Quote Originally Posted by Ron K.
I bought a project jet boat very cheap,ive been looking for a bb ford. I found a 1973 429 ,runs good , does not smoke, He wants $350.00 for the motor, 25.00 for the intake and 100.00 for the holly 750 . do you think this is to much? It has 70K miles. all stock. I wanted to install this motor in a 21 ft. jet boat and and turn it after i play a little thanks...sorry its a 1972
The 1972 and 1973 429's are complete dog motors and the performance level in a jet boat will be relatively disappointing compared to just about any other year 429 or 460. The 1972 429 had single year heads, casting number D2VE-AA. These are the only open chamber factory iron heads that Ford offered on the 429/460 and they are very detonation prone, and will particularly so when you try to squeeze power from that engine. The 1973 motor will have D3VE-A2A heads and while compression is still low, there is more potential with this combination of parts since the D3VE-A2A heads are closed chamber heads.

In either case, the 1972 or 1973 429 engines have less than 8:1 comrpession ratio. This is part of the reason that the engine will not run well in your boat. The other is that they have poor flowing exhasut ports. These two factors, if left unaddressed, will be the primary reason that your jet boat does not run strong. Typical stock jet boats run at 4500-5000 rpm with 1973 & up bone stock 460s. The low comrpession will not supprt this very well and the exhaust port will back up quickly with the upper rpm range.

I am a HUGE fan of these engines in jet boats. Please don't be discouraged, it's just that the specific year 429 engine you are looking at is not the best choice for a jet boat. If it is a 1972, it will need heads. If it is a 1973, it will still be slow due to the 3.59 stroke of the 429 crank and resulting low compression with it's combined D3VE-A2A heads. The D3VE heads can be made to work, less so with the D2VE's. A 1973 460 would be workable. A 1972 460 would work with a head swap.

If you have not yet purchased this engine, my advice would be to search for a non-1972 460 because the increased stroke of the 460 will help power and so will avoiding the horrible D2VE heads. Also, due to the upper rpm usage in a jet boat, the oem iron intake is not a great choice for the application unless is it casting number D0OE-9425-C. Otherwise, pass on the deal and keep looking, if it's a 1972.

By the way, the cylinder head casting numbers are located on the outside of the head, along the valve cover mounting rail and between the 3rd and 4th exhaust ports. Verify that the number is D2VE-AA (1972 heads) and if so, pass on the deal because there is too much upgrading to make that particular 429 engine parts combination a nice one. If the head is a differnet casting number (check BOTH of them) then let me know what they are.

Paul