cylinder wall thickness

[fryedaddy]

i have a 66 428,its a c6me 7 liter block.i took it to the machine shop to get it checked out.the crank didnt need turning it was still well within spec,and the blocks bore was fine too.i was going to get it bored 30 over anyway just to clean it up.i heard the 66-c6me block has .110 thicker walls than a regular 428 or cobra-jet block.if this is the case can i have it bored to 4.25 and make a 427 out of it,or a 427 based stroker?

[thatdarncat]

I have never heard of the C6ME, or any 428 block having significantly thicker cylinder walls than any other 428 block. I have a couple C6ME 428 blocks and they have normal 428 cylinder walls. There are quite a few people on the FE Forums that have actual Ford engineering blueprints and I've never seen them post any information about thicker walls. In the "old" days it was common to just bore a block something like .030 over, pick some off the shelf pistons and be done with it, but these blocks are now 50 years old and getting pretty rare. Custom pistons are pretty easy to get now and often not much different in price, and off the shelf 428 pistons aren't as common as they used to be. My advice to anyone with a 428 is to only bore it the minimum to clean it up, which may be much less than .030. You are only limited on there being an available ring package, and there seem to be almost unlimited selections of those. 7 Litre Galaxies are a collectable car and keeping the original block as intact as possible is a good idea. Now days if you are looking for more performance with your rebuild getting more cubic inches with a stroker crank is the way to go.

[fryedaddy]

are you sure yours aint a c6me-a out of a t-bird.i think it was in the steve christ book in the blocks section of the fe motors.he said that the best bar none 428 block is a c6me out of a 7 litre galaxie.he said they have .110 thicker walls than a c6me-a block my dad had 2, 7 litre galaxies and i got the engine out of his wrecked parts car.i may be wrong about the cylinder walls if the book lied,but im 100% sure i read it.

[thatdarncat]

The Steve Christ book is well known for having a lot of bad info, but in this case I just quickly looked in my copy of the book and I don't see anywhere where he says the C6ME 7 Litre 428 block has thicker cylinder walls than any other 428. The only way to know for sure what you have is to have it sonic tested.

[fryedaddy]

i just looked in the steve christ book.that book does not say anything,it must be a different book i have.i will find it and post it when i find the right book.i even think i have read about this in more than one book.we will find out soon,because i know i read it many times.i may not be a pro but i read alot and i know i read that the 66 c6me block is bar none the best factory fe block.i think it was a blue book that said how to build a fe ford on the cover.come on guys i know some of you had to read this.i used to have alot of fast mustang and fabulous ford mags.back in the 80s,i may have to dig them out because i read it in an article in one of them years ago.

[fastback 427]

If it was my standard bore 428, I would trust a hundred dollar sonic check more than an old magazine article or book. Get it checked and you'll find out how thick it really is. As Kevin said it's a rare valuable block, don't bore it more than you have too. Jmo.

[fryedaddy]

im not going to bore it out to 4.25,i was just wanting to know if it could be done,i know you cant bore a cj block to 4.25 but if what i read was true then maybe it could be done.i have been hooked on these fe motors like a drug addict for 40 years.i believe its true but i cant argue with everyone to try and prove it.maybe someone will verify it

[blykins]

You can pretty much bank on the fact that no block will go to a 427 bore, except for a 427.   I don't even like taking 390's to a 428 bore.  Been there, done that, ruined more blocks than accomplishing anything else.  Sonic tests are good but don't tell you everything...

If you want cubic inches, add a big stroke. 

[fryedaddy]

i know all about thin cylinder walls,ive had FEs with all 8 cylinders sleeved.i was sure someone has heard of the 7 litre galaxie having thicker walls.o well,unless someone backs me up on this,i will just try to forget it

[machoneman]

Nope, never heard or read of any 428 block being any thicker than another one. I also can't see Ford doing anything special to make any 428 walls thicker since this was a run-of-the-mill engine block not originally intended for performance use, unlike the 427 block which was.

[nhsohc]

Not trying to be a know-it-all but the 7 Litre car engines were not "special".  Most show a "Q" for the engine code which is no different than the T-Birds, Mercs, and the rest of the big Fords.  If anything, the CJ engines are a "better" block due to the slight casting changes made in '68 and up.  Basically, all original factory 428s should not be bored any more than necessary, and usually no more than .030".  But being Ford, you never know for sure.  If you want a 427 bore, get a 427 block.

[fryedaddy]

i dont think the 7 litre blocks are special but i do believe they had thicker walls. hey Jay,what do you think

[Joe-JDC]

The 428 block might have .110" thick walls at standard bore, but there are no factory 428 blocks that were capable of being bored that far over stock and still have enough material to run safely.  Most 428 blocks are marginal at .040", and some can go .060" over with sonic testing.  Some folks may fill the block with hard block, and then bore them that far, but they are depending on the hard block to keep them from splitting.  Joe-JDC.

[cjshaker]

If you find someone to back you up on the .110 thicker bores, then you'll just have 2 wrong people

If the bores were actually .110 thicker, that would be .220 added between 2 cylinders, and that isn't possible. Unfortunately, more often than not, what you read in print is simply not right. Jay and Barrys books are the exception to that.

[fryedaddy]

i think the article i read said the c6me-a is .110 thinner than the c6me is how it read it didnt say it was .110 thicker than the standard bore,it just said it was thicker than a c6me-a if i got someone to back me up it would be 3 wrong people not 2 what about the guy who wrote the story in the fabulous fords and exotic mustangs mag.