Thread: 429 price info

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Hi Guys,Need some info'
I bought a project jet boat very cheap,ive been looking for a bb ford. I found a 429, have not sean it yet. He says its 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 for any info you can give me Ron K. sorry its a 1972

Key is not what the engine is going to cost you intially, but what it is going to cost you to marinize it. What engine was your boat set up for originally, and how much of the marine parts did you get?

If it was set up for the 429-460 and you got all the important parts (bellhousing, motor mounts, exhaust manifolds, etc) and it just becomes a drop in, then you should be ok. If you have to start finding and replacing those parts, or if you are doing an engine swap from one model to another, your costs and the amount of work involved are going to be much much higher.

Tell us what you have to start with, then we can give you better info back. If the engine is as sound as you say, $ 350 isn't out of line. I paid $ 250 for a 460 just to get the block and mains, ended up buying all Cobra Jet parts to beef it up and scrapped the rest.

Don

boat is set up foe a 460.I do have the maifolds,bell housing , motor mounts ,drive shaft , water hoses , all ready for the motor. and I hope the jet drive preforms well. thanks Ron K

Then your task won't be too hard at all, simply replace the bad engine long block assembly with the newer one. I suspect you will not be in salt water (Ohio) so your stock head gaskets and freeze plugs will work, but if you wanted to be safe you could pop them out and replace them with brass parts.

Cam profile may be slightly off, but I have used truck engines in boats with good results. All in all, I don't think you could go wrong.

BTW. you need a marine carb, not just any automotive carb. You also need a marine starter, alternator, distributor, and fuel pump. Otherwise you run the risk of a serious explosion, or at the very least, the wrath of the Coast Guard, if you are boarded.

Good luck.

Don

thanks for your info , i can come up with other part fairly easy. Thanks Ron k

Dons got alot of good info there,I have had a boat before,everything is a boat only deal,alt,distributor,carb,aircleaner,if not..kabooom!!
Heres a good link for your 460 engine info,theres some boat guys there too that may have some parts or info.
http://www.460ford.com/

Heck buy it anyway, The early 70's 429's in that good of shape are too hard to find and pass up. The Holley 750 is definitely worth the price. You can always use it on something else if you wnted to.

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