Power level with iron heads

[jayb]

A Med Riser or a Tunnel Wedge with a couple of good looking 4V`s will give you the real 427 look.
And it will make it easier to get to 650 HP.

Gotta disagree on the power there, Howie.  The Victor + Dominator carb is easier to tune and is capable of just as much power on a 650 HP engine as the tunnel wedge/dual Holley combo.  Probably doesn't look as cool, though 

[Ean R]

Howie you almost had me there, started to get a big grin about 2 holley's but then Jay crushed my dreams!  For the simple fact that 2 carbies  frighten me as in trying to tune them or even to  get someone in Perth  to tune them for me is enough to go the Dominator route.
However will a dominator and vic fit under a scoop hood as in crites etc?
Plus dominators don't look too bad do they and it looks like FE's are a bit addictive so I'll run 2 holley's on the next one for a change!

[ScotiaFE]

I'm not going to debate full dyno pulls with Jay.
But a Tunnel Wedge and a couple of well tuned Holley's say like those ones Barry sells
are not hard to setup and will hold there own in the 600 plus range on the street.
If your trying to eek out every last once of power then sure a single big carb and the Victor will get you there
but your engine will see most of it's time in the 2000 to 5000 rpm range in a typical "street" Fairlane.
The Victor will need work to get the big numbers though.
A new one comes basically as a rough casting and is really not ready for use. The ports are very small and need
to be ported to the heads.
Keep in mind that the "Hollywood" numbers sound great, but at 2000 rpm they tend to be a tad fussy.
That's why most go to electric fuel management.

[Ean R]

I've thought seriously about the fast efi set up but, and this goes against logic, i have a brand new ss commodore. An Aussie 4 door chev really with a 6litre LS whatever ( wife's car). This car is very quick smooth and all the rest of it but is it just me or does a good v8 with a carby seem to get moving (rev up I guess) a lot quicker than a similar v8 with efi.
Also I'm new to the FE world but I've read Jay and Barry's books and I've spent hours on the net looking at fe's and very few seem to be pumping out 600 plus with efi unless it's a 8 stack sohc.
I've nothing against it though and it's an option but like Dean 427 says on a hp to $ ratio it doesn't seem to give anymore power for the extra $1000/$2000 it is likely to cost.
So I've got the new fuel injected v8 and now really want a big horsepower big cubed fe to roar around with.
2 holley's 1 dominator or efi don't really care but want to reach 650 ish and I want it to sound like it's got 650 if you know what I mean.

[ScotiaFE]

Well then put a couple of Domi's on a Tunnel what ever and a BIG stick in it.
Nothing less than flat tops at zero deck and a set of those super kool heads on the market today.
Your going to need some pipes on your Lane to get the number.
I recommend REF headers. Their in Arizona someplace.
You can use the big Hookers, but they have to be hammer fit into a Fairlane.
Pictures of the Lane?
Love the Lanes.

[jayb]

Ean, I got the Dominator to work with the factory shaker hood scoop on my Mach 1, so I think it will work under the Fairlane hood with the 427 style hood scoop.  Howie is correct about the Victor intake coming with small sized ports on the head side, but they are only small for the first 1" of the runner or so.  About two hours of porting work with a die grinder will get it all matched up to your heads; if you can't do that, a local shop ought to be able to handle that for you. 

On the 2X4 setups, regarding tuning the carbs, they work great out of the box on a 425-500 HP engine.  At the horsepower level you are talking about, you will need some significant jet changes, and also to tune the springs in the vacuum secondaries to get them to open properly. 

Either option is do-able, it all depends on what you want, and what you are willing to take on - Jay

[Ean R]

You did write a book about them mate so I think I'll follow your lead. 450 500 isn't what I'm chasing.
Simple is best for me so victor and big single with big cam, big stroke and worked over aftermarket heads and if it doesn't fit make the hood scoop bigger. 
The fairlane had hookers on which I swear have teeth.  I've bought a RRS shock tower notching kit which I hope  makes them a bit easier to wrestle on.
 I'll upload a few photos as soon as I work out how!

