I would grind the 428 crank and leave everything else as it is. I don't know what cam you have, but just pull the engine and use your cam and lifters unless the break in went bad, you will see because there will be metal shavings all over.If it did go bad put another very close to a stock '69 390 2V car cam , (Ken Heard can whip you one up and get you some properly reconditioned older lifters, the old stuff is better than the new, they are junk, the old ones are better metal, I recommend Ken at Oregon Cams for his knowledge of the FE and he won't sell you anything you don't need) he has very good regrinds on the shelf and good lifters already broke in, but I believe he can break them in for you) pull the pistons and rods keeping everything in order including where the top ring gap was with a sharpie. Change your bearings if needed, if they are the same size leave them in there, clean , clean , and clean, did I say clean? The crank and bearings cannot be clean enough and swap the crank in, Be sure to center the thrust bearing of course as you are torquing it according to the Ford Shop Manual. Put in a new rear main seal also, ask around here for the best practice on that you can plug your oil return if you are not careful, go easy with the silicone. Put your rods and pistons back in exactly as they were, including the ring gaps, some rotate, but the top and 2nd ring gap should be 180 degrees apart, and if they rotate, they should rotate pretty much together replace your oil pump gasket, and if you feel comfortable reuse the pump and the rod, if not replace it. A bad cam break in needs a new pump. Reseal the pan and put it back in the truck. Even if you have a stock cam and intake, 416 ci is always good. It will be a gorilla pulling with the small cam. If you can still see hone marks, and it is within specs for taper put it back together without boring or honing as long as it wasn't using oil, which if it really is rebuilt it should be fine in that regard. Have the valves ground and put in hardened exhaust seats in a set of C8AE-Hs, they are the best truck head around among stock ones and get a set of truck headers made for the late head. Also, put Viton valve seals on the intakes andumbrellas on the exhaust. It might use a little oil between changes, but it cools the valves and guides, this is very important on the exhaust. Put an 1850 Holley on or just keep the Edelbrock and get the distributor curved to where you can get about 12 initial and 36 total with the vacuum advance plugged. Use a ported vacuum advance an adjustable one that has an allen screw in the cannister and adjust it until you have no ping flooring it at low rpm or climbing a hill. Wait until its broke in to do this. . Have a buddy with a 410 loan you his flywheel and have your flywheel balanced to the external balance of a 410-428. This is important, the 410-428s are balanced with the flywheel or flexplate. Forget internal balance, it is a waste of money in this situation. If the engine was jumping around before , get the numbers off of your flywheel and post them here, you might already have a 410 flywheel. Check the firing order closely. This sounds like a perfect match for your application, and you'll love it.
Keep the Performer. If you have a stock cam your powerband it will top out at 4500-4800 and will live forever, and in a truck will have power like a 450 inch six cylinder, or a 7.3 Diesel. If it is a daily driver, you would very surprised at how well you will like this setup, and the MPG, towing capacity will surprise you. I don't know what you have, but it would make for a very economical use of a truck engine. Trust me the low and lower mid range will knock your socks off, and at about 5000 shifting, it will feel much stronger than you could imagine it would do.
