Has anyone run a Crower 284F or 278FDP in a 428 or bigger?

[My427stang]

No, it was a 390 that I built in the 90s before I joined the AF, with about 10K on it, sat for 14+ years.  When I built that motor it got a new 270H cam

Rebuilt as a 445 this year, ran great as a 390 but I restored the truck and wanted a stroker, clean as a whistle inside, with the same cam and lifters reused in the same block / same lobes.  Wear pattern wouldn't have changed  because everything is literally in the same place in the same block and BTW I looked close at every piece.  Only significant difference is an increase in spring pressure.

Hard miles back then, can't really say that, some spirited shifting at time, used to keep it under 5500 but wasn't afraid to rev it there on the way home at night.  But very nicely maintained and only 10K at the most on the engine.  I was still pulling wrenches for a living to pay for college, so I needed the truck as a work truck, so rough is relative, but as the springs got tired, there was valve float at the end, so who knows, it could have given a lifter a good whack and without magnafluxing I couldn't see it

So not 25 yr old redneck rough, more like 25 year old mechanic rough LOL

We are just bench racing, no problem to solve, but I thought you guys would be interested in a unique failure.  Could easily be just a single bad lifter, every other one looked like a new cam

Note that it did NOT eat the cam, or even that lifter, there is no wiping on the lobe or the lifter base, I am confident that I could rerun this cam with a new lifter if I wanted to.   I measured both lift and taper and its not measurable from lobe to lobe, but not worth it, the 445 will like the additional lift and duration and its already apart,

[My427stang]

No, it was a 390 that I built in the 90s before I joined the AF, with about 10K on it, sat for 14+ years.  When I built that motor back then it got a new 270H cam

Rebuilt it as a 445 this year, it ran great as a 390 but I restored the truck and wanted a stroker, clean as a whistle inside, with the same cam and lifters reused in the same block / same lobes.  Wear pattern wouldn't have changed  because everything is literally in the same place in the same block and BTW I looked close at every piece.  Only significant difference is an increase in spring pressure.

Hard miles back then,? I can't really say that as if it was a drag car or a crazy idiot kind of young guy, some spirited shifting at time, used to keep it under 5500 but wasn't afraid to rev it there on the way home at night. 

The difference is, I was a mechanic from a family of mechanics and it was very nicely maintained and only 10K at the most on the engine.  I was still pulling wrenches for a living to pay for college, so I needed the truck as a work truck, and honestly the truck was a bit of an advertising piece as a restored hot rod truck back then, so rough is relative.

However, I did use stock GT springs in the build back then and as the springs got tired, there was valve float at the end, so who knows, it could have given a lifter a good whack and without magnafluxing I couldn't see it this time

So not 25 yr old redneck rough, more like 25 year old mechanic rough LOL

We are just bench racing, so no problem to solve, but I thought you guys would be interested in a unique failure.  Could easily be just a single bad lifter, every other one looked like a new cam

Note that it did NOT eat the cam, or even that lifter, there is no wiping on the lobe or even that lifter base, I am confident that I could rerun this cam with a new lifter if I wanted to.   I measured both lift and taper and its not measurable from lobe to lobe, but not worth it, the 445 will like the additional lift and duration and its already apart.

I am a solid flat tappet guy anyway, may as well get the truck to match the Mustang

[machoneman]

o.k. then. It's entirely possible you got lucky (!) and replacing that one bad lifter (bad heat treat on that one lifter is my best guess) could do the trick. 

[My427stang]

This truck has always been almost self-healing, it wouldn't surprise me.

However, the new cam and lifters will be a little better match.  I don't expect incredible gains, but should be pretty good.