427 Side Oiler vs Top Oiler
 

Here we go... which is better? stronger? more durable? differences +/- ??

Why Chill? Your a SB (Small Balls) guy.:LOL:

Chill,

A center oiler has no superior aspects to a side oiler, exept being somewhat less expensive.

For street use, a center oiler probably has no inferior aspects either.

KK

Cracker...SB...funny guy... :LOL:

...you just never know when that next project calls....

The side-oiler might be better if the rumors of more extensive quality control checks at the factory are true. Better checking for thin points in cylinder walls, possibly.

Otherwise, as long as they're both seasoned blocks and not NOS ones that've been hanging off an engine stand for the last 30 years, they should be pretty equivalent today. All the crossbolting, and even the oiling pattern can be duplicated and bettered today given access to a good FE shop.

Clyde, I know where there's a brand new side oiler block still in the original factory crate. Be the first on your block!

The main difference in Center Oilers vs Side oilers is that the Side Oilers oiling system was radically redesigned to oil the main bearings first, then the cam bearings, instead of the other way around.

The main "advantage"?

............Bragging rights

Bud :JEKYLHYDE :JEKYLHYDE :JEKYLHYDE

TR... new... 427 block? Its not chrome is it??? :LOL:

You guys are killing me. But wait, twill be I who walks away with the Cobrachrome award at the next cruise in. It's also killing me getting on a plane while John is doing surgery on my ride. Oh well, it will give me an opportunity to put my mind off of where I am.

Here's my fourbits worth.

When the 427 first came out (center oiler) it had a bad habit of spinning bearings and losing #7 rod through the side of the block. Not a good thing for NASCAR racing.

The side oiler, as stated above oils the crank first. A perfect fix? No, just a lot better. The crankshaft was redesigned also and used screw in plugs on the rod throws instead of soft plugs and snaprings.

The side oiler was a complete package, not just a different block. Medium riser heads, LeMans capscrew rods, sidewinder manifolds and better camshaft profiles were the main differences.

Ford still had a weakness for sodium-filled valves though and a good many engines were destroyed by the valves losing their heads. Notably, this happened when the engines had sat for extended periods.

Now with all of this blather, I would share that I've made use of both engines and can safely say, you won't be able to tell the difference in a street driven car, uless you insist on free winding the engine to 8 grand in your driveway.

Given today's technology for hard parts such as rod bolts, rocker arm geometry, cam profiles, stainless steel valves and particularly....today's engine lubricants, either of these engines will make a Cobra scoot quite nicely thank you very much!

I had a real Side Oiler in my car, but truthfully it had a lot more to do with braggin' rights than anything else. A little peace of mind didn't hurt either....I did some dumb stuff and abused the engine at times, but it never whimpered.

Al