it is on all the parts.. But if your just talking about a rock stock "maybe" a few bolts ons...I'd stay with the 6000 rpm range and not push it.. JMO..

 

Thanks guys. I feel better now. Although I was testing out my ignition tuning and went a bit higher than normal, it still "felt" like a good shift point.

ARP rod bolts
Crane Fireball 294 cam
Crane Solid lifters, pushrods, adj rockrs, double valve springs, retainers and locks
FPP end and center rocker arm stands
FPP rocker spacers (vs springs)
Harland Sharpe hardened single hole rocker shafts

Oiling mods are done and it has a HV pump (which doesn't mattter up high I suppose)

So, it's fairly tough, but i think I'll keep it a little more safe.

Darned Stewart Warner tach.....it's kind of "glitchy". I'll have to replace it. Can't get it apart to repair (probably a poor solder joint) as the rear housing has a lip and the front besel is swaged over it.

 

My old 428 kept going quicker the shorter I shifted it. It ran 12.40s with a +/- .600 lift hydraulic and about 10:1 in a 3600 pound car - shifted at 6500. On the advice of a newly purchased - in 1985 - computer program I tried 6200 and it went 12.20s. So I tried lower and lower and finally got consistant 12.0s and 12-teens by pulling 1-2 at a Harley like 5500 and 2-3 at 6000. Let it run out from there. It just liked to lug against a load.

 

Well Barry I agree, Some guys think you have to spin um to the moon to get down the track, and you dont .... Alot of guy havent really looked at two of the same engine's with different builder's, same CI... same tranny and rear gears...and one is a large tire car and the other a small tired car..Both running the same ET.....As we know thats Torque running the large tired car..

I have a Buddy that run a Fox bodied street/strip stang with the BBF in it.. Single carbed..Dyno proven 850hp and 650ft lbs of Tq... well I have driven this thing on the street and the track...and its scary fast and on the limit of being out of control on the street...I have been on the Hwy with this car at 70 mph, and nailed it dropping 1 gear...and left 60 ft of rubber marks behind me... and that wasnt spinning it to the moon.. that car has a basic redline of + or - 6500 rpm... But that Tq is just crazy ! But here again were talking 557"s on the street, which some I know run even bigger , But thats only for bragging rights..

But Myself I dont like to have to spin um high... But depending on vehicle weight sometimes you have to built for more top end...But its harder on the parts..

Barry..have you ever taken a stock block stroked 427 to 8500 rpm ?

 

I agree with Barry and Russ, to often the "rev it to the moon" thinking takes over when for acceleration it is the torque curve that determines how quick you are (Elapsed Time) where it is horse power that determines how fast you are (top speed). In all cases at the drag strip, faster E.T. wins the race except in a hole shot, not highest top speed. My stock 428CJ would turn 7000 rpm but was slower than at 6000 where the C-6 shifted by itself. My modded 428CJ with cam (296° & .525" lift), headers, mild porting, either 2X4 or 3X2 carbs (the car was quicker and faster with the 3X2), top loader would rev to 7500 with the tri-power on it but again was quicker at 6000. I am ashamed to say I never tried short shifting it, but back then we didn't have computers to tell us what they can today.

 

The customer engine I'm doing now is a CJ from a '69 Fairlane GT, +.035 bore, 4.125 crank and H-beams for 450 ci, concrete up to the freeze plugs, E-bocks, and a 292S. Should have a torque "curve" you can roll pushrods on, and it'll have a chip in the MSD at 6000, pulling against a C-6 and 3.50's, as he wants to be able to drive it out of town a bit. Should be fun for Sears Point with some "street" slicks, stick your foot in it and hang on, let 'er chug. We can always swap in some cogs for a "serious" day, maybe Ford Sunday at Sacramento

 

Well Gene the only reason I have ever built a High rpm build was for a lightweight Car on to run the 1/4 mile... and something that ran a stick... Where the launch can be controlled buy the clutch... Of course doing a low torquer with gears and a high stall can get you to the same place...But they usually leave pretty hard for the first 60'...and damn sure dont work worth a crap on the street for a street strip motor...