Man...I enjoyed this thread. The rather violent valve float videos were very educational. Seeing all the shimmy or wobble of those springs makes me think the conical type have a great advantage in that the always changing dimensions reduce harmonics. Not that I care about Uber high RPM operation but the occasional over rev' is bound to happen.

Also learned that trolling engine builders might not be ideal.

Engine Dyno Porn (EDP) Whoo Hoo!

I was going to throw some stones and hijack My427stang's post but figured I'd just swipe one of the pics from it instead. Based on the scenario below should I reorientate my mechanical advance distributor? When I bought my Cougar it ran but was in a state of disrepair. Vacuum leaks galore, corroded cap & rotor etc...When I bought the car my distributor was wired completely 180° different than what I find on-line for firing order. Seeing the recent dyno motor pics reminded me to inquire with the experts. Here's my old 390 with a new QF 680 carb that I recently installed. My plug wires are routed basically 180° from what is normal. The engine has always had a slight sputter at cruising speeds of 45-50mph. A very notable drop off in torque after 4500 rpm. This was true with both the old and new carb. I have always attributed these to an old tired engine. The carb was changed as I suspected the throttle body and butterflies of the old carb to be worn. It was a 1st generation Demon 650 and no proper throttle stop had been installed.

Bumping this thread. Please do check out Brent's post in the vendor section and consider picking up a SCAT 4.375 crank.

If the OP can change from 4.25 to 4.375 then we may only need one more person to make it happen.

Brent - can you clarify the details of the Group Buy? Like E4340, billet/forged, nitrided etc.... Thank you.

I'm interested. Pm me if you need my details etc...
Stroke 4.375" 2.2" Journals and all the other good stuff!

Thank you.

Glad you found the problem. I hope it's just that one item that needs fixing. I've never had a close look at my PCV check valve but will now just in case.

Barry's two books and Jay's are great.

Titles?  Where to find them?

Not looking to build a monster - street & occasional track car.

Just Google Barry Rabotnick and his two Ford FE books should pop up. I got mine from Amazon. I bought Jay's book from his website link he provided.

I think I read somewhere to budget 1k for adding crossbolts to a FE block. Totally anecdotal and I have no quote or sources though. Perhaps not a helpful response but maybe someone else will chime in.