I am putting the 410 back together after a coolant leak in the oil and top end rebuild (didn't touch the cam or lifters). It was never milk shaky, just snot in the valve covers and under the manifold. I will of course dump the old oil and filter then run it for a cycle and dump the oil and filter again. I normally run brad penn, but don't see the need to spend the $$ and time (local dealer is a ways away and keeps limited hours) for a run and dump like this. What are folks using these days, non synthetic, for solid lifter motors? I know Valvoline VR1 used to be popular, so was Rotella (don't remember which flavor). Are these still good candidates for high ZDPP? What other affordable options are out there for this purpose? Thanks

I came across this article from EPWI, see attached. It was given to me by a friend. It was just a standalone magazine for just this build, kind of a interesting way to promote your product. Like any magazine article it has misinformation, but it is not bad overall. Its a bit thin on details over the heads and camshaft, but the numbers are impressive for a 431. I do wonder if these were standard RPM heads or pro-ports. Either way not a cookie cutter recipe for getting 555hp out of a 390. :-) I do find it interesting as well that they choose a 4.125 crank over the more popular 4.25. I wonder if they have a surplus of those cranks to sell. :-)

I am looking at a crank with this casting number and all my books show this as a plain jane 390 crank yet this one has the full groove and is in a 63 center oiler 427. Is this really a 427 crank or is it just a 390 crank someone tossed in during a rebuild? Thanks

I posted this up on the other forum but didn't get much so I was looking for some more input. I should have a new rocker coming to replace that worn out one. Thanks

http://www.network54.com/Forum/74182/thread/1463330220/last-1463368041/View+Thread

I am using Barry's book to mock up my intake. I had a coolant leak so I pulled the intake and wanted to finish port matching the intake and figured now was a good time to check proper fitment according to Barry's book.

First question is in the book it tells to check the china wall gap and then level the intake using a stack of feeler gauges. To me this means left to right but I was unsure if that was suppose to be front to back as well. I took the larger measurement at the front and made two stacks of feeler gauges and leveled the front. I then repeated the rear using the larger measurement at the rear. So I used two stacks of .105" at the front and .115" at the rear. Is this the correct way to do this or should I have used .115" at the front and rear at all four corners?

Assuming this was the correct way to do this here is what I came up with.



Certainly not happy with this intake, a used Edelbrock RPM that previous owner claimed was uncut but now I am not so sure. My heads, C1AE's, were cut to reduce chamber cc's down to 68cc's. Shop also cut the intake to compensate for this to avoid cutting the intake. Problem is when this was done I did the reassembly and did not check intake fitment like this. In fact I was dumb enough to port match the intake using intake gaskets as a template and not the method that Barry prescribes in his book.

Here you can see how far off the tops of the ports are, as well as some other pictures of fitment problems I see. I am wondering at this point if this intake can be saved or if it is better off selling to someone with uncut heads and bigger ports. Your thoughts? Am I going to have to run two intake gaskets stacked to get this manifold back up into position after the necessary cuts?












<img src="http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp286/westcoastgalaxie/IMG_1338.jpg" alt="[linked image]">

Also while I ran it this way for 8 years no leaks the mismatch on this tube really concerns me too. Do different makes/vintages of water pumps have different heights on this tube?

I have a complete set of 77-79 Tbird front disc brakes with spindles. I was going to use them on my 62 galaxie to switch over from drums. I changed my mind and went Wilwood, I wanted 4 wheel disc.

These are complete but I pulled them from a wrecking yard and they would need gone through. I am in the Denver area and would prefer to sell local only as they are heavy! But if you are willing to pay shipping I could see what it would take. $50 obo. rdmobile427 at gmail

 I have a load of scrap I need to take to the crusher this Saturday Nov. 21st, and I am prepping for a move. I do not want to haul these things to the next place. So I may scrap them if I have no takers.

Well they are never done but this phase is done. Just completed with shakedown run this last weekend. Here is short write up  . I will be posting more as the weeks come, in particular I plan on giving a lot of vendor feedback.

Switched over to 4 wheel manual disc brakes from wilwood (4 piston calipers) using a corvette (i know) master cylinder, front suspension 25% stiffer springs lowered an inch (or so they say seems way lower than I planned), 1" front sway bar from quickor, Blisten shocks from RCD, 20% stiffer 5 leaf rear springs lowered 2" but left out rubber isolators so it is really 1 1/2" lower, 7/8" rear sway bar from quickor, all new brake lines and 3/8" fuel line using that copper nickle stuff (freaking awesome stuff), modded stock brake pedal to increase leverage, rims are 17x8 Boss 338 (american made), and tires are continental extreme contact DW 225 50 17's in front and 255 45 17's out back. Oh yeah and 30 mm eibach wheel spacers (adapters) for the front. Spacers bolt to hub and wheels bolt to spacers/adapters. Oh yeah and also had steering box rebuilt.

Impressions so far are this thing flat out handles!! Feels like a completely different car coming from stock. Almost no body roll, firm ride but not too firm. It takes bumps and cracks very well. Still comfortable to ride long distance (I think) but still carves the corners. Tires just flat grip, toss it in a corner and it just responds. I know the box helped but the tires make a world of difference.

As for the brakes I am still sorting that out. I have never had manual brakes so I guess I dont know what to expect. The pedal travels a lot further than I expected before the brakes engage. But once engaged they stop well. Can't lock them up, that or I havent stomped hard enough (still braking things in). So I may have some tweaking to do there, but still really happy with the brakes. So much better than before.

Nice to have a car that finally handles and brakes as well as it hauls ass!!