Unreal, would you believe you're the FIRST person, Ford guy or otherwise who satisfactorily explained WTH all the Ford jargon meant insofar as the legendary 427 goes??
It's true, mk.
It ain't so much I been living a lie, but I STH been believing one LOL!!
Fascinating, beyond words.
So tell me, you a Mechanical Engineer by any chance? Your in-depth knowledge/insight of the nuts & bolts, ability to explain in lay terms what all this historical Ford stuff meant is nothing short of remarkable
If you're not a MW, work in the field in some capacity? It'd shock TS outa me. You STH could've easily written tech docs for anything I designed any time, better than I ever did! ;^)
"Of course all 427s had what was known as 'cross bolted mains', the three center main bearing caps bolted to the block with two vertical bolts going from the bottom of the main caps up into the block casting, with two more bolts, coming through the SIDE of the block casting (just above the pan rail) screwing into the side of the main caps, it was virtually bulletproof, it tied the block casting together into practically one unit and the only limiting factor was the structural integrity of the crank, rods and pistons (and oiling, which is why they moved to the side oiler adaptation)."
That, is simply amazing. The crank had to be held stiffer than a two peckered billy-goat in such a fashion. Honestly, you've given me totally new insights into what the Ford engineers tried accomplishing, as such I have gained a new respect for Ford I never in my life had.
>We saw nuthin' said it all. LOL!!
"Hank Williams Jr & Ray Charles 'I didn't see you, you didn't see me, and we didn't see a thing!'"
HA!!
Knew someone had to have had the shtick down before me, that it'd have been HWJr & RC doesn't surprise me. I feel as though my thoughts were in good company even if a few decades late. LOL!
>Lemme guess, NAZZZZZZCAR wouldn't allow it.
"You got it"
Figures, proves the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, eh? Only difference between Sr & his offspring brat is the snot nose. And now they're standing around wringing their hands wondering "WTF happened" as ratings, interest & popularity tanks. ~sigh~ Welcome to the future.
>So tell me, Ford's 429 was also a hemispherical head design, did compete in NASCAR and really gave MOPAR's --Plymouth or Dodge-- Hemis all they could handle. Of course by then GM had withdrawn from participation, IIRC.
"The Boss 429 Mustang (in full Holman Moody race trim) was arguably the most powerful NASCAR vehicle ever built."
OK, so how many of these H/M cars were really made? Are you saying all the "429 Boss'" built weren't of the same pedigree? Would explain why the guy up the road with the survivor Boss 429 wanted nothing to do with me, if that'd be the case.
"Unfortunately Ford pulled out of NASCAR after the '69 season..."
Is that move what was behind Richard Petty leaving Ford the one & only season he switched? Those early years for me are fuzzy.
...so full development of the 429 potential was never realized. But don't let anyone compare the 'race' version with the tuned-down 'street' version, it's like the difference between a .22 auto and a .44 auto mag"
Really?
The next door kid, "Gordy", the guy whose parents had the Torinio 390? His folks also had a '69 LTD and it had a 429. Was only a 2bbl. Still, I'd always wondered why the car didn't perform better given the displacement.
In fact when the car was only 3 months old, *Gordy* would put the thing in Neutral on 124th Street, let'er roll down the hill backwards & then slam it in Drive. We'd watch the tires smoooooooke. Thought it sooooo cool.
'Til one day his old man, "Virgil", LOOKED at <2K bald tires!!
I was there, Virg slapped Gordy in the head so hard it sounded like someone socking a watermelon
BWWWWWWHAAAA!! ~Another story for another time. LOL!!
>Not to bash the kid, but he was different so who can say WTH he did to the motor besides the obligatory cam, lifter/spring package, over-sized carb & the obligatory Cherry Bombs.
"One of the basic mistakes any kid makes in hopping up an engine (and I learned the hard way) was to put in too much cam, and not enough gear in the axle. Longer duration valve timing bumps the engine's power producing peak to higher rpms (which is what you want in a performance motor) but you end up with a corresponding drop in torque (which is what wins your street light competitions, lol). And unless the cam'd up engine also receives a decent set of headers and dual exhaust, it's going to end up choked."
Bingo, my friend.
Your analysis sounds frightfully similar to how that car performed. It *should've* been hell on wheels, but wasn't. The strange --albeit well meaning-- kid who built it simply didn't understand the big picture as you've described. Osmond...& I *ain't* talkin' 'bout Donny. LOL
"And then there is always the error of putting more carb on the engine than it can take, the Holley 780 was probably the best all around carburetor ever made..."
Have one on my '80 L48 Vette, it is a great all-round carb. Too bad I don't drive it much anymore, she just sits in the 3rd bay. Pity.
"...but a properly tweaked and jetted Holley 600 would produce more horsepower (and vacuum secondaries were the way to go, not with mechanical linkage and all that 'double-pumper' nonsense."
