First thing we had to do was...
First thing we had to do was remove the 390 from the truck. We started by removing the oil and draining the coolant from the radiator. On the 390 there is a drain plug on the driver side that is hopefully not stripped like ours was. If the plug is stripped then you may be able to remove a freeze plug, but the idea is draining the block so that you can keep your work area clean.
Have you ever heard the saying “there is no replacement for displacement”? Well, to build power and torque without high compression or forced induction you have to go bigger. By bigger I mean larger stroke and bore that will increase the displacement, and if done right, push you back in the seat.
We started with a stock Ford 390 big-block that was lacking the oomph to push our test vehicle to its limits. We took the truck over to a chassis dyno to see what the old stock 390 was putting to the ground. The stock-ish 390 pumped out 240 horsepower and 290 torque at the wheels, but it was nothing to brag about since the motor is so heavy. Let me give you something to think about, if truck No. 1 has 400 horsepower and torque, and truck No. 2 has the same power and torque, but is 200 pounds heavier, what truck will get down the quarter mile first?
Let’s just pretend that there are no other variables like reaction times, transmission, tires, etc. Most likely truck No. 1 would win because the power to weight was better. Still following me? Good. Since this particular truck does a lot of autocross, it was on the scales to adjust suspension, but more importantly we knew what it weighed before we removed the 390. In the end we were able to remove 200 pounds off the truck’s front end and increase the power to weight.
Disconnecting the Optima battery, we were able to remove the wires off the starter and alternator.
So why replace a big-block with something that is physically smaller in size? Won’t that have less power? Well, our 351W might have started out on the smaller side, but Ford beefed up the Windsor by increasing the displacement to 427 and the truck doesn’t know if it is a small- or big-block, it only knows how heavy the motor is, along with the torque curve. The stock 390ci is 4.05-inch bore x 3.784-inch stroke, and the small-block 427ci is 4.125-inch bore x 4.00-inch stroke. So why does that matter? Usually the bigger the motor is in displacement (not actual size), the more power it will make, and more importantly, more torque.
I disconnected the power steering...
I disconnected the power steering hoses and let it drain into a bucket and continued on with the electrical.
For guys with heavy trucks, the more torque the better, as long as the horsepower is near the torque specs. In most cases, torque has the ability to get a heavy vehicle moving quicker from a dead stop than a same-sized motor with more horsepower and less torque. Remember the old saying, “horsepower sell cars, but torque wins races”; well, this is especially true for trucks that tend to weigh more than the average hot rod car.
A well-balanced engine, like our 450hp/520 torque Ford 427, will accelerate our ’67 Ford F-100 and was a perfect choice for several reasons. One, Ford now offers a two-year/12,000-mile warranty on all its create engines. Two, we didn’t spend six months searching for parts and waiting for machine shops to build it.
The Hedman headers were removed...
The Hedman headers were removed along with the H-pipe under the transmission.
The coolant hoses and radiator...
The coolant hoses and radiator can be removed after all the coolant has drained out.
The carb was removed and the...
The carb was removed and the throttle linkage was tied up behind the master cylinder. I also removed the oil pressure line that goes to the gauge.
I used an adjustable engine...
I used an adjustable engine load leveler from Harbor Freight to support the motor, as we were getting ready to remove the transmission bolts.
The next step was to remove...
The next step was to remove the torque converter bolts connecting the transmission to the engine. If you forget this step and somehow manage to pull out the torque converter, more than likely have 7 quarts sitting on the garage floor and a bent front pump. Don’t forget to support the transmission with a jack or blocks of wood.
We removed the bolts that...
We removed the bolts that hold the transmission bell housing to the engine. Then the engine hoist was raised slightly to put a slight pressure on the engine mounts so that the engine would not fall down. The mounts were then removed and the engine was free.
My good friend Ed Kajioka...
My good friend Ed Kajioka helped guide the motor out while watched for things we forgot to disconnect.
The motor is out. Now what?...
The motor is out. Now what? Well since the truck is split 50/50 between street driver and autocross, we started looking at how far we could move the 427 back in the engine bay.
Turns out the engine can go...
Turns out the engine can go really far back, but we needed to remove the old engine mounts that adapted to the new Speedway Motors small-block Ford mounts.
Our test truck is pretty simple...
Our test truck is pretty simple being that it has a weld-on Fatman Fabrication IFS suspension that replaced the factory twin I-beams. Notice where the old engine mounts were located on the Fatman crossmember and the boxed factory frame. We will be replacing the lower mount with a new lower mount from Fatman Fabrications.
We ended up modifying these...
We ended up modifying these Speedway Motors mounts to push the motor even farther back. One thing to watch out for is where the oil filter comes out of the block. In a previous CT article we installed a Hamburger remote oil filter that allowed us to clear the modified mounts.
