Thread: 429 Mystery

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Ford used a lot of engine blocks in different applications, which can be very confusing. The differences sometimes are just stroke length, other times, in combination with head space and stroke length. Paul is the 429/460 expert here. If you wait a while he should check in and be able to guide you. He also has a website where he builds all sorts of big block Ford motors, and has lots of useful info in regards to heads etc.
www.highflowdynamics.com/

Originally Posted by Paul Kane

Most all 1970 production 429s and 460s, used D0VE-A blocks, whether they be Thunderjets, Cobra Jets, or whatever.

Paul

So how do i figure out what it came out of or can't I?. This is going to drive me nuts if i can't figure it out lol.

Originally Posted by whatisit?

So how do i figure out what it came out of or can't I?. This is going to drive me nuts if i can't figure it out lol.

Who cares?? Why does it matter where the engine originated if you're building a unique combo?

Or...do you mean that you wish to determine whether it is a Thunderjet or a Cobra Jet? If that's the case, then you need to provide the engineeering revisions of the castings.

We enthusiasts tend to quantify our engines/components by engineering revisions (mistakenly referred to as "casting numbers" or "date codes"). These engineering revisions indicate which components we have and thereby further indicate the overall potential of the engine.

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. The are visible simply by raising the hood and looking at the engine. You should be able to find a cast-in alphanumeric number, possibly one of the following:

• C8VE-A
• C8VE-E
• C9VE-A
• D0VE-C
• D2VE-AA
• D3VE-A2A

Or, it may appear similar to one of the above numbers but a little different.

The block casting number is located on the ouside of the engine, at the rear of the cylinder bank, behind the starter motor and reads vertically. There, you should be able to find a cast-in alphanumeric number, possibly one of the following:

• C8VE-B
• C9VE-B
• D0VE-A
• D1VE-A2B (or other varying suffix)
• D9TE-AB

Or, it may appear similar to one of the above numbers but a little different.

The above engineering revisions can suggest the potential that may be pulled from the parts you have, and that's all that really matters to most Ford performance enthusasts. If you need actual date codes for some reason (such as for "correct" classic car restoration purposes"), those are the alphanumeric numbers that are cast in the heads (valve train area) and block (lifter valley area).

Paul

I was just wondering if you were still coming around, Paul. I hadn't seen any posts from you lately, or maybe I just missed seeing them. Anyway, glad to see you still here.

Don

As mentioned about high combustion with low octane fuel.....to avoind pre detonation....retard the timing back a bit...low octane fuels have a short explosive burn.....where high octane fuel have a longer burn. If the thiming is supposed to be set at around 10 degrees advance......retarrd it to about 5 or 6 advance.....I would keep the setup you have and just get it tuned right for the choice of fuel.....todays new cars have knock sensors to send the signal to the cpu to adjust the timing for choice of fuel.

As fr the D2VE heads.....everyone says they are the worst....but specs show the are one of the better flowing heads and capable of sustaining up to 1500HP. understandably they are lower compressin heads compared to the D0VE heads but for a 90cc chamber.... all they need is a little cleaning, polishing in the chambers to get rid of the casting burs or sharp edges and then set your timing and fuel mixture to fuel choice and atmospheric pressure, and you wont have any issues of detonation.