452 SOHC upgrades

[ToddK]

While my 452 SOHC engine in my ‘63 Galaxie had been running good since I had the carb sorted out, I just can’t leave some things alone. With the single 4 dual plane Ford intake manifold and a 850dp carb, it made 427hp at the rear wheels on the chassis dyno. Here’s a pic of the car on the dyno, and the power chart.





But I have always preferred 2x4 intakes on FE’s, and wanted to do that upgrade on this engine. I was lucky to pick up a Dove tunnel wedge SOHC manifold (thanks Jay!). And for carbs, I bought a pair of custom 780vs Holleys that Drew worked his magic on. And while the Ford magnesium valve covers are rare and light, and look good when polished, they do tarnish quickly, plus I prefer they later style valve covers. I bought a pair of repro valve covers from Brent L. So the last few days I have been doing the change over. I still need to sort out the accelerator rod, and it should then be ready to fire up. But so far, I’m happy with the new look.

[Gregwill16]

Very nice!

[Stangman]

That looks sick Todd. Yes duel quads look great dont they. Its all business in that engine compartment.

[turbohunter]

Beautiful Todd. Congrats.

[Stangman]

Is this the same car that the 406 was in or do you have 2 of these.

[ToddK]

Is this the same car that the 406 was in or do you have 2 of these.

Same car. It was originally a Z code, I did the upgrade to 406. I pulled the 406 and sold it, and was going to put a stroked 427 wedge in there before I stumbled upon the cammer for sale locally.

[BruceS]

The whole package is first-rate Todd!  Pls be sure and post the dyno nos. with the 8V setup.

[machoneman]

Very nice looking and great dyno results. It's a stick car, correct?

But.....can you post a pic of your mag covers for us to see? Been a long time and I forget how they looked compared to the ones now on the engine.

[gdaddy01]

that is just dreams for me , very nice .

[jayb]

Looks great Todd, you will pick up a whole bunch of power with the 2X4 setup.  A single four barrel on an SOHC is really restrictive.

[Stangman]

Todd was the horsepower 553 on dyno and 427 on drive on dyno?. Thats a big HP drop.

[Drew Pojedinec]

Looks great Todd, you will pick up a whole bunch of power with the 2X4 setup

Dual 780cfm carbs certainly will provide enough headed into the intake

[ToddK]

Todd was the horsepower 553 on dyno and 427 on drive on dyno?. Thats a big HP drop.

Yes it is, but it’s not a direct comparison. On the engine dyno, it was running open headers, no alternator and a different carb. So if you factor in the estimated 20% power loss through the drivetrain when going from engine dyno to chassis dyno, the expected figure would be 440hp at the wheel. Add in the full exhaust, air cleaner, alternator and the 427hp figure becomes more reasonable. Plus, I wasn’t chasing glory numbers, I just wanted a good, driveable engine.

The interesting comparison will be the chassis dyno figures with the 8V induction, to see just how much the 4V was choking the engine.

[ToddK]

Very nice looking and great dyno results. It's a stick car, correct?

But.....can you post a pic of your mag covers for us to see? Been a long time and I forget how they looked compared to the ones now on the engine.

Yes, it’s running a wide ratio Toploader.

I don’t have any close up pics of the valve covers available at the moment, I’m away from home with work. I’ll get some when I get back home.

[machoneman]

Very nice looking and great dyno results. It's a stick car, correct?

But.....can you post a pic of your mag covers for us to see? Been a long time and I forget how they looked compared to the ones now on the engine.

Yes, it’s running a wide ratio Toploader.

I don’t have any close up pics of the valve covers available at the moment, I’m away from home with work. I’ll get some when I get back home.

Great!