We removed the pilot bearing...
We removed the pilot bearing that shipped with our Ford 427 so that our AOD’s torque converter would fit inside the crank.
The Ford 427 engine was temporarily...
The Ford 427 engine was temporarily placed in the engine bay so that we could adapt the motor mounts from Speedway and Fatman. Here, our test driver Scott Call lends a hand installing the motor.
We used pieces of metal to...
We used pieces of metal to help space the motor away from the crossmember and rack. We didn’t let the full weight of the motor rest on these metal pieces, but rather something to stabilize the motor from moving on the engine hoist.
We supported the engine from...
We supported the engine from below with wood blocks, so that we could move the chains to the front of the engine only. This helped us move the front of the engine from side to side to square it in the engine bay.
A drop center was wrapped around a bolt on the crankshaft balancer, and then a measurement was taken off of the outside rails of the frame. We compared both measurements and moved the engine until the motor was square in the framerails. Note, this step should also be done on the tailshaft side so that the driveline goes straight toward the rearend.
The Fatman lower engine mounts...
The Fatman lower engine mounts were then trimmed down to fit our application. Now we need to adapt the Speedway Motors engine mounts to the frame mounts.
I crawled inside the engine...
I crawled inside the engine bay with a permanent marker and lined up the engine mount tabs with the other mounts.
After marking the engine mount...
After marking the engine mount tabs I cut them down so that they looked like this. Then, using my Miller Electric 211 MIG welder, I tacked all four corners before finish welding.
I removed the Speedway Motors...
I removed the Speedway Motors inner sleeve on the motor mount. This acted as a spacer to hold the tabs during welding. I also used a few washers to help with installing and removing the motor.
We measured the engine again...
We measured the engine again to double-check if it was centered. Then the passenger side mount was tack welded in. We didn’t finish-weld the mounts yet because, you guessed it, the motor was in the way. But we did make sure the mounts would not move when removing the motor.
We then started the driver...
We then started the driver side and welded the mounts as much as we could.
I have to say that this little...
I have to say that this little Miller 211 does a great job of welding thick steel. This was one pass with 0.30 wire using CO2 mix. Not my first choice in wire size, but it worked good using the suggested settings.
The owner of the truck wanted...
The owner of the truck wanted to make the engine bay to look nice again, so we removed the motor so that I could also finish-weld the new mounts. Here, Rob Mckeown sprayed the modified Speedway Motor engine mounts.
Scott Call, the guy who drives...
Scott Call, the guy who drives the truck in the autocross, was also helping out with the whole build. Scott used aluminum foil and tape to mask off the framerails. He then painted the framerails as best he could to match the rest of the frame.
Rob Mckeown and Pike Kelly...
Rob Mckeown and Pike Kelly prepped the engine block for a fresh coat of gray paint. We were all teasing Rob for changing the factory Ford Blue color, but in the end it turned out way better than I thought it would.
I like to use gray silicone...
I like to use gray silicone to seal V-8 intakes, and on the Ford small-block you need to use a lot of it.
Rob used ARP bolts on just...
Rob used ARP bolts on just about every part of this motor and the intake bolts were no exception. Make sure you torque the bolts to ARP specs and not factory specs. ARP bolts have a different tolerance than factory bolts.
Since Ford has the distributor...
Since Ford has the distributor in the front of the engine, you can build oil pressure in or out of the truck/ We tape a 1/4 extension on a socket that fit our Ford oil pump. We also removed the valve covers so that we could see the oil reach every rocker.
A cordless drill will work...
A cordless drill will work for a little bit, but you may be better off with a larger electric drill. Make sure all your oil lines are connected and the oil pressure switch is on or this step will send oil everywhere. We attached the drill and spun it counterclockwise to build oil pressure in the motor. Then we made sure all the rockers had a good flow of oil running out the top. If for some reason you don’t get oil flow to all of the rockers, slowly turn the motor over by hand and continue until all rockers are flowing.
We installed the block saver...
We installed the block saver plate on the Ford 427 and made sure it fit the AOD for bolting it on.
Then the flywheel was installed using ARP bolts and red thread sealer.
Before stabbing the motor...
Before stabbing the motor in, make sure the torque converter is all the way in the front pump. Simply move it back and forth until it seats and spins free.
We tried fitting several sets...
We tried fitting several sets of headers, but the only ones that fit our pushed-back engine were Doug’s Headers (part number D6648Y) in raw. We ran out of time to have them coated, but we will be finishing the headers and the other exhaust pieces later.
The header gaskets were coated...
The header gaskets were coated in orange silicone to help seal the exhaust and make sure we didn’t get any leaks.
Stay tuned till the next issue when we show you the rest of these parts, get the truck running and dyno tuned, and tell you how well the 427 did compared to the stock-ish 390.