Info on 427, 428, and 429

[69Mustangman]

I found a guy that has some old 60's and 70's Ford V-8's laying around. He claims to have a few 429's in his garage including the Thunder-Jet 429, which is what I want to drop into a 67 Fastback shell I have. My question is, does anyone know of any "markers" on the 429 that is only on the 429? Does anyone know of any web sites or books that shows the differences in the 429 and 460? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[rbohm]

the only real difference between the 429 and the 460 is the stroke of the engine. the blocks are the same as are the heads, intakes, exhaust manifolds etc. the rods are also the same. the other difference is the pistons. the compression hieght on the 460 is shorter due to the longer stroke length.

 

[tjm73]

http://www.385series.tk/ is a great big block forums with some good info. I think it's a new forum and it's growing, but a little slowly.

Dimensionally, 429/460 is the same engine. As was said stroke is different, rods are the same and piston pin height is different. Block numbers and what the engine came out of will often reveal what it is. There is no quick easy way to tell what it is though. At least not one I know of.

 

[67GTA-FB429]

FYI. 429 ThunderJet is just another name for basic 429. They were calling it that since it was in the Thunderbirds and wanted it to sound cool.

Piece of advice, consider a R&P set for your 67. I wish I had done it. The 429 will fit but it is VERY tight. And you will need electric fans.

 

[69Mustangman]

Thanks for all of the info. Is it worth the extra money it will cost to buy the 429, or is it better to just go with the 460? I plan on giving whatever I buy a complete overhaul, so internally it won't be stock anyway. There is just something about having that 429 badge on your car, ya know.
As far as fitting the engine in the car, I was thinking about a one piece fiberglass front end (if they are avaliable).

 

[mustang70]

You don't need the fiberglass front end for it to fit. I had mine in with the stock shock towers. If you want some extra room you might want to consider the Mustang II conversion. As for which to go with, extra cubes are always nice, but if you have the 429, go with it. You could always throw in a 514 stroker kit and just put the 429 badge on anyway. Who's going to know?

 

[67GTA-FB429]

It will fit with the stock pieces in place. The place I ran into problems was hood clearance. But I am using a Shelby style hood now.

I have some pictures if you want to see.

 

[mustang70]

I didn't have any hood clearance problems, but then I was running the stock 4 barrel manifold.

67; are you running headers or stock exhaust manifolds?

 

[67GTA-FB429]

stock manifolds. there is a place to get headers but I don't want to pull the motor to put them in.

I had the stock intake but kept vapor locking from engine heat and the holley linkage had clearance problems so I went with a inch spacer and that made the carb too tall.

 

[1320stang]

I'll take those junk 427's and 428's off his hands.