Various 427 Questions, New Member

[fkemmerer]

Originally Posted by elmariachi

Hello,

I am new here, working on building a 427SO and looking at various kits from which to build a MKIII this winter. I am in Houston and though this is my first build, I have quite a bit of experience with high-performance offshore boats, 4-wheel drives and older muscle cars. But never a big honkin' Ford FE. I have located a 1969 SO block though I am still going back and forth between it and a Genesis. My plan is to build it up at 427ci, single 4-barrel, medium riser, ~500hp. So a few questions:

1. I have located a nice C5AE forged steel crank, cross-drilled, re-ground 10 under and perfect after magnafluxing and balancing. Would this be preferred to say the Scat 9000 $700 crank?

2. How are the Blue Thunder head and intake products? Are there better choices for the $$?

3. I have read that Le Mans rods are too big and heavy versus the newer stuff, but I have a nice set that are ready to go. I don't have an endless budget, but want to spend wisely in the most critical areas. Will they get it done or should I go with a newer H-beam?

Thanks in advance for any comments or feedback.

Jim

Hi Jim,

The stuff that you have are certain good components. It may be difficult to make 500 hp without giving up a good bit of torque on the low end. You want to spend some $$, I'd sugget the following:

1) First, get a good set of aluminum cylinder heads and have them CNC ported. Keith Craft offers some nice stuff (he's on this forum) based upon Edelbrock castings and his custom CNC porting (recommend Stage II for street use). Suggest you get a CAM that matches his setup from Keith as well.

2) The next stage would be to upgrade the rods to a good set of H-beam parts. This would be especially important if you intend to buzz the motor to high RPM to make HP for racing.

3) If you care going to consider changing the crank, I'd spend the $$ on an aluminum block from Pond or Shelby and then build a stroker. This will reduce weight in the front which will help handling. I'm currently running this setup stroked to 482ci. You would have no trouble exceeding 500 hp (probably be closer to 600 hp) with a setup like this. Only problem is the cost.

You can check out my gallery for some pics of the 482 FE.

- Fred

[patrickt]

elmariachi -- The surest way to disappoint yourself, and lose interest in your Cobra (which you will then put up for sale, at a considerable loss), is to over-build your engine for the true use that your Cobra will see. Getting 500+ HP out of an FE is a piece of cake. Building one that has manners is a different story. Absent a compelling reason to go that high, I might urge you to reconsider. Or, you could always pick up one of the 500+ HP Cobras with less than 2000 miles that come up on Cobra Country with reasonable regularity....

[601HP]

I just bought a set of the Erson roller rockers from Keith Craft. I'm really pleased with them. They look like they'll be very durable. They are probably the best money I've spent on rockers.

Years ago I started with the OEM stamped steel stuff, then changed to the Comp Cams pieces, and then the stainless steel Shelby rockers. I had a recent valve train issue and sustained some damage to the Shelby rockers. I spoke with Keith Craft and he recommended the Ersons. His pricing for them just several weeks ago came in far less than what I paid years ago for two of the competitors' pieces I mentioned!

David