I'm in Indy this weekend on the second time out with the new 482 TFS engine. Haven't done as much testing as I want yet but I can say this engine shows signs of dropping off as the timing approaches 30 degrees BTDC...best pass at Norwalk was at 25 advance and I was intentionally trying to slow it down....

Really challenging my thinking here...the 428 with Edelbrock heads and10:1 comp wanted 38 adv.

Is it right to think this combination my legitimately run best around in the mid 20's for total timing?

Its 12.15:1 comp, .040" quench, TFS heads.

I installed my TFS heads and Comp Ultra Gold rockers without modification.  I checked the contact of the roller to the valve stem through the entire range of motion and all looked well.  I did end up running a valve cover spacer to get rocker arm clearance, but I'm also running stock chrome Powered By Ford valve covers as well.

Granted, I'm not running a ton of lift, but should I be looking at something else?

Thank you. I'm in central Indiana.

I have several 390 blocks. It seems like the combination I have is going to be good for north of 550hp and upwards of 7000 RPM. Any factory block is going to need a lot of work to live there. Wondering if it's just time to make the jump to an aftermarket block?

If I do opt to spend that money on a factory block, is it worth it to be limited to the performance capability of a 445?

Lol...no, after more research on blocks and horsepower limitations, I've talked myself into a Pro Gram crossbolt conversion.

In the first eight years that we ran the car, we ran in all weather conditions at lots of different tracks around the Midwest. It had at one point ran a best ever 10.90 at 120 miles per hour. But that was at a race weight of 3200 lb with me in it and7the best air we'd ever run in. After adding some ballast to get consistent 60-foot times in the high 1.4 range, the car was consistent at low 11 second ET's. The weather at Norwalk for the 50th anniversary of the Cobra Jet was an adjusted gross altitude of around 2,000 feet. No significant tail wind to speak of. So it was at least a reasonable comparison to the way the car ran in the early years. 60 ft times with the TFS setup were also 1.44-1.46. It's a purpose built class car, open headers, electric water pump, and last passes were at a race weight of 3,400 lbs. Lot's of pictures of the car and the build on Instagram @ keisers_garage

Hey guys, been out of the game for a long time (raising kids, work commitments, etc.)  Threw a Hail Mary back in August and decided to pull my 428 off the stand after more than 10 years and put it back in the Mustang for the Cobra Jet reunion at the NMCA race in Norwalk.

This is a long story....

My dad and I put this engine together back in 2000 on a young man's budget.  428 'A' block, stock 1U crank, C6AE-B rods, TRW forged stock replacement pistons.  Block was bored .030", rotating assembly balanced, ARP bolts throughout.  At that time, I put on a set of Edelbrock Performer RPM heads and intake, pretty much out of the box (maybe a gasket match).  Cam was/is a Comp solid, flat tappet, 242/252 @ .050 and .564/.590 lift, "shell" lifters and Harland Sharp rockers.

We managed to get the car (68 Mustang fastback) to run consistent 11. teens @ 118 mph with a JPT C4 trans and converter, 4.56 gear/29" tire. I ran the car quite a bit up until 2008 when I made a tough decision to sell it.  I did however keep the drive train.

Fast forward to 2016 when I was fortunate to be able to buy the car back.  It returned to me with a 410 CI small block, Joel's on Joy C4, 4.10 gears and Mickey Thompson ET Radial Pro tires (28-ish dia).  I ran this combination in NMCA Nostalgia Muscle car on the 10.50 index for 4 races in 2016 and just once in 2017.

So back to the 428...
I robbed the heads and rockers off this engine years ago and the intake was sold along the way, but the short block stayed together under cover in the shop.   Back in August, I simply cleaned it up, put on a set of the new Trick Flow heads and Intake, Comp Ultra Gold rockers, and back in it went with the original JPT trans and converter.  This time I stayed with the 4.10's and radial tires.  Then off to the reunion! 

This thing SHOCKED me and ran 4 consecutive passes between 10.50 and 10.54 @ 126+ mph.  That's 5 tenths and 8 mph faster, 18 years later with the new heads and intake (the car is also about 200 lbs heavier than it was back then).  On my way up for R2 qualifying the oil pressure started to go away.  Cutting the oil filter apart we found the oil had lot's of "glitter" but no major debris.  We winched it in the trailer and enjoyed the rest of the weekend as spectators.

I will assume for now that it has spun a bearing but will tear it down after Christmas to confirm.  So I'm contemplating where to go from here.  The combination as-is seems to be magic.  I just want to get it back together and reliable so we can get back to racing.  However, based on the weight of the car (3400 lbs), ET, & mph I'm figuring the engine was making around 530-550 hp.  I'm not comfortable at that level with the stock rods and pistons.

So to my FE friends I say, where to go from here?  From what I've seen, a decent set of rods and pistons is going to be in the neighborhood of $1,500...plus balancing, rings, bearings, etc. would get me up to about $1,950.  I've seen complete rotating assemblies ranging from $1,700 to $2,300.  I'm figuring the $$ for the rest of the machining is going to be the same either way. If I went the stroker route with a 4.25 stroke, flat top piston...compression is going to jump from 10.6 ish to 11.8 and displacement increase to 462.  I would think it's going to be hard NOT to make considerably more horsepower.  If it's legitimately making 550-ish HP now, even if I leave the small cam in it, the jump in compression and CU IN  would surely push it up to 600 or more I would think? As crazy as it sounds, I'm really not sure I want to do that...?

It's easy to get sucked in to going for more, but is it worth it in this case?  Will the extra power from the stroker setup end up costing me alot more in the long run? I'm thinking I'd at least have to have a different flexplate (internal balance vs. external), re-stalled or new converter, gears, etc. And will the block survive there??

But is the stock crank and block even safe for the 550 HP it's making now?  And did I mention the combination as is was netting 7000 RPM through the lights...

I don't have as much solid roller experience as the other guys here, but I think you are a little light on spring pressure.

Mathematically, you started out at 240 installed / 568 open, certainly in the ballpark but seems like you are having control problems
With your keeper change, you should be at 247/576, not enough to make a difference IMHO, and the dyno showed it
You still have room for shims, at 1.36 (lash subtracted) open, you could go as much as .040 in shim, with .035 under there you'd end up at around 265 closed / 594 open, which seems like it would help keep the roller on the cam at high RPM.

Did you ever check the springs and see what they really were?

The other question is, do you redyno it?   Can't beg the buddy for one more set of pulls?  Maybe a case of beer and a nap first and he'll get remotivated.  Needless to say, if adding 30 lbs on the nose doesn't help, it probably is something else

We didn't actually change the locks.  Once we saw it only yielded .015" on the installed height, he said it was a waist of time and it turned into an argument.  Hate to say this, but I'm fighting a losing battle with my "buddy".  He's done machine work for me for years but he's 68 now, grumpy about everything, he's only ever worked on GM stuff, and wants to retire but can't.  I'm still a dumb kid (even though I'm 40 now) and he's not interested in messing with my stuff anymore.  He made it clear that he's only doing this dyno work as a personal favor...even though I'm a paying customer