Advice for running a 671 on an FE Motor

[RustyNCA]

So, we have a Mercury 410 motor and a few 390s from 65 TBirds. 

I am supposed to be getting a Weiand 671 with FE intake and dual carb hat.  At this point I don't know which FE intake it is, or which generation of 671 either, but I would like to start gathering information if it does happen. 

I believe the 410 is the best motor to build for this, and we should go with forged pistons, but beyond that I am outside my knowledge base.

A local motor builder I know tells me we will have to run alum heads or we will have lots of detonation problems.  Is this true?

Also what cam would work well. 

We also have a 6x2 top for the Weiand, so we might decide to try and run it with the six Strombergs I have, or the Holley 94s.

Thanks for any help you guys can give me.

Cheers
Bryan

[thatdarncat]

Others on the forum hopefully can give you some blower advice. I will just say, there is no difference between the blocks on a 410 and the 390's. Same 4.05 bore. There may turn out to be minor differences, like the main webbing ( 3 finger or 2 finger ). The only thing that makes a 410 is the longer stroke crank and matching pistons. You're best course of action is inspect all the motors and do a sonic check on the cylinder walls and pick the best block from there. Just my opinion, I'd lean toward the 2 holleys. 6 small carbs just complicates getting it to run right, especially after a rebuild, with a new cam to break in, etc.

[KMcCullah]

Welcome Rusty! I know absolutely zero about blower motors. But an FE with a blower and 6 carbs on top would look pretty damn cool. 

[shady]

did anybody see the episode of Street Outlaws with the blown 64 gal in the background? floats my boat.

[RustyNCA]

One of the things I am really interested in hearing is if the requirement to run aluminum heads is correct? 

By the way, the plan is to run this motor in my 58 TBird in front of a C6.  So I also need to decide what stall I should be running.

[fastback 427]

I do not know why you would have to run aluminum heads. Lots of blower motors use cast iron heads. I would use a low compression blower piston. Also cleaning up the chamber with a cartridge roll will help with detonation. I have heard that getting accessories like alternators water pump etc. On a fe blower motor can be difficult. Dyers blowers might have what you need.

[jayb]

did anybody see the episode of Street Outlaws with the blown 64 gal in the background? floats my boat.

I did see that!  I wonder whose car it is.  The guys on that show rose greatly in my opinion when I saw that 64 Gal in the background...

[jayb]

One of the things I am really interested in hearing is if the requirement to run aluminum heads is correct? 

By the way, the plan is to run this motor in my 58 TBird in front of a C6.  So I also need to decide what stall I should be running.

I don't think you need to run aluminum heads either; cast iron heads should be just fine.  For sure you will need forged pistons, and run your compression down to 8.5:1 or so.  I know that in some cases the blowers + intake manifold will not allow a stock distributor to clear, so make sure you check for that; you may need to run an offset or front-mount distributor.

[cjshaker]

Or he can use a shortened distributor and a crank trigger.
There's a few guys on the forum running blowers with factory heads. Iron is fine.

[machoneman]

One of the things I am really interested in hearing is if the requirement to run aluminum heads is correct? 

By the way, the plan is to run this motor in my 58 TBird in front of a C6.  So I also need to decide what stall I should be running.

Nope as stated above, no need to run aluminum heads. In fact. most 6 and 8-71 equipped street driven cars around Chi-Town use OEM iron heads. Think: lots of 392's, 426's, BBC's and some SBC's. Few Fords have a blower but these are usually SBF's or BBF's (429-460) again with iron heads. BDS (Blower Drive Service) and Dyer's Blowers have a ton of relevant data on their websites. 

[RustyNCA]

I don't think you need to run aluminum heads either; cast iron heads should be just fine.  For sure you will need forged pistons, and run your compression down to 8.5:1 or so.  I know that in some cases the blowers + intake manifold will not allow a stock distributor to clear, so make sure you check for that; you may need to run an offset or front-mount distributor.

Well, I was looking at the Mallory crab cap distributor to run up front? 

[RustyNCA]

One of the things I am really interested in hearing is if the requirement to run aluminum heads is correct? 

By the way, the plan is to run this motor in my 58 TBird in front of a C6.  So I also need to decide what stall I should be running.

Nope as stated above, no need to run aluminum heads. In fact. most 6 and 8-71 equipped street driven cars around Chi-Town use OEM iron heads. Think: lots of 392's, 426's, BBC's and some SBC's. Few Fords have a blower but these are usually SBF's or BBF's (429-460) again with iron heads. BDS (Blower Drive Service) and Dyer's Blowers have a ton of relevant data on their websites.

Well, that would be good news, this guy, who is one of the better performance engine builders around here was swearing if we didn't run aluminum heads we have all kinds of pre ignition problems.  He was saying that was an issue with the 410 and 428, but not the 390, which frankly made no sense to me why if he is correct it would only effect those.

[cjshaker]

He was saying that was an issue with the 410 and 428, but not the 390, which frankly made no sense to me why if he is correct it would only effect those.

I don't know the guy, and I'm not trying to "sully" his reputation, but with comments like that I'd begin to question his knowledge on building an FE at least. While it's true that most aluminum heads can tolerate a LITTLE more compression, mostly due to more modern combustion chamber designs, what does he think guys ran for 30 years before aluminum heads started to show up on the market? Or in the case of FEs, 40+ years. Like any performance engine, it just comes down to the details, careful choice of parts like piston/cam/timing combination.

Either way, it sounds like you have a cool opportunity to gain some not-so-easy to come by FE parts. I don't think the crab cap will work on its own unless the blower is spaced up or it is a unique high rise intake design. Hopefully Faron or Larry will jump in here and say for sure. They have iron headed blown FEs.

[Faron]

Lots of good info , and some speculation , 671 on My car since 1987 PM me if you have any questions glad to Help

[RustyNCA]

Lots of good info , and some speculation , 671 on My car since 1987 PM me if you have any questions glad to Help

Sorry, I tried to pm you, I can't seem to get by the verification deal.....

Just looking at your photos of the Mustang with the blower.  What did you end up using for a distributor?  Is the Mallory crab cap not the solution then? I can't tell from the photo what you are running.

Thanks
Bryan