Thread: 429 info

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Hello, I just bought what i was told was a 70's 429 and I was hoping i could get verification from someone who knows the block and head codes etc. Going to build it up for my torino. Here are the numbers:

Block DIVE-A2B
Head: D8VE-82A

Any help would br greatly appreciated

Thanks

D1 would be 1971. D8 would be 1978.

So how do I figure out if it is a true 429 block and not a 460?

Thanks

Originally Posted by cruiser1

Hello, I just bought what i was told was a 70's 429 and I was hoping i could get verification from someone who knows the block and head codes etc. Going to build it up for my torino. Here are the numbers:

Block DIVE-A2B
Head: D8VE-82A

Any help would br greatly appreciated

Thanks

Those numbers are not casting dates, they are engineering revisions. Your D1VE block was used in production from 1971-1978. Your heads are D3VE-A2A and were used from 1973-1985 or so. Therefore, assuming that you engine has not been "bastardized" since leaving the factory, we can surmise that your engine was produced between 1973-1978. For the most part, those years are all pretty much the same engine so any more detail is particularly necessary or useful.

If you must know the actual year of production, it may be more closely pin-pointed by getting casting dates, which are alphanumeric, such as "3B24," or "6C7." One easy place to find such a casting date is on your intake manifold just behind the carb pad...or inside the engine is the heads (under the valve covers) or the block (in the lifter valley).

Paul

Originally Posted by cruiser1

So how do I figure out if it is a true 429 block and not a 460?

Thanks

429 blocks and 460 blocks are one-and-the-same. All Ford 429's and 460's, for any given year of production, use all the same engine components except the crankshaft (stroke) and pistons (pin location).

How do you know if you have a 429 or a 460? Put it this way: The passenger car/light truck 460 was made from 1968-1998 or so, while the passenger car 429 was produced from 1968-1973 only. Since your engine seems to be a 1973-1978 variation, it is most likely a 460, although if it is a 1973 engine it could be either a 429 or 460. The only way to tell for sure is to unbutton the oil pan and look at the markings on the crankshaft which will tell you if it is a 429 crank or a 460 crank.

The crankshaft has numbers on the leading or trailing edge of the 3rd counterweight down from the snout.

• 2Y, 2YA, 2YAB, 2YABC = 460 crank
• 4U, 4UA, UAB = 429 crank

For a brief description of block differences over the years, click HERE.

Hello all and thanks for the info thus far. I have some more numbers for you.
Crank third counterweight = 4UAB
Heads under the valve cover #'s 3A30 and 3A221
On the outside of the heads: D3VE82A

Thanks again for your help, Im trying to build a good 429 for my torino, not 460 and need to start with the right engine first.

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the 460 would be counterweighted and not the 429 but it's been a while since I messed with any 385 family engines.

Originally Posted by cruiser1

Hello all and thanks for the info thus far. I have some more numbers for you.
Crank third counterweight = 4UAB
Heads under the valve cover #'s 3A30 and 3A221
On the outside of the heads: D3VE82A

Thanks again for your help, Im trying to build a good 429 for my torino, not 460 and need to start with the right engine first.

The 4U-series crankshaft indicates a 429; since it's a 4UAB, which is the last of the 429 passenger car cranksafts, it is likely a 1972/1973 engine.

Since you have D3VE heads top that 4UAB crank, you have a 1973 429 (the only year with D3VE heads). The heads were cast mid-late January 1973. Your engine has 7.5:1 compression ratio at the most, and actuallly a little less. It is the least powerful of passenger car 429's, but it does has the components to make a decent engine....problem is that by 1973 emissions standards killed any remaining power that the 429 engine had. At that time, it generated perhaps 250 BHP, although with a few upgrades during a rebuild and it could make 350-500 hp, depenndig on particulars.

Paul

Thanks guys! Now I dont have to go searching for another engine. Paul, what upgrades or tricks can I do to it during the rebuild process on a limited budget? Im used to building up 390's and 455's so this is a new one for me. I just started the teardown to clean and measure everything. I want enough power to rip the rear tires easily but yet not so much is twists the car in half if ya know what i mean. I appreciate all the help u can give me. Have a great weekend!

Originally Posted by cruiser1

Paul, what upgrades or tricks can I do to it during the rebuild process on a limited budget? I want enough power to rip the rear tires easily but yet not so much is twists the car in half if ya know what i mean. I appreciate all the help u can give me. Have a great weekend!

Replace the cavernous dished pistons with flat tops and you will have about 9.6:1 compression ratio when bored 0.030 over and you retain your D3VE heads. Port the heads (particualrly the exhaust port--grind the bump out of the port roof) and bowl blend the intake and exhaust bowls, 3-angle valve job, install Summit Racing's SUM-3501 cam and lifters, (works with OEM valve train), double roller timing chain, Holley 850 cfm, advance your ignitoin timing. You will gain about 100 hp and more in torque, and your vehicle will behave as you asked for it to....

Paul

Any thoughts on what to use for rods? Use the stock rods over or?

I run stock rods in mine. Not a problem for a street motor IMO

Originally Posted by cruiser1

Any thoughts on what to use for rods? Use the stock rods over or?

Relative to the build guidelines I posted above, your OEM connecting rods can handle the engine power output and even more. Obviiously, the rods should be inspected and reconditioned (as necessary) by the machine shop during the rebuild.

Paul