just wanting input on engines. ford guys, would you rather build an fe motor or 460 based motor? not talking about race engines either. how do they compare to both price, power and reliability?
I have had a few of each and they are both great motors (and I am NOT a Ford guy!). FE are smoother and seem a tad more durable, but either way they are hard to beat. I'm not voting because I would vote for both and just go with whichever one you find first.
Price, not much to choose from, everything is ****** expensive! Reliability, an FE is as reliable as a brick, properly done it will run forever. 460's will rev more if that's what you want, FE's don't like really high RPM for extended periods. Power, well you can't beat cubic inches. Unless you luck out and find a 427 or some such, a 460 will make better power for the bucks.
I prefer the look fo the FE over the later motor but bang for your buck you can't beat a 460. They are a dime a dozen and cheap to overhaul compared to the FE. I may lean towards a 429 SCJ or CJ if I could find one but being me I would want to leave it in stock trim. But if I was to find one of those I may want to find a factory high performance 390 the price is going to be com[paribel. Either one of those in all probabbility is going to need gone through. The 429 would cost a little less than the FE but they would also be close. Power wise all of the above mentioned engines should be close also with the 460 producing more torque stock out of the box. the only revver in the bunch is going to be the CJ. None of this information is what you are looking fior correct? Just to middy up the waters I did manage to snag a 390 horse 390 a couple of years ago for the cost of getting it home. But I am lucky when it comes to engines so that really doesn't count.
I run an FE because I'm stupid, and I like the '60s racing heritage, but bang for the buck, I would take a 429/460 HANDS DOWN. No contest.
i dig the nostalgia of the FE 390's and 428's, you got the aftermarket SCJ heads and you cant beat the look of a tri power. bang for the buck though 460!
<<<<< I'm kinda partial to the 429-460 myself. Bang for the buck its hard to beat (as far as Fords go).
460's are a lot of fun in every aspect except fuel economy. They are RELATIVELY affordable to buy and build. I've seen runners pulled from wrecked cars for anywhere from 250 to 500 bucks. I've also seen certain desirable stock heads go for more than that. They heads I had on my 429 were the worst. Everyone told me ot ditch em, as they are prone to grenading...
I'd go with the 429/460 myself. I did plenty of work with a 352/390 in the past and dollar for dollar, I feel the newer motor series is wise. There are plenty of go-fast parts available and lots of cores to be had. We used to ferret out the 1968-1971 vintage 429s for stock car racing. Huge valves and huge ports in those heads. Bob
I have driven street FE's and 429,460's and all out race engines of both. Cost wise,availibility and efficiency the 429-460 wins out over all. If you have a nostalgia car and want the period look go with the engine of that time. It's a decision only you can make. 429-460 will out perform in every way over all.
Mileage? Neither is exactly an economizer. Based on my own experience with vaguely similar full-size Fords and Mercuries and one Lincoln, a 390 gets better mileage than a 429 or 460, but it's not like one gets 10 and the other gets 20. More like one gets 11 and the other gets 13, if memory serves?? (Keep in mind, though, these were 4,000-5,000 pound luxury liners I'm talking about. Although if we're talking about the car in your avatar you probably won't be seeing anything over 15 either!) Mine were Galaxies, Marquis, LTDs, and one Town Car. (Anyone know the plural of "Marquis"?), ranging from 1968-1978, as well as a 1964 390 in my Dad's 1956 Ford. My friend is from a family of drag racers and they are Ford-only. He has a 429 SCJ in his Fairlane and his brother runs a built 460 in an F-150 drag truck, but his dad runs nothing but 427 and 428 motors in his Cyclone drag cars. It's just a matter of what's available unless you're trying to be period-correct to a time before the 429 (1968 or so??)
The 429-460 is a lot wider and also weighs more, around a hundred lbs. more, I think. In a Galaxie it might not matter too much, but if your swapping into somthing smaller, it may be a problem. Anyway, I vote for the FE, because thats what I like and know. Good luck.
yea for the galaxie. this is is first thing other than a small block i have messed with for awhile. i dont think a 351w would make enough tq.
FE = ****'n expensive.And a host of others,But.........If I had it to do over,I would have stuck with the FE and had a bigger wallet.Sold my stuff and went 385 series and now regreting it.
