Got a 429, now what to do with it...

Hock

Registered User
Got a 429 a few weeks ago as payment from a friend for doing a 460 swap on his 77' F150. I just got it apart tonight and surveyed the damage since it hasn't been in a car since God knows when. I found that #1 cylinder is a little rusty but nothing that a good poking won't take care of. The crank is in excellent condition and may not even have to be touched. The engine is out of a 71' car with a 2 barrel intake, .430 lift cam, D0VE-C heads and non-Cobra Jet block. I do plan to get those heads ported and have the bigger valves put in them. The cam will probably become a lamp. The rods may end up finding themselves a new home if I can get the Cobra Jet rods that I am watching on ebay. Basically I'm trying to get in the neighborhood of 500hp at a minimum and I have a good idea of how I'm going to get there if I have thought it through correctly.

Now the only real issue that I have, other than money, is what do I want to put this engine in when it is done. I've been thinking about putting it in my SC and back it up with a 5spd from a F250 diesel (after I move the parts to the SC trans housing) or use the C6 my friend gave me for the money that I ended up putting in his truck to finish it. OR, I could use a Fox Body Tbird since I can use all the swap parts for the Mustang on it. OR, I could use a 78 Fairmont 2 door and the same still applies for the Mustang swap aparts. The only problem with last two is that I would be getting into the realm of too many dag gone cars and my wife and landlords would want to kill me.

What do you all think? Another BBF SC?
 
That engine is just a few pounds short of the weight of a small aircraft carrier so I would go with the lightest body option---the fairmont since its a two door and then get the oil pan, mounts, and headers for the fox body, probably stroke it to 514, use the C6 and have a ball driving it........Dan
 
Go with the fairmont, and a 5-speed! If you put it in the SC, you will destroy the handling of the car from all the extra weight in the front, but the fairmont doesn't handle to begin with so no worries there, and it is lighter, so it would make for a mean street car, and a great sleeper.
 
A street sleeper is the idea behind it. There was a 78 Zephyr running around for sale thats still the way grandma had it. I passed it up a few years ago and now I have another chance at it.
 
Send it to me to put in my 93....

...along with the t56....(just kidding:D)
Use alum. heads and intake and it weighs about the same as the complete 3.8SC.
 
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