Cars are really hard to work on anymore

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Ford put big blocks (over 400 cu) in most all of their cars after 1965. In 64 you could get a 427 in a Fairlane and Galaxy 500. In 68 , the 427 was replaced mostly with 428's in Mustangs and mid and full size cars. In 69 came the 429. Many people do not realize that you could get a 429 Falcon in that year. The smaller cars were homologated for racing purposes for not only Winston Cup but for NHRA as well. The only engine Ford made that could compete with the hemi's was the SOHC 427. The street versions of these motors were so foreign to the racing motors, you might of well had a 4 cylinder in a vehicle. Street hemi's were absolute dogs in cars and you had to do a ton of engine work to get them to go fast. Many nicely tuned 383 Road Runners would get to end of the quarter mile before the hemi would. 428 Mustangs out of the box were capable of low 13 second quarters. With some extensive engine, body and chassis work, these cars would break into the 10's. 429's also had to have alterations as they were also slow. None of the hp figures were accurate for several purposes. 1. manufacturers kept their cards close to the chest and did not want to let on the power they were building and 2. for insurance purposes back then. They wanted to sell these cars to the young. The price of the cars were in the mid $3000-$4000 range and they did not want to encumber any more expense preventing the purchase of these cars because of high insurance rates.

 

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My Challenger is pretty quick, but it isn't 12 second quick.

The first one's Dave could do low to mid 13 seconds. You may be closer than you think. I believe the current SRT's can do high 12's. They are the heaviest of the current crop of pony cars and that is part of the problem. My Dakota weighs 3900 lbs and is why I concentrated on acquiring higher torque figures rather than building hp. I also put 5K in the motor and if I didn't do the work, it would have cost me 12-15K plus its no longer a real 318 as I put a crank in that strokes it to 390 cu's.. Get rid of your 3.08's and put in a set of 4.56's in your Challenger and you should easily do 12's.

 

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Was it '68, or '69 that you could get a Ford with a 427, 428, or 429?
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In 1962 Ford had a 406 you could get in a Galaxy. As early as 63 you could special order a 427 Galaxy then in 64 came the famous Thunderbolt 427 Fairlanes.

 

[Bird]

In spite of all those big block Fords in the '60s, they still had some small engines, too. In fact, the Dallas police used Fords with 289 engines until the 1968 models had 302 engines. And I bought what was probably the worst lemon Ford ever built; a new 1966 Fairlane with a 289 engine. Generally, I think they were pretty good cars, but the one I bought probably came down the assembly line at 60 mph on a Friday evening. And after 2 years, I had it hitting on at least 7 and sometimes 8 cylinders and traded it for a new 1968 Roadrunner with the 383.:laughing:

 

[ultrarunner]

Don't forget the 260 Ford V8 and the Olds aluminum block 215 V8...

My uncle raced with the 215 V8 and was sponsored by Oldsmobile...

 

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I had a 215 in a Cutlass. All aluminum block and heads. Leaked oil like a sieve. This engine was put in as a stock block, in an Indy race car fielded by Mickey Thompson in the early 60's.

 

[RobertN]

But wasn't it '68 or '69 the only year you could select between the 427, 428, and 429 in one model year(just interesting number sequence)? 427/427 FE motors were available in same model years, for a number of years.

I've heard from a number of people who had them, that the 440-6pack was a more streetable and faster stock than the Hemi...

In 1962 Ford had a 406 you could get in a Galaxy. As early as 63 you could special order a 427 Galaxy then in 64 came the famous Thunderbolt 427 Fairlanes.

 

[dodge man]

The first one's Dave could do low to mid 13 seconds. You may be closer than you think. I believe the current SRT's can do high 12's. They are the heaviest of the current crop of pony cars and that is part of the problem. My Dakota weighs 3900 lbs and is why I concentrated on acquiring higher torque figures rather than building hp. I also put 5K in the motor and if I didn't do the work, it would have cost me 12-15K plus its no longer a real 318 as I put a crank in that strokes it to 390 cu's.. Get rid of your 3.08's and put in a set of 4.56's in your Challenger and you should easily do 12's.

I've had my car on the dyno and it made about 372 hp at the wheels and 405 ft-lbs as best as I can recall. I've had it down the 1/8 mile, but never down the 1/4. My best 1/8 mile time was 8.90, and that was with a 60' time of something like 2.15. Yes a gear swap would make a huge difference. They make 3.92's that bolt in.

The Mustangs that were Hertz cars was the Shelby GT350H. I think most were black and gold in color. I think they were 65's, but could have been 66's.

 

[ultrarunner]

But wasn't it '68 or '69 the only year you could select between the 427, 428, and 429 in one model year(just interesting number sequence)? 427/427 FE motors were available in same model years, for a number of years.

I've heard from a number of people who had them, that the 440-6pack was a more streetable and faster stock than the Hemi...

Before I was old enough to get my driver's license a retired family friend would take me to some of the car shows...

He had a 57 corvette, Jag 150 and a Plymouth Road Runner with a 440/6 pack.

I loved the 57 convertible and it was nicely done...

The Green Plymouth Road Runner was his everyday car and the one people asked about the most... he also said it was by far his favorite to drive...

He had no children and I have no idea what happened to his collection...

Sam lived in a studio apartment on High Street in East Oakland and stayed there for 40 years because the building had separate gagages and he had 4 of them...

 

[ultrarunner]

I had a 215 in a Cutlass. All aluminum block and heads. Leaked oil like a sieve. This engine was put in as a stock block, in an Indy race car fielded by Mickey Thompson in the early 60's.

Here's a link about the AC with the 215 Olds motor pre Cobra days... pictures about half way down...

AC Owners Club - Walt Petersen "Mongoose"