Too bad you're not a little closer, I have 3 '63-'64 390-4V's out in the shop, and two still have all the drives, manifolds & such on them. For your Galaxie, no question, go with the old rumbler- 390's are actually fairly cheap to rebuild and can run real well, and if you really wanna boogey you can go with a 445 stroker kit that's pretty reasonable. Everything bolts in, headers, both cast iron and tube, are available, and a 3-deuce or 2x4 can't be beat for appearance with the "Thunderbird" valve covers, crossmember is available for a C6, and it all looks "right". Nothing sounds like a good FE with some squeeze and stick, if you could hear the 427 in my 406 car, you probably wouldn't ask the question- Milodon gear drive, solids, and 3" exhaust, and those big tailights go up and down about an inch at idle The 385 is cheap and reliable power, even with a stock 2-bolt block which is plenty strong, and get real big real easy, but for just plain fun, the old ****nasty FE has it all over the 385- just loud, obnoxious, in your face fun. My little Falcon has a 514 SVO in it, but I'm going to swap in my 505 FE, just more fun- and did I mention LOUD??
Since your car is equipped with a 390 I would just work with what I have. But if you were to start all over from scratch I'd go 429/460, less cost, better power and comparible gas mileage, in stock forms of course. Another thing to keep in mind, if you switch from FE to 429/460 you will have to change transmissions as well due to bell housing changes, and possibly shorten/ lenghthen a d-shaft. Why change whats not broke???
The difference is weight between an FE and a 460 is about 50-70 lbs., not enough to matter. I'm a big fan of the Lima motor, but for that Galaxie, if the money were available I'd go FE all the way.
I respectfully disagree. It's not all that expensive to build, no more so than a BBC (Big Bacon Cheese?!). You don't need a different block to build a big inch engine, the largest I've seen on a factory block is 589. A 557 Ford is a great engine, using a stock 460 block. SO build a comparable size BBC and you're already buying an aftermarket block. A 385 series ford is gonna out cube and have more power potential than a FE.
I vote the FE as well. Like meangene said, it sounds so good. I used to have a 427 Tunnel Port in a 67 Fairlane with 13:1 compression. When I fired it up I had neighbors from a block away come down to see what that wicked noise was..
As I have advised you before, you really need to figure out what your goals are and what you are trying to do. You seem to really be directionless with this car, and it really has a very big influence on what engine I & others would suggest. You dont seem to have any goal set in terms of how much power you plan to make, how fast you expect the car to be, or anything else. It really makes it hard to give advice when we dont have any clear idea as to what you expect from the finished product. The car already has an FE in it, if you are just looking for a nice cruiser, and dont have any specific performance goals, why are you considering swapping out the FE? Have you followed the earlier advice you were given, and gotten the car running and driving reliably, so you can get a feel for what you have? Not trying to be a wise-*** here, but I watch your threads on this car, and you seem to be heading off in all directions.
For what it took to reengine the car and a suspenion change,I could have still been running high 11 second times but have had a real nice truck and inclosed trailer.FE's,at least for me,were alot easier to work with.I've had my car for many years so a change to a big cube Lima was alright.Especialy when you do a throttle hit and are on your way to mid and lower 10 second times.I was a greedy basterd.Didn't see a long term picture.With your ride....stick with an FE......http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/album.php?albumid=22346
390 all the way if it is for a older car and your not going racing. reliable CHEAP to build if your not racing it. Very Nostalgic and stock mounts to fit your car...Looks Great VEry old school For racing 429/460...IF you can afford the Aftermarket heads
fe seems like the no brainer here, its takes nothing to make great power and your car is set up for one and you have a motor to build. even if actual engine build costs are the same with the 385 series you still need a trans/driveshaft/trans crossmember/motor mounts/exhaust etc...... plus the fe is cooler.
Don't know how prices are today as I have lost touch with this market as my name may imply. My first new car was a 66 Cylcone GT with the 390. In 71, I put a 429 CJ in it. There was no comparison, that CJ was one bad motor. Used to shift it at 7 grand. In fact I still have it laying around.
wanted a 390, found a 352, 352 sold out from under me then POW 460 with trans and ford 9... $500 for the package... looking at putting some fomoco 429 cobra jet heads and WAY ahead of where i would have been
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