390 / 428 owners

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Barry is on record as prefering iron blocks. I stand with him.


See: Iron v. Aluminum

Though Barry admits he's in the minority, when it comes to using iron blocks. I cannot argue with him, since he's a noted FE expert of high regard and I'm a dummy, but I would say that the modern aluminum blocks, using the CSX block for example, have been redesigned and have added material in all the right places. If I remember correctly, the CSX block is 20-25 lbs heavier than the Pond block.

There are a lot guys out there running "all aluminum" engines for many, many miles now, including Rokndad, who's probably put on nearly 10,000 miles on his CSX4758.

While there certainly can be exceptions, I'm a firm believer in modern is better, otherwise we all still could be using those brick/suitcase type cell phones of the late 1980's.

[elmariachi]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

While there certainly can be exceptions, I'm a firm believer in modern is better, otherwise we all still could be using those brick/suitcase type cell phones of the late 1980's.

I go through 4 Blackberrys a year yet I had one Motorola brick for 4 years that could not be destroyed. Gimme iron...

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by elmariachi

I go through 4 Blackberrys a year yet I had one Motorola brick for 4 years that could not be destroyed. Gimme iron...

OK, how about replacing "brick/suitcase phone" with a "rotary dial phone"? Would that make my analogy better?

Eh, probably not. Someone would day the rotary phone was awesome and Hollywood would not have been been able to make the movie "Phone Booth" with Colin Farrell.

[elmariachi]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

OK, how about replacing "brick/suitcase phone" with a "rotary dial phone"? Would that make my analogy better?

RodKnock, don't you know Alcoa meant aluminum for beer cans and hub caps?

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

Someone would day the rotary phone was awesome and...

Not so fast there RK. Four or five years ago (maybe seven or eight, now that I think about it), when the hurricane hit us, the only phone that would work in the house was an old black rotary phone. Regular button phones wouldn't work, wireless phones wouldn't work, and cell-phones would only work if you got lucky. I brought the old workhorse up from the basement and my daughter took one look at it and said "what's that?" I asked her if she had ever heard the term "dial the phone" and then proceeded to teach her how to do just that. Nothing like "old school" technology when everything else was failing around us. It did seem like it took forever to dial numbers that had nines and zeros in them though.

[RodKnock]

You see, I knew someone would say rotary phones were awesome.

Uh, Patrick, they do make satellite and internet phones too.

You could also get two empty cans, no lids, with some long string and make a phone the old school way.

[dcdoug]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Not so fast there RK. Four or five years ago (maybe seven or eight, now that I think about it), when the hurricane hit us, the only phone that would work in the house was an old black rotary phone.

That will be very useful for the next hurricane we get in DC, about 50 years from now....

[KevinW]

thanks for all the replies.
as i'm in the uk, (where there isnt too much local FE knowledge, compared to SBF and SBC) i plan to buy a complete engine/trans solution from the US.

despite sounding really nice, ali blocks are out for me for 2 reasons - 1. cost, but more importantly, 2. in the UK, to register a cobra for road use and avoid needing to comply with modern EFI-level emissions and avoid needing to install a cat., you need an old block (with proof of age), and preferably pre-1980s - not a problem with an old iron FE block tho'. .... and if your machine shop accidentally machines off the casting numbers... its an expensive mistake!

Kevin

[undy]

Originally Posted by KevinW

thanks for all the replies.
as i'm in the uk, (where there isnt too much local FE knowledge, compared to SBF and SBC) i plan to buy a complete engine/trans solution from the US.

despite sounding really nice, ali blocks are out for me for 2 reasons - 1. cost, but more importantly, 2. in the UK, to register a cobra for road use and avoid needing to comply with modern EFI-level emissions and avoid needing to install a cat., you need an old block (with proof of age), and preferably pre-1980s - not a problem with an old iron FE block tho'. .... and if your machine shop accidentally machines off the casting numbers... its an expensive mistake!

Kevin

The Pond aluminum block has Ford's 65 side oiler casting numbers on it in the OEM location. It looks like the real deal too. If the guy's not REAL sharp on FEs he'll never know the difference. Even if he's sharp on FEs a little Ford blue spray paint and the aluminum block looks the same as iron.

I believe the Genesis iron block has the "65 427" casting numbers too.

Dave