A quick little note regarding the discussion of aftermarket heads and who’s are better etc.  I bet not to many know the current B/S record holder is a ‘70 Ford Mustang 428 equipped with factory iron cobra jet heads. Stock does not allow porting of the heads and in B/S his car weighs 3290lb. Car ran a 10.08 @ 131.

Made some changes in the off season to get ready for 2026. I changed the Calvert rear springs (just the back half) to the +1 1/2” ride height to get some Hoosier 30” radials in without cutting the fenders. I also pulled the rear end and replaced the collapsed spring perches with new heavy duty ones fully boxed in. Since I was having timing light issues with multiple marks (I think from MSD unit) I locked out the distributor which gave me a single steady mark for setting my timing. I also tried a PCV valve to cure the oil seepage around the distributor seal and dipstick tube.
The PCV was set up from the back of the manifold to a 4hole under carb spacer, it seemed to run okay when I fired up the car but it only lasted 1 run before it became a big vacuum leak (stuck?) and the car wouldn’t run right.
I threw away a couple of practice runs learning how to do a burnout on new radials and dealing with the PCV problem. I pulled the PCV off and went back to the open spacer I had been using. First round of eliminations with no real data I dialed it soft at 10.30. My reaction times had been pretty good on the radials and I had a .010 light, caught the other car and took a little too much stripe breaking out with a 10.297 at only 119mph.
Next race planned is Las Vegas double divisional in April.

C9zx, I’m using 7/16 Manton pushrods which fit after a little clearancing. I marked the push rods with blue dye and rotated the engine over to find any interference, then opened the passages for clearance. The push rods were fine at lift but rubbed when on the cam base. The dye left tell tale marks in the intake and on the push rods which made it easy to know where to adjust. Different heads and rockers will have more or less interference and it’s a good idea to check during assembly.

No, I had them under a “powered by ford” chrome cover. However with all the different valve covers available you should double check to make sure.

I like Blair’s idea, if you really want to play with them get a good 427 or aftermarket block and add a big bore to the package. Most people who look at FE engine compartments don’t have an idea what it is or how original it is. Just paint it all Ford blue 😁

NHRA version - #60058 with CJ valves

FWIW - installation of pan rail studs help align the gaskets and tray.

+1, Mine would be an awful mess trying to line up bolt holes. I use 3 gaskets at a time, Milodon pan, windage tray and crank scraper and it gets the oil further from the rotating assembly LOL.