Substituting Shelby block for Iron SO

[SFfiredog]

Originally posted by REAL 1


I read what Mike said. I'm not convinced. Steve Sunshine knows these cars inside and out and is fully familiar with the Shelby block.

My understanding is that it is really a center oiler. Regardless, its clear its not the same block and does not oil the same as the 427SO (for better or worse). As Mike notes their simialarity ends with the number of head bolts and cylinders.

There is only one REAL 427SO. The original.

There is only one original Ford V-8. The flat head

Through photographs I will attempt to explain how a good oiling system works. The Shelby block uses the same style oiling routing system as nearly every NASCAR racing engine (circa 2003, not 1965) uses.
Forgive my ignorance for not knowing who Steve Sunshine is. I hope I don't offend him but either you are not understanding his explaination of the Shelby 427 oil system or he doesn't know as much as he thinks he does. If the latter is true one might want to find someone else to build their Shelby 427 engine.
Look at the photos. This is my Shelby block, CSX 287
Yes, I marked up my pretty new block with a Sharpie pen just for you guys!
A: priority main oil passage.

B: Camshaft bore(notice how the oil passage runs along the SIDE of the cam, not on the top, or center, hence "side oiler"

:C lifter galley plug

Notice the green wire running from the oil filter pad, DIRECTLY from the oil pump, DIRECTLY to the main oil galley. Add to this the size of the oil galley is easily 3 times larger than a factory "original" side oiler.
Once again the reason the Shelby block doesn't have the main oil galley in the "original" side oiler position is the block is much easier to repair in case of an "accident"
In my next post there is photo showing a yellow wire leading from the main galley to the crankshaft journal.
Guys, it just doesn't get any more direct (or better) than this. Since none of our cars are original, let's talk about "orginal"
427 blocks and their strength.
I have 1 side oiler block and 2 center oiler blocks (sorry, none for sale). The horsepower levels I am shooting for with my tunnel port is beyond what I believe is the strength levels of the blocks I have. All the blocks I have have cylinder walls with major thrust
thicknesses below .175". My side oiler, (C5AE G) has a minor thrust thickness of .090 on a finished bore. This is fine for a 450 to 500 hp street engine but considering how much I'm spending on parts I don't want to take a chance on it at power levels over 600 hp.
As far as FE oiling systems are concerned I can modify a 390 oil system to spin 8000 RPM safely.
For power's sake I would take a 427 center oiler with .200" cylinder wall thickness over a 427 side oiler with .100" cylinder wall thickness ANY day.
Also, if I were to grind off the "CS" casting on the front of my block and paint it black 99.9 % of even the knowing people could never tell I had an aluminum block unless they crawled under my car.
You can try your best to convince me that 50 cents is worth more than a dollar, but I'm not buyin"...
Donations for all this valuable information I've been giving can be sent to the "Help Mike finish his really expensive car fund"
--Mike