Variety of build questions

[blykins]

15 lb-ft sounds pretty low for a 3/8" sized bolt going into a helicoil, and is in-line for a SBF intake bolt torque, which is a 5/16" fastener.  If any bolt on an FE should be tight, it should be the intake bolts.....

Joe's right on the spark plugs.  If you buy the Autolite race plugs (AR numbers), they should be coated.

[My427stang]

I agree with Brent

25 lbs for the intake, same as Ford spec with an alum intake.  Iron is higher.  My hunch is 15 will let the gasket move

15 for the spark plugs sounds good, but I am not sure I have ever torqued one.  Paulie gave you a good description of the feel, although of course that won't work with stock Ford heads and a tapered seat if other guys try it  

Also, I use anti-seize on all bolts (or spark plugs) that go into aluminum, leftover from the old days with Chrysler K-cars and the Mitsu engine, you needed an impact wrench to get them out if you didn't.  Don't go crazy though, barely enough is enough and keep it above the strap, too much is easy to get everywhere, a little dab on your finger wiped into the threads is all you need

I can't imagine that a single carb would cause an issue for break in, especially with the the front carb being backwards, the front carb's primaries aren't far off of a 2 barrel carb location. 

HOWEVER, I think it's worrying about nothing.  Slap them on, adjust them the way they are supposed to be and go for it.  There shouldn't be any reason that you'll have a benefit with the nice parts you have.  Unless the rear carb has a stuck float that bathes it, it's really only running on one other than a little idle circuit fuel anyway. 

[blykins]

I think he was asking because he doesn't have the carb pair yet, he just has a single carb available to him for break-in.

[Barry_R]

On the OE style carbs I experience is similar to that of Mr. Smith (or his is similar to mine - we ran one of his engines here and jetted the 2x4 setup).  Seems closer to the 500HP range you are the better they feel - wilder engines are further from happy.  They tend to range from rich to really rich, and be non-linear in response to jet changes, you get "what you want" at one end of the curve and only make it to "what you need" at the other.  They want some bleed work, but changing bleeds is pretty tedious while on dyno since they are press in, and usually you get close enough to be OK with the simple jetting outcome.

The QFT stuff seems to deliver with a slightly fat but smoother curve, and are more linear and predictable in response to changes.  You can throw some jet changes at them and they remain smooth throughout the RPM range.  If you choose to shuffle bleeds they react predictably.  I also preferred the cosmetics of the older stuff we had made from Holley parts but a bit of a sibling rivalry makes them no longer available.  The newer ones look a little different, have a few added features, and work very well.

You can run one carb, but I don't really know why to...

I am in the habit of putting a tiny amount of nickel anti-seize on the threads of every spark plug.  Just one getting stuck will screw up your entire afternoon.  Especially in an engine bay where you can't even see the darn things and you have to remove them by braille.  Tighten until you can feel the gasket crush a bit.  After running you'll probably find them feeling loose, especially on aluminum head motors.  Snug then up, but a gentle touch - no muscle exhibitions - you are going to want to remove them someday...and its amazing how tight stuff feels when you have a shock tower and valve covers in the way.  Ross is spot on with the taper plug comment.

I don't torque the intake bolts anymore - can't even get anything other than a hand wrench on some of them anyways.  But I am certain that we are tighter than 15.  Probably closer to 25-30.  Put a wrench on them after running for a while and you'll find they all are asking for an extra little snugging as things settle in.

[blykins]

Usually a closed-end wrench on intake bolts here too.   Maybe a torque wrench on the end bolts that you can reach easily.

[Drew Pojedinec]

I think he was asking because he doesn't have the carb pair yet, he just has a single carb available to him for break-in.

Pretty much that.  Entire engine will be done a month before carbs are available.  I am leaving to go to work at an LNG terminal here in a few days, and will be gone most likely until the end of April.
When I get back I figured on pulling the 429 out, test fitting a C4AE engine block with junk heads and headers to see how everything fits and adjust as needed.  Figured it would totally kill me if I have the engine fully assembled and installed and lack the carbs....  would make it hard to go back to work and wait another month

Intake bolts will be snugged up a dozen time as I used BT intake gaskets.  I really like the material they are made out of.  At work we use this material and call them "clay gaskets." 
They stand up really well to engine parts that shift when hot/cold, but being so hard they often require several bolt checks after a few hot/cold cycles.

Either way, thanks for the input one and all.

[427LX]

You could use the multi adjustable primary metering blocks with the older carbs and tune the emulsion bleeds to get a better fuel curve. Why they anodize those blocks red instead of the Holley gold I don't know? Maybe "resale red" sells better!
I have a pair of those and may use them later on my dual 600 setup after I get my WOT  A/F where I want it.
On my,yes it's different, 427W  I'm getting a nice 13.9-14.5 range with 67 primary jets along with the stock 1850 Idle Feed jet but with .070 Idle Air Bleeds for my idle and cruise setup. Changed to a 8.5 PV to get a 12.9 during heavy throttle without secondary kick in.  On my  setup with 300+cfm heads at my .600 lift the 1850's were lean  as setup to stock specs.
I machined all main body sealing surfaces flat to prevent any issues with good gasket seal.
Enjoy talking carb setup with you FE guys cause this is where the knowledge of a dual quad setup is!

[plovett]

  Paulie gave you a good description of the feel, although of course that won't work with stock Ford heads and a tapered seat if other guys try it  

Thanks for clarifying.  I saw the heads were BBM.  As usual, I use too few words.   

paulie

[Qikbbstang]

Brent quote:  "I have customers who try to bolt an oil pan on with two oil pan gaskets and a windage tray, and ask me for a torque spec....good way to find a leak. "


What's torqueing a double-gasket & windage tray sandwich to 9-11ft lbs. (from FoMoCo shop manual)  have to do with finding a leak?
 

[blykins]

Because you'll have one and it will be easy to find.

What does your Fomoco shop manual say about putting an Aviaid pan on a Pond aluminum block?