[BH107]

If you have an original Ford block that matches the rest of your parts then you likely don't have oiling to the lifters. That pretty much puts a big solid roller out of the picture for street use, as the lifters just won't last that many miles. Even with pressure fed oiling and a bushed roller I don't know if you would get anywhere near that many miles out of the engine without at least changing rollers and springs.

[jayb]

If you have an original Ford block that matches the rest of your parts then you likely don't have oiling to the lifters. That pretty much puts a big solid roller out of the picture for street use, as the lifters just won't last that many miles. Even with pressure fed oiling and a bushed roller I don't know if you would get anywhere near that many miles out of the engine without at least changing rollers and springs.

That's a good point; although I've gone over 10K miles with a big solid roller cam, lifters, and matching springs, I don't know if they'd go 40K miles.  Probably be a good idea to remove the lifters and have them refreshed at some interval. 

[Ean R]

Do I have to run a solid roller cam or can I go with a solid flat tappet?
I will be in touch with Blair Patrick this week and I'm pretty sure he is going to talk me into a set of edelbrock pro ports to go with 4.375 stroker and ported vic intake/dominator carb.
Happy to go with a solid cam if possible

[jayb]

You'd make more power with an equivalent solid roller, but you might be able to hit your goal with a flat tappet cam, especially with Blair's pro-ports.  He would know...

[My427stang]

The engine is going in a nice 66 fairlane , primarily to blast around on Sundays but will be driven probably most days. Longevity is of course a priority but if it lasts 40k miles with 600 odd hp and 60k with 500hp then I'd go for 600.

I'm new to this and flow charts and cam specs are alien to me. One thing though if the iron heads flow 306 @500 lift can you get 700 lift and if so will they flow a higher figure?

Ean,
I have been following this thread and the only concerns I have are the comments above from your earlier post.  First, I think you can get to 600 hp, iron or otherwise, but you'll end up doing it cheaper and easier with modern heads.

The concerns I have are with the 40K miles comment combined with the .700 lift comment.  There is an old saying, "fast, reliable or cheap, pick 2"

A big lift cam will work springs hard, in addition, a big lift cam and spinning an engine high will work all the parts hard.  Solid rollers, although improved dramatically in the last 10 years, aren't really made for 40-60K applications, heck in the early 2000s Comp said "75 quarter mile passes then rebuild".   The good news is that I do not think you need to go there for 650 hp.

40K miles is a lot, I run right around 600 hp level and elected to do it with a lot of head and intake work, but kept the cam mellow enough to make it very streetable.  I think I'll get as many miles out of the motor as I choose, but for the displacement of the engine, I am not making as much power as I could to allow drivability.  That was my going in choice, match the engine to the use as a street car.

I think some time spent on where you want this engine to perform in terms of RPM and how you will cruise with it (parade and/or coffee cup in hand, or hammering it when you take it out), will allow a real strong engine to emerge.  My hunch is that it needs to be less than a solid roller screamer. 

I'll add that I think your numbers can be hit with a nice deep breathing stroker, hyd roller (if your block is drilled), and nothing all that fancy for intake or carburetion.  Remember, Blair hit mid 500s with a relatively mild pair of 445s, add 50 cubes, more head, and more cam (if it matches your desired end use) and you'd have a very reliable 600+ horse

Your current cam may be usable, but likely it will hold you back.  If we can figure out all the specs for it we can advise better, but odds are, if its old, it'd be a compromise.

[bn69stang]

REF headers  , here s the number  1-928-692-0111 , Blairs pro ports would be an awsome choice , and with the cubes and being a street car  600  streetable hp should be very doable .. Bud

[ToddK]

Ean, give me a call and I can take you for a run in my 406 stroker powered Galaxie. It makes around 550hp and it is way more power than can be sensibly used on the street. And I run a flat tappet cam and a tripower, so if I swapped to a victor or 8V, it would be a 600hp combo.

[66FAIRLANE]

Ean, give me a call and I can take you for a run in my 406 stroker powered Galaxie.

Sheeeet!! Can I come too?