not building a professional-level race engine and not working with his (or her) own fully equipped machine shop.
The lowest-cost option for a chosen process frequently will deliver a perfectly good result, simply trading time for expense. Other times, nothing but professional tools and talent will deliver the needed outcomes. Some tasks can be bypassed with minimal risk for a budget-oriented build, and others simply must be addressed in every effort for any realistic chance of success.
I use a single engine for most pictures and build process documentation throughout the book, and follow it along as we go. While this engine is a rather “cool” one (a 1969 428 Cobra Jet destined for a Shelby GT500), the processes and machining are exactly the same as found in rebuilding a more common 390 for a pickup truck or Galaxie. Most of the photos in this book are following the rebuild of the 428 Cobra Jet, but other engine images are sometimes used to illustrate various components or processes. Some photos were “posed” for better visibility, and may not reflect normal or proper machine shop practices.
We will follow this engine through teardown, inspection, cleaning, machining, and reassembly. During the teardown and inspection phases we will be “hands on” until handoff to the machine shop. At that point we will become spectators, watching the shop handle its tasks. I do not detail how to run an SV-10 Sunnen cylinder hone, but I do explain what it is doing and why. Once the machined parts are completed, we will then resume our firsthand position as the builder doing the actual measurement and assembly work.
Choosing and Qualification of Your Core
This is when the fun begins. By definition, a “core” is the engine you start out with. It may be complete and running or a collection of parts gathered over time. Acquiring a non-running engine with an unknown history is like buying a lottery ticket, but you can tip the odds in your direction a bit.
My favorite type of core is old, greasy, and unmolested. Something still mounted in the vehicle is almost always more desirable than one that has been laying out open to the elements. When working with stock or nearly stock engines, the fewer indications of modification or prior internal work the better off you are likely to be in terms of internal condition. The 390 in a rotted-out pickup with an aftermarket Holley carb and some glass packs has likely had the snot run out of it, while the 2-barrel unit in an old LTD probably ran smoothly until the car fell apart around it.
Blocks cast in 1964 and earlier have a two-bolt motor mount. Blocks cast later have a four-bolt motor mount. The later blocks can be mounted easily into an older vehicle, but putting an old casting into the later application will require creativity and fabrication.
Look for obvious signs of distress. A prior owner trying to diagnose an engine problem will pull one valve cover and/or the oil pan chasing a knock. He may have removed a few spark plugs looking for coolant, or he could have pulled the distributor looking for a twisted-off oil pump driveshaft. Pushed-out core plugs or coolant in the oil might be signs of freeze damage in northern states. Fresh gaskets on timing covers or heads are a giveaway of recent repair work. A coat of inexpensive paint on an otherwise unremarkable engine might be as simple as a cosmetic sales pitch, or a tip-off to recent fix-up attempts.
Just remember to keep your eyes wide open and realize that the odds are very, very much against finding any sort of super deal on a 427 or 428. Pretty much everything you find will be a 360 or a 390, and those two are nearly impossible to identify externally. If you are able to turn the engine over with a socket on the damper bolt, you can use a wooden dowel stuck through the spark plug hole to identify the stroke by marking it at the top and bottom of the piston’s travel. If it has about 3.5 inches from top to bottom, you’re looking at a 352 or a 360. If you get a reading of around 3.75 inches you’re onto a 390.
Block Markings
A good place to start your identification search, and a way to eliminate certain possibilities, is with the casting marks on the block. FE engine blocks usually have a number of casting numbers, both formal and sand scratches, on various areas of the block. Some of these marks are good for identification, but unfortunately many other markings were used almost at random and have little if any meaning for actual identification. I cover the most common ones below, but remember that nothing on an FE is to be taken for granted. We’ve seen actual non-cross-bolted 427 industrial engines as well as paper-thin 390s sold as standard bore 428s online. Take nothing for granted.
Mirror 105: Just like it says, a backward, mirror-image number “105” casting mark commonly found on the driver-side front face of blocks cast at Ford’s MCC foundry starting somewhere in the early to mid-1970s. Usually a later-model 390 block with the extra main webbing. But not always.
352: The 352 designation is found on the driver-side front face of many of the FE blocks cast at Ford’s DIF foundry throughout the 1960s. This does not mean you have a 352 engine. Or anything else for that matter because most 390 and 428 engines as well as many 427s will have this marking.
The 352 designation is found on the driver-side front face of many of the FE blocks cast at Ford’s DIF foundry throughout the 1960s. This does not mean you have a 352 engine. Many other displacements have the 352 designation cast into the block.
The “DIF” casting often found on Ford FE blocks designates the Dearborn Iron Foundry where the blocks were poured. This location was in use through the early 1970s; therefore, a real 428 CJ block would likely have that DIF on it somewhere.
Similar to the “352” often found cast on the front face of the engine, the 352 designation in the bellhousing face does not guarantee you have a 352-ci engine.
This 427 marking that is often found in the lifter valley or the bellhousing face shown here is misleading. It can often be found on 390 engines as well.
66-427: This one is often found on the inner valley above the lifters or on the bellhousing face. It tends to get folks really excited for a few minutes, but means pretty much nothing. Often found on otherwise normal 390 engines.
C scratch: This is a good one to find. Found as a freehand letter “C” scratched in the bellhousing area of the block, this is considered a good indicator of the 1968 and later double-webbed 428 block as used in the 428 Cobra Jet engines.
A scratch: Another nice find. This is the letter “A” scratched freehand into the bellhousing-area casting. Normally associated with 1966–1967 non-CJ 428 engines.
Inside the water jackets: Proof positive of a 428. If you remove the center freeze plug you can often see the number “428” cast right into the base of the water jacket core. Similar casting identification can also be found by looking straight down through the water opening on the decks where the head gaskets go. You’ll need a flashlight.
Casting numbers such as C6MA-xx: These numbers are normally found cast upside down below the oil filter mounting pad. Unfortunately they don’t really mean all that much. While important for a restoration project, the fact is that Ford used the same casting number across
