In Part 1, I really didn’t...
In Part 1, I really didn’t get into the motor internals so here we go. The Ford Racing 427 small-block has a 10.5:1 compression ratio engine that uses aluminum 64cc chamber cylinder heads. Ford calls them X heads. Each X head is about 22 pounds, and compared to the stock 351 iron heads, that is 25 pounds lighter.
So last month we removed the old, heavy 390 big-block Ford out of our ’67 Ford test truck and added a new Ford Racing 427 small-block crate engine. We installed the engine, and to our surprise, we were able to shed 200 pounds off the front end and we gained 122.4 horsepower with 139 lb-ft of torque at the wheels, thus increasing the power to weight and making the truck handle that much better.
We were also able to squeeze a total of 362.4 horsepower and 429 lb-ft on the chassis dyno while still having a very reliable, and more importantly, drivable engine. Remember the transmission, rearend, brakes, and wheels all rob power so our dyno numbers are great.
The engine uses a SCAT forged-steel...
The engine uses a SCAT forged-steel crankshaft with SCAT forged-steel I-beam connecting rods and forged Mahle pistons with floating wrist pins. A hydraulic cam and lifters are used with 1.60:1 ratio roller rocker arms.
We were also able to test the truck at El Toro with the old motor and the new Ford Racing 427. We tested the truck last year at the 2011 Truckin Throwdown and this year the road course and stop box were much longer. The first test for the truck was the 600-foot slalom course and Scott Call ran 7.22 this year compared to 7.03 last year. Scott said that with the new engine being a lot lighter and faster he was not used to the way the truck handled. I believe with a few sway bar adjustments Scott could have improved the times, but he only had a total of three runs in the slalom.
Quarter mile times from last year were 14.81 with the 390 FE and 13.51 with the new Ford Racing 427. The new engine knocked 1.3 seconds off last year’s quarter-mile time. WOW! Where the truck really shines is at the autocross track and on a road course. Since the ’67 spends about 50 percent of its time at the track, it has been set up to handle corners really well. Scott said he felt huge improvements in throttle response at lower rpm and was really impressed when rolling on the throttle out of turns. Normally when watching the truck, you can’t really tell how fast the truck is going. But after Scott got used to the way the truck handled, and Pike Kelly made a quick sway bar adjustment, you could really tell the added power and reduced weight woke the truck up. We made an effort to build a reliable engine using data from Ford Racing and help from a reliable parts house such as Speedway Motors.
Since we dropped the engine...
Since we dropped the engine as low as possible we wanted more clearance at the rack-and-pinion return line. We removed the 7-quart oil pan to see if we could shave the corner of the pan and checked out the nice internals. The oil pump is in the same place, but since we have a Fatman IFS, the oil pickup is placed toward the rear.
Talk about built-in engine...
Talk about built-in engine protection, Ford uses an oil pan on the 427 that helps control the oil. The oil trap helps hold oil at the oil pump pickup under hard cornering and acceleration.
We used Fel-Pro gaskets on...
We used Fel-Pro gaskets on the entire engine. We made sure the intake was clean and the surface of the engine was also clean. Using gasket singe, we installed the intake gaskets.
ARP bolts and thread sealer...
ARP bolts and thread sealer were used on all the bolts that go into the water jackets. All of the external parts were ordered from Speedway Motors.
Our Edelbrock 7581 intake...
Our Edelbrock 7581 intake manifold didn’t have a provision for this crossover, so we sealed it with the provided Fel-Pro gaskets.
Oh man, this always makes...
Oh man, this always makes me nervous when applying such a big glob of silicon. I personally like the Permatex Grey for sealing intakes and oil pans. If you are not sure on how much sealant to add on your engine, then you can dry fit the intake and visually inspect the gap. This way you could add more silicone than needed and wipe off the excess.
Make sure you tighten the...
Make sure you tighten the intake to specs and in order. If you are using ARP bolts like we were, then use their torque specs.
Now is a good time to prime...
Now is a good time to prime your oil pump to make sure you don’t dry start the motor. I have heard of horror stories of guys not priming the oil system and making a mess of the new motor.
To help make sure we were...
To help make sure we were on TDC, we used a compression gauge with the Schrader valve removed. Crank the engine counter clockwise by hand until the engine is on TDC.
Ford has two marks on the...
Ford has two marks on the crankshaft balancer that are used for different engine and water pump configurations. Don’t make the mistake and use the incorrect timing mark. Hopefully you can see the timing indicator that is used for this application.
Part of getting the engine...
Part of getting the engine running is providing coolant flow and a charge for the battery. In this case, Rob Mckeown, the owner of the truck, ordered a March Performance serpentine belt kit from Speedway Motors.
OK, back to making this thing...