Who at 16 would've thought that? Back then more was better. Now my other pal, "Hog Knees'", his '60 L-88 427 had a 950 double pumper. But that gas guzzling sow really needed the fuel.
~Not a 390.
>Here's what I can remember...the thing could barely wind to 5K! Struggled, seemed --to ME-- like something was holding the whole shittin' caboodle back. Does *that* description sound familiar?
"Sounds like too much cam, not enough exhaust or the cam could have been installed a degree or two retarded which will DEFINITELY affect overall power output."
May sound like [that] to you, but it sounds like Osmond to me. LOL!! The kid meant well, just no clue. Wonder what # DUI he's working on. LOL!!
>Now the other neighbor kid adjacent to our house, his folks bought a then new '69 Torino GT 390 with a 3 Hurst (IIRC) speed manual. "Gordy's" claim to fame was *speed shifting*, primarily because most of us had autos and wouldn't have gone far if it meant we had to work a clutch.
"Well a 4 speed (or even 3 speed) and clutch is great but for consistent bracket racing performance, an automatic with a proper high stall torque converter, manual valve body, etc., is pretty hard to beat and you CAN drive it on the street if you don't mind the harsh shifts."
We know that NOW, but back then an auto was for old geezers!! THAT was before the old man brought home the Dart 340 w/ a 727 Torqueflite. Wow. I saw the light with that tranny. Tight as hell. Annnnnnnd *I* couldn't break it even when I tried. LOL!!
>But even his stock 390 4bbl, which I'll guess was the 325HP version, wasn't all that swift.
"That 390/325 was a good solid motor but it wasn't much different than the run of the mill 390-4bbl that you would find in any number of LTDs, Country Squire & Sedan station wagons, etc. The 390 from the factory (by the end of the 60's) needed some work to deliver any kind of really decent street performance."
That'd explain it.
In the day all we were concerned with was cu in.
>Obviously the people I ran with simply didn't know WTH they were doing, that is all 2 of 'em and one's car was his folk's. LOL
"Sometime I'll tell you about this friend of mine who tried to turn his Dad's 4 door Oldsmobile into a 'race car'..."
Can't wait! LOL!!
>Like the 383 *or* 396 FTM, I'd always had a healthy respect if only because they had the cubic inches over my paltry small block 340...
"The old saying 'there is no substitute for cubic inches' remains true, however it is more important to have a favorable weight-to-horsepower ratio and you certainly had that in spades, I would gather."
Well that, & I hung with nincompoops driving "Pa's" car. LOL
>Was sad then & still sad in memory. Y'know?
"I do indeed know. One of my Galaxies (I've owned a few) was one strong runnin' SOB, but I didn't know that the previous owner had bored out the 390 a full .125 and had to put a sleeve in one of the cylinders. (The maximum a block should be overbored is .060) Anyway, I was driving one of many girlfriends through the Virginia countryside one afternoon and that sleeve let go not far from Tyson's Corner, and I had to call up a wrecker service to tow it home, that was a sad way to return home although the girlfriend was very sympathetic (but not THAT sympathetic dammit lol)."
BWWWWWWHAAAAAAA!!!
Oh I understand the code words just fine.
You po' thing. LOL!!
Really, least she could've done was comfort a fella whose car had just fragged. Women are so cruel. LOL
>To the best of my memory he sold it for scrap, or his old man did after getting sick of seeing it sitting. Ouch.
"That's almost always the way it is, you never get out of a car what you put into it, I've only had that happen to me ONE time in my life, and that is a hilarious story I'll save for another time."
I got you on record, pal!!
You WILL tell that tale, y'hear? LOL!! ;^)
>Awfully cute kid, mk.
"I'm still trying to figure out where that kid ran off to, I keep thinking about that bumper sticker that says 'inside every 50-something man, is a 19 year old kid screaming 'WTF HAPPENED?!??!?'"
BWWWWWHAAAAAAAA!!!
For sure, man.
This growin' old crap STH ain't for sissies, like the old dame said.
Still, we got some fabulous memories & I for one wouldn't trade for anything for 'em. Honest. We laughed often and a lot and it didn't require any kind substance, whatsoever. Just *life*.
>Explains your good bride buying you that model car...
"Well so far so good, she wanted to get a 2009 Dodge Challenger and I found myself arguing AGAINST it (what was I SAYING?!?), in favor of a low mileage Chrysler 300 (the older style before they went to the new 'box' design), I guess that makes me officially an OFBTW (Old Fart Behind The Wheel)"
Whaaaaaaaaaaaat????
You passed on an opportunity she who must be obeyed suggested???? OMG...
Now don'tcha think that's taking this "conservative" jazz a tad too far? LOL
"Have a great evening Brother Landru, I may be a bit tied up for a while, trouble shooting a neighbor's computer and proving again that "no good deed goes unpunished", Later!"
Happy trails, my friend.
Ain no other place I be.
C'ya when you're finish gettin' abused. ;^)