I have a 68 Merc 335hp FE engine and at back of the block, underneath the flywheel, there is the number 427 cast onto RH side just about where the bottom of the cylinder would be. My question is, is this a 427 block with the cylinders just bored out to 390 specs rather than the 427 bore, or is it a reject 427 block because of core shift that was still good for a 390? I have not measured the cylinder wall thickness yet, but I wonder if any of you Ford fans have seen the 427 identifier on anything but a 427? Bob
Yes...once or twice...and, for that matter, I've seen 427 blocks with "352" cast into them. So far as I know, there's no consistency to it...nor does it really mean much in the scheme of things. As you say, it comes down to wall thickness,... plus original bore size, oiling system, lifter type, method of main bolting...whatever works for your application. The other place to ask would be the N54 FE forum...Dave Shoe is the guru over there & has a lot of Ford service bulletins, casting material specs, & so on.
That's not the point, It is a 390 but why does it have the 427 cast into the back of the block. This engine also has the 352 cast into the front of the block, and all the FE's I presently own have the 352 mark ( 2 360's, 4 390's 2 428's ). I have just never seen this combination on a 390. The reason this is worth figuring out, is just think what an original cherry Merc 427 block is worth. I am not trying to cash in on this, I am trying to save a piece of Merc history. It will continue to run just fine as a 390 in the meantime. You can find Ford 427's but the Merc block is rare, all a person would have to do is find the cross bolt caps and line bore the engine. Someone looking to restore a Cyclone would kill for the correct engine. Even as a 335 HP engine, it is rare. I can't check the internals without pulling the engine again. The only thing I am certain of, is that it would not have been a side oiler. Bob
The dudes putting the molds together were smoking dope or something. There have been very few 390's found that they used the 427 cloverleafed core molds in. Do the drill bit test, find the larges shank you can fit between the cylinders thru the core plugs and work your math backwards from there, barring core shift, you should be able to roughly determine the cylinder wall thickness. That way you can see if it's a candidate to spend the money to have it sonic tested.
Its not rare.....There's no such thing as a "Mercury" block. The Mercury 410 (as close to a Merc motor as your going to get) was based on common 390 block using a 428 crank. The 335HP '68 390 motor you've got was common and available in all of Ford/Mercury's intermediate and pony cars. I've seen plenty of them. Its not a 427 block either. Many times the foundry put all kinds of numbers and markings on them. You need to get the casting number off the block, take some pics of the webbing and have the bores sonic checked. Get more info off the block and hit up the FE forums or drop me a PM and we can see what you got your hands on. -Bigchief.
I found a site with some answers http://www.428cobrajet.com/id-block.html My block is a C7 ME -A Made in the right time frame. If the 15/64 drill bit won't fit, it will go out to the 428 bore. There was also reference to the numbers where mine has the 427 casting mark at the back of the block, The answer is, that it is a good possible, but there is no way to tell without drilling out a plug or pulling the pan and checking the internal webbing. So it will remain a mystery for now. The engine is a strong performer as a 335 hp 390, so I'll just continue to dream of my possible 427. Bob
Its a common casting number used on alot of blocks across all Ford/Merc lines, not just a Merc. Its a good chance that it is a 428 block. What are the casting numbers on the heads and intake? -Bigchief.
After doing a lot of reading on the web last night, I can see that I had been mislead by an "expert" about the importance of a division identifier on a Ford part. All it means in the Ford world, is that the division that marked the part basically funded the research for the original design. I am running an aluminum Intake C7AE-9425-1 The heads are GT heads, which are the same as the CJ heads according to this book. Bob
The 390GT heads and 428CJ heads are much different. The 428CJ heads have bigger ports and valves than the 390GT heads and the exhaust manifold bolt pattern is different as well. Your intake casting number suffix should be a letter not a number.....are you sure your "1" isn't an "F"? That would make it a 428PI intake. There are a couple C7AE intakes, the suffix will let you know what it really is. Sounds like you've got a 428 with 390GT heads and a PI intake. It'll be a blast....if you got the bread you could sell the 390GT heads to some resto guy and go pick up a set of Edelbrock FE RPM heads for even more power......and if you've got even more you could call Jim Dove (http://www.doveengineparts.com/) and build even more power. -Bigchief.
The suffix was an F. I checked with a flashlight last night and didn't see all of the marking with all the wires and such on top. I will pull a valve cover and check the casting numbers on the heads when I get some time. I have to run the GT heads because of the fact that it is in a 67 Comet Caliente convertible. I don't want to start mixing and matching too much on this one because it is a big block car and is kind of rare. I don't know exactly, but as near as I can find, they made about 1200+ convertibles, of which ~300 were big block. I have a couple of 428's that I can play with later, but I am in the middle of building a 50 x 40 two storey garage and it is taking all my time. Bob 55 Chev Cameo 1/2 ton 454 TH400 OD 65 Comet Caliente conv 67 Comet Caliente conv 67 Merc 1 ton
I have a Ford FE block with no casting numbers on it. The only numbers I could find were on the driver side block, a date code and the marking 27 DIF. Does anyone know what the 27 means?
27 is the casting mold ID. DIF is Dearborn Iron Foundry. Sent from my SM-G950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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