460 To A 429 Is It Magic?

[miottimouse]

just browsing the web under "73 to 79 ford" and its funny how many ford pickups are advertised with a 429 engine i'm not saying there isnt some out there but i find it funny that there are so many considering the 429 was never offered as a factory engine in a truck that i know of is a 429 engine that good over a 460 or is it just a ploy to be different? as thats one motor i have never had just my thoughts thats all

 

[TexasNomad]

well the 429 engine was more of a racing engine, and the 460 was a bred to be a work horse..

 

[LEB Ben]

As far as I know, it's just a different crank, maybe rods and pistons. I think it has more to do with the fact that guys know the 429 was the 'racing' engine, so they want to make their truck seem better, kinda like a 360 turning into a 390. So I dunno if there are guys out there lying about what they have, ignorant to what they have, or running around with a destroked 460.


Side note...if you just destroked a 460, it wouldn't have the same effects as just having a 429 would it? I don't really know factory power numbers, but at one point in time wasn't a 460 rated at 365hp and a 429 at 335hp? So if you destroked the 460, would it magically drop to 335hp?

 

[TexasNomad]

When I looked up the VIN on my 79 Ben, it said it was rated 335hp didn't say any thing about Tq.
I was a little shocked I thought the numbers would be much higher..

 

[jcduerr]

https://www.fordmuscle.com/forums/all-ford-techboard/470136-429-vs-460-a.html
http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/460-vs-429-crank-140604.html
429 4.36x3.59
460 4.36x3.85

 

[Mil1ion]

Truck 460's run from 202 HP to about 240 HP

A 68-71 429 Thunderjet 2v was rated at 320 HP

a 68-71 429 Thunderjet 4v was rated at 360 HP'

a 68- 71 460 4v was rated at about 360 HP.

 

[LEB Ben]

I was reading once in one of the Ford Mags where they were talking about all the motors that came from the factory in Mustangs and how to best go about adding power to them. Side note: This was before Stroker Kits were plentiful in the market.

The first item on the list for adding power to the 429 was, "install a 460 crank"

That notion (adding stroke) is second nature to most all of us now, but I'll never forget reading that article and the 429 commentary.

From the first link...That's what I was thinking. So in reality, these guys are kinda hurting themselves. But I have a question...say you have a Boss 429...the baddest 429 around. With the logic above, if you swapped in a 460 crank/pistons, that bad azz Boss 429 would be even nastier???

 

[miottimouse]

i know i would give my first born for a set of "boss heads" to try it out but from reading about this engine the head/rocker/chain combo would be a nightmare to set up correctly and i would wonder about the streetability other than getting the part # off the rods is there any other way of telling a 429 from a 460? eg: # on the block ect

 

[JBradley500]

there is no advantage to having less CI especially in a truck.

 

[jcduerr]

casting numbers

 

[cipsmithers]

I was a little shocked I thought the numbers would be much higher..

Just because thats what it was rated at, doesn't mean that was what it had.

 

[LEB Ben]

Just because thats what it was rated at, doesn't mean that was what it had.

Ain't that the truth...the Boss 429 was rated at around 360-380hp...but I believe dyno numbers are closer to 500.

 

[cipsmithers]

Ain't that the truth...the Boss 429 was rated at around 360-380hp...but I believe dyno numbers are closer to 500.

Ive heard that they did that to keep insurance rates down, making it more affordable to own a particular vehicle

 

[LEB Ben]

Ive heard that they did that to keep insurance rates down, making it more affordable to own a particular vehicle

Me too...but I'll defer that to someone who was actually around then and definitely knows why...haha.

 

[Mil1ion]

i know i would give my first born for a set of "boss heads" to try it out but from reading about this engine the head/rocker/chain combo would be a nightmare to set up correctly and i would wonder about the streetability other than getting the part # off the rods is there any other way of telling a 429 from a 460? eg: # on the block ect

Aside from measuring the stroke....... differences are internal

2v intakes were more for 429's

429 Block C9VE-B
429 Heads C9VE-A

 

[TexasNomad]

Who the heck would put a 2bbl carb on a big block

 

[Fellro]

Ford did on quite a few engines, actually most were 2 bbl... It is harder to find the Ford 4 bbl intakes than it is to go Chev, could have a little to do with their being more popular to many...

 

[cipsmithers]

Ford did on quite a few engines, actually most were 2 bbl... It is harder to find the Ford 4 bbl intakes than it is to go Chev

Thats because a chevy motor needs all the help it can get.

 

[masterbeavis]

Dont forget that the old school 360HP motors were rated at the crank, with no accessories. To get an idea of what they would do in relation to 72 and newer numbers, multiply the HP by .70. 360 X.70=252 HP RWHP. This is not an accurate way to figure it out, its my guesstimation by looking at new and old HP specs and doing some math. Also, oldschool (myth?) rule of thumb for hipo car HP ratings was 10 HP for every 100# of vehicle weight IRC.

 

[JBradley500]

Ive heard that they did that to keep insurance rates down, making it more affordable to own a particular vehicle

thats like my dad's 428 mach 1. its rated at 335hp but in all actuality, they dyno in the 406hp neighborhood.