OK, back to making this thing run. Rob installed a new gear on an MSD Pro Billet distributor and used plenty of assembly lube on it before installing. The camshaft in your new Ford Racing motor may require a special cam gear so make sure you read the instructions on what cam gear your engine plays nice with.
As per MSD, “The MSD 6 Series...
As per MSD, “The MSD 6 Series Ignitions feature a capacitive discharge ignition design. The majority of stock ignition systems are inductive ignitions. In an inductive ignition, the coil must store and step up the voltage to maximum strength in between each firing. At higher rpm, since there is less time to charge the coil to full capacity, the voltage falls short of reaching maximum energy, which results in a loss of power or top end miss. The MSD Ignition features a capacitor, which is quickly charged (within one millisecond) with 460-480 volts and stores it until the ignition is triggered. With the CD design, the voltage sent to the coil is always at full power even at high rpm.”
The cool part about the MSD...
The cool part about the MSD box is that the wiring diagrams are on the back of the box.
The carburetor was picked...
The carburetor was picked not only for its cool black finish, but it is really light. Holley claims the new Ultra HP is 38 percent lighter and increased the fuel capacity by 20 percent. Holley also says the newly designed carb has “Internal baffling to help control fuel slosh and minimize float level fluctuations in hard launching or cornering situations.”
The carb is only as good as...
The carb is only as good as the fuel supplied to it, so we used a -06 dual fuel line with a Holley high-volume pump on the engine.
Since we pushed back the engine,...
Since we pushed back the engine, we thought we might have to custom make headers. After trying countless header combinations, we found the Doug’s headers fit realty well. The only problem was that we didn’t get the headers that were coated and forgot to treat the headers after fitment. After the testing at the track we removed the exhaust and took it over to Embee Coating in Santa Ana, California, where Jeff Conrad helped us get the headers and exhaust back on track. Rob selected a gray coating for the complete exhaust system.
You can tune by ear all day...
You can tune by ear all day long, but a reputable dyno shop will get you those extra ponies that are well worth the price. We headed over to Westech where Ernie helped tune the bugs out of our ’67.
First thing Ernie did was...
First thing Ernie did was to check the timing with a good timing light. Each engine is a different, but for the most part, 10-14 degrees initial timing should get the motor to idle OK.
Next Ernie checked the total...
Next Ernie checked the total timing by holding the throttle at 2,500. Total timing for a small-block should be around 33-35 degrees (street engine). We were getting 35 degrees of total mechanical timing, but our motor wanted a higher initial timing.
MSD has a chart on the back...
MSD has a chart on the back of the distributor box that will tell you how to change the timing curve. The engine was getting too much mechanical timing from 14 initial to 35 total. Ernie swapped out the small busing under the cam mechanism from the blue MSD bushing to the black MSD bushing. This will help limit the overall mechanical timing from 14-35 to 17-35. We wanted to give our motor more initial timing so that the idle quality and low-rpm drivability were better.
With the mechanical timing...
With the mechanical timing set, we can focus on when the mechanical timing starts advancing. Ernie swapped one light mechanical advance spring to what he called a garage door spring on one side. Ernie ran the truck on the chassis dyno to find out if the spring swap was making power or not. It did improve the overall numbers.
Most carburetors come slightly...
Most carburetors come slightly rich. Manufactures do this because if you run the engine lean, things tend to fail. On our Holley carburetor, the air cleaner bolt is hiding an intergraded idle bypass valve. This feature can help when running a radical camshaft or fine tuning the engine idle by allowing increased or decreased air inside the carb.
Since our carb was running...
Since our carb was running slightly rich at full throttle, Ernie changed the main jets to lean the engine out at wide-open throttle. It was as simple as removing four bolts and unscrewing a jet. One of the other cool features about the carb is that the gasket-sealing surface has been redefined to reduce the chances of fuel leaks.
The power on this Ford 427...
The power on this Ford 427 small-block was very impressive. Check out those dyno numbers. 362.4 horsepower and 429 lb-ft on the chassis dyno– wow! This truck is going to fly, thanks to Westech and Ernie tuning it.
Here, Scott is blasting through...
Here, Scott is blasting through the 600-foot slalom course trying to beat last year’s time. We ended up taking so much weight off the front end that the suspension was reacting different than Scott was used to. He did a 600-foot slalom at 7.22 seconds.
The truck did very well in...
The truck did very well in the stop box, but unfortunately the course was longer than last year so we don’t have numbers to compare it to.
Out on the open road course is where Scott and our ’67 test truck are most comfortable. Scott said with the reduced weight and gobs of power he was able to control the truck a lot easier. The new Ford 427 crate engine really makes a huge difference when cruising down the freeway or holding the throttle wide open on a road course. The cool thing about the whole engine swap deal is that we drove the truck to the dyno shop, then another 60 freeway miles to the track for testing. Now that’s hot rodding.