Need help building a 429 Tunderjet

[kentstang66]

I almost have my rottissorie done now my local salvage yard is having a heck of a sale. All I have for my 429 is the block, crank and i think its 11:1 flatops. This motor will eventually be shoved down into a 66 coupe with alot of persuasion. Is there any old pickups that i should be looking for heads or any misclaneous parts for it? Or would it be better just to go all aftermarket. Iam really pushing to get about 5-600 nautral asperated hp. Id appreciate any feedback you could give me. Sorry if i seem to be ignorant but what do you expect from a 19yr old.

[jratt85]

first off its not called a thunderjet.. ford has never used that name. the only thing the had were cobra jets. now as for performance, aftermarket heads will be lighter and some have the valve position moved so it flows easier than stock heads. that being said, the late 70s f250s came out with 429s and even some 460s. Basically any 429/460 part is interchangable they are both in the same family, essentially being the exact same block just with a different stroke crank. aftermarket heads are better than using smog era heads that have dealt with egr forever and all the carbon it throws into them and extra heat. best advice I can give is unless you can find stock 60s 429 heads, dont bother with stockers, go aftermarket for the weight savings and lack of egr/smog pump ports. If you check out horsepower Tv's webiste they just did a 460 build from budget to high horsepower and they should have a bunch of links for parts including an oil pump with a thicker flange so it doesnt break. Another source you might want to check out, and its the soure of alot of my knowledge is the book "High Performance Ford Engine Parts Interchange" it covers small blacks and big blocks from early performance applications and aftermarket. it can give you all sorts of stuff youd b surpised about. its ISBN# 1-884089-33-x you should be able to find it on amazon easily for like $20 I think

[jratt85]

oh and also a well built 460 should be able to easily push well over 500 ft lbs with like 9:1 compression and like 375+hp.. a high compression with a monster cam and single 900cfm+ carb should easily hit 6-700 hp depending on heads and exhaust

[kentstang66]

I guess Ive been played as a fool. The guy I purchased the motor off of said was a thunderjet but that mightve been because it came out of a 69 T-Bird. But thats besides the point. Would a 429 in this car be a good choice or is it not worrth the hassle. I had originally bought a 4.6l and T5 out of a 98 Gt but there was too much wiring for me. But iam going to check out the sites and see what i can find out. Thank you.

[jratt85]

puting a big block in an early 64-6 mustang is a serious bitch, they were never designed for it that and with how short they are and being unibodies, 600+hp is going to be alot ot handle and will tend to make it want to take unexpected turns. If I were you Id just build a nice stroker small block and not worry about it too much because witha big block you basically have to redisign the front of the car and make the suspension wider to accomidate it, it an be done but its a shit load of custom work and redisgned fenders and suspension geometry. If I were you, if you have the money and want a monster motor, just build a nice small black with either a turbo and intercooler or a cetrifical supercharger like from pro charger and infect it to get half assed decent mileage and all the right amount of fuel going to each cylinder at the right time, injection costs money but you gain alot more power with it thanks to the feedback and TBI with just having to install a crank censor and o2 censor isnt too bad to wire up and weld in. if you go with a small block you still will probably want to put in sub frame conectors and all the shelby stiffeners under the hood and modify the shock towers so headers clear easier and so you can get to the plugs easier. I will warn you that all 64-70s mustangs are a bitch for ground clearance with anything other than block hugger short tube headers, even tri ys can tend to be smashed.. I have modified full tubes on my 70 atm and they are seriously jacked up. If you do want serious horsepower without injection and super stroked motor, and the torque of a big block, may I suggest a 351C, they are bigger than a 302/351W by quite alot and will require some intereting fab work, but they have big block torque and serious power potential. Where a 351W might be making 450Hp 400ftlbs with one setup, Clevelands have a habbit of making closer to 600 and 550 with the similar set up, they are just wierd that way, I equate it to the monster heads and valves they have. I have a 72 351C2V HO CJ sitting in my garage waiting to be built and the stock 2V heads would be great for a blower with some ARP Studs (mine are already ported and pollished pretty extremely, dunno what the guy was doing with it) so yeah if I overwhelmed you Im sorry lol

[jratt85]

Ok I apologize I stand corrected the Thunderbird did have a thunderjet as they called it, the guy was right Im sorry. You just never hear anyone talk abou them and it wasnt in my book. So yeah I admit my own wrong info lol

[kentstang66]

Thats alright i didnt have any clue either. Well if i was going to a small block. What do people like about the 351 block that i think was in 69. Ive heard something like its a nickle-alloy block? Maybe at the junkyard sale ill be able to find a 351C. Ill hang on to the 429 though.

[kentstang66]

Also if i went with a smallblock, would the 429 go into a 68 f700? I think the truck has a 362 in it now or something like that.

[jratt85]

F700? dont you mean F100? um yeah it could and the fe motors that are close to what you said are either 352 or 360 tho lincoln had a 361 but was never in a ford. You could put it in an F100 with a little work mainly motor mounts and exhaust probably, with the right bellhousing it should be able to bolt up to a C6 auto or a np435 granny gear 4 spd or whatever easily. just make sure that the rear end is at least a 9 inch with 35 spline or better axles or a dana 60 or you will blow it up. too much power and torque for an 8.5 to handle

[jratt85]

Originally Posted by kentstang66

Thats alright i didnt have any clue either. Well if i was going to a small block. What do people like about the 351 block that i think was in 69. Ive heard something like its a nickle-alloy block? Maybe at the junkyard sale ill be able to find a 351C. Ill hang on to the 429 though.

in 69 it was a windsor block, basically nice part is its the same thing as a 302. only difference is its got a little bigger deck height and 3.5 inch stroke rather than 3 inch. heres a direct quote from my interchange manual for you about it..

"The 351W block employs a heavier casting around the cylinder bores and main webs. Interchangability with other ford small-blocks is considerable. An identical bellhousing and engine mount bolt pattern enables bolt-in engine swaps with the 221, 260, 289, and 302 engines...."

"The 351W nodular iron crankshaft has larger journals and longer throws than its smaller bretheren. The longer crank throws give the 351W its longer stroke and increased displacement. Stroke also comes from longer (5.956 inch centre to centre) connecting rods."

So nothing about the block being nickel iron alloy just that it was cast sturdier than the other small blocks before it. Now the difference between any ford small block and a Cleveland are major. The block was actually designed by the same guy that designed the Olds Rocket 350s and borrows heavily on their design like the intergrated timing cover on the front of the motor. Ford classified it as an intermediate block motor because it wasnt as big as a normal FE big block or 429 but it was still quite a bit larger than the normal small blocks but was still relatively small in the cubic inch department. The thing about Clevelands is in the US they were only made from 1970 till 1974 so they are hard to come by, but ther were made in Australia well into the mid 80s at least with some different ideas cooked up. Like an alluminum small port "2V" head with the same closed combustion chambers and higher compression ratio as the 4V heads.. I myself like the stock 2V heads and figure they breathe better than the closed chamber versions thanks to the chamber being so open. As Ive said thed make great blower heads and if you want higher compression just put domed pistons or longer conecting rods and flat tops, the chambers are so shallow that you oculd easily get hellacious with the compression.. Again sorry if the TMI overwhelms you lol.. I really should be doing this for a living.