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New alloy 427 FE build.. call me crazy
I have been reading on here a lot about the alloy block problems from some very experienced builders.
I am however committed to going that direction. So for those of you pondering such a decision, here goes.
Some back story. When i built my Superformance I installed a 428 FE. Mild cam, intake made to run on pump gas. Iron block and heads. Dyno @ 388 HP @ 4900 and 499 TQ @ 3300. I had a performance shop build it, but they missed a lot. The engine was troublesome from the start with heating and blowing head gasket. A cracked piston. It had the 3rd blown head gasket at the track (never the same cylinder or side). So I hit the point that i pulled it to find out what the heck. Turned out it was a 40 over bore and it failed a sonic test as well as a problem with the deck. Moral of the story, get a good builder.
So now I find I need a block. I already made the choice to go to aluminum heads, mostly because of fuel made today.
We decided on a Pond 427 alloy block. I would have done iron but my new builder did not like the choices and availability. He knows that he is up against alloy issues.
As I understand it, most everyone has changed foundries so maybe my story will be of the newer 2017 batches. Who knows maybe some problems have been solved.
As many components I have from the 428 are a direct bolt on, I will not move away from an FE. (I will need some new T-Shirts...lol)
I am not going for stupid HP and I am not in it for the bling or bragging rights. I am in it for reliability. My understanding from here and my builder, is once past the building pains, it could be very reliable.
I will keep you posted.
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If enough people disagree with me, I know I am doing it right
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