You should hear old-school V-twin guys- they'll put one together with a lot of compression, and can't start it by electric starter or leg- and you wouldn't believe how expensive those little "high torque" starters are. Their solution is a big cam, just so it will turn over and start- so that becomes a big factor in cam selection. V-twin guys do things in some strange ways- stroker plates etc

So I guess it is painfully obvious that my limited engine building experience is with Harley V-Twins... Those bikes use compression releases if they planned it out well. Easy to push a button near the spark plug hole twice before you start your iron horse. Wouldn't recommend that on a V8. Ha!

Quote from: FElony on March 09, 2020, 01:09:03 PM

Well, you said you don't change your tune. If it's safe enough to run hot and under load, then I would say it's leaving hp on the proverbial table in better conditions, especially in adv curve and total. No?

I don't change my tune.  I'm not hiding anything.  I have no concern whatsoever that there's five horsepower I'm not getting from cold to hot weather.  Feel free to change the power loss to whatever you feel comfortable with.  Again, I'm more of a don't worry, be happy kind of person.

More generally I have been pondering the same idea. Namely what is the best "Every Man" tune that can deal with variable fuel quality, Carbon buildup with decent mileage etc.... even the level of vacuum for an engine that isn't brand new but on the verge of being tired. Assuming vacuum degrades with let's say rather severe wear. Basically it's the pure perfectionist setup vs a setup for the public at large. But then a 75 shot of NO2 can take care of any carbon built up. 

And for the record - I am dying to learn the progress on those FE Heads!

533HP

The IR guns are very handy for something like this. Just be sure to use the proper (emissivity) material setting. Pointing it at surfaces with different materials like case iron vs aluminium will give a different reading even if the actual temperature is the same.

Any oil temperature below the boiling point of water is a concern. However the temperature at the sensing  unit can be 30 or 40F less than deeper in the block. A  second measurement device even temporary can help with calibration .

Quote from: jayb on February 20, 2020, 12:54:00 PM

The SE version of my heads will fit shock tower cars and any headers that will fit a 427 or 428CJ exhaust port.

Jay, would there be a notable difference in power over the Edelbrocks?

I'm not Jay.  So been pondering the same. For MAX performance the flow numbers at high lift suggest that they will with ease. This is considering both RE and SE "as cast" flow numbers vs Edelbrock again "as cast". The vendor section has the latest details.

Max Flow cfm isn't everything and the velocity at lesser lift/RPM has a big impact for street use. Jay's heads are no slouch in that department either.

With that said I was at a performance expo today (noob with primitive knowledge) and could see the Edelbrock and TFS heads side by side. The ED combustion chamber is a more traditional quench band type whereas the TFS has a more modern look. Jay's are the most modern of all considering the repositioned intake port. The question comes down to the definition of notable. In all cases the pistons need to be a good match for the heads with the cam being right for the application. I'm thinking TFS and Jay's heads will be in a dog fight for the medium power crowd (me?) but the Edelbrocks get left behind. MAX power will be owned by Jay's heads because of the design as well as the matching uncompromising intake options.

Port work changes everything however.

Thanks for the chassis advice. I want to believe that I'd never sell the Cougar. With that in mind I'll do some changes but just keep it classy. Are the composite leaf springs trustworthy for the type of torque that a FE can deliver? Significant weight savings but I haven't found much application specifics yet. I have seen a plate that gets welded behind the rear seat. Looks to beef up the cross brace between the C pillars. Any opinion or consensus about it? Like welded frame connectors it would be mostly out of sight but not interested in adding dead weight.

Glad someone asked about headers. From reading I assumed the Mustang/Mercury options would still be applicable once the new variant of the heads was made official.