B2 Motorsports - Jeff Lipton 487 FE Build

[Clois Harlan]

I have had the finicky 650+ hp and believe me it gets finicky at all the wrong times. My FE 427 C.O. with solid lifters and about 550 hp is pretty much a gas and go. I will adjust or check my solid lifters once a year. I can take it to the track and run with everyone I had before with a lot less hassle. I am not a pro drivier and I probably don't utilize the hp I have but I have a lot of fun the ole Cobra and it is just as cool now as it was 5 years ago.

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by lippy

(3) Is 650+ HP even driveable on the street, or would this car be out of control?

If you have to ask that, stay with your original lower power idea.
And 600 may be beyond your experience. Brent is best to advise you.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by ERA Chas

If you have to ask that, stay with your original lower power idea. And 600 may be beyond your experience...

If I had 600HP, my tires wouldn't handle it...

If my tires could handle 600HP, my stub axles wouldn't...

If my stub axles could handle it, my Spicer 1310s wouldn't...

If the Spicers held, the Tremec wouldn't...

If the Tremec held, the Centerforce sure as hell wouldn't.

And so on, and so on, and so on....

[blykins]

The Tremec will without a doubt....

[lippy]

Originally Posted by lippy

Now I'm reopening a can of worms. I am probably going to go with hydraulic lifters and max out the HP with that set up (about 600 HP). But I am not *completely* opposed to solid lifters.

So my questions are:

(1) If I do decide to go with solid lifters, will the rest of the parts of the build (Scat crank and H-beam rods, Victor Jr. intake, etc.) support 650-700HP, or am I going to have to upgrade a bunch of other parts too?
(2) How often and how much of a pain is it (how much time) to adjust solid lifters? Do you have to replace the valve cover gaskets every time?
(3) Is 650+ HP even driveable on the street, or would this car be out of control?

I think this warrants a new thread...

[blykins]

You'll get a million of opinions about it, it will be something that you will have to make a decision about on your own, but I will lend all the information and experience that I can.

I will say that I use better parts on my solid rollers than what most guys do. Usually a set of Comp lifters get thrown in and most guys don't know if they're pressure fed or not. I use Isky EZ Roll lifters that are bushed, and I also use Xtreme Energy solid roller lobes...which are considered "street rollers." They won't eat valve springs like some of the other lobes will.

As I explained on the phone, cars have a gas pedal, and no one puts a gun to your head to push it down all the way. However, when you raise the hp peak, you take away from the bottom end, which can make an engine a little fussier if the customer wants to cruise them at a low rpm all the time. With a 4.250" stroke and 482+ cubes, a "softer" bottom end isn't necessarily a bad thing in a Cobra.

[blykins]

Bumpstick is ordered. Solid roller.

301/306 advertised, 263/268 @ .050", .676/.680 lift before lash @ 1.76 RR, 110 LSA. Bullet lobes.

[fordracing65]

Very intersting...

[patrickt]

I just want to see the build get done in a timely fashion and the car on the road. Lately it seems that the typical ERA build is running about three to four years (when not done by the elves in New Britain, that is).

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by blykins

Bumpstick is ordered. Solid roller.

301/306 advertised, 263/268 @ .050", .676/.680 lift before lash @ 1.76 RR, 110 LSA. Bullet lobes.

Nice choice Brent. Now please put a 4500 with BT's on it.
He'll want it anyway in 6 months after he's not afraid any more....

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by blykins

Bumpstick is ordered. Solid roller.

301/306 advertised, 263/268 @ .050", .676/.680 lift before lash @ 1.76 RR, 110 LSA. Bullet lobes.

Excellent choice for a solid roller.

[blykins]

It's getting some ported Pond heads. Blue Thunder anything is hard to get right now, with heads estimated to be a couple of months out.

The Dominator isn't the carb of choice for this one....3 circuit Dominators are basically race carbs and I think they'd be too finicky for Jeff. Plus we're probably squeaking by on hood clearance as we speak. We'll make plenty of horsepower without it.

I went easy on the solid roller. We needed something that wouldn't wear springs out. These are street roller lobes and with about .660"/.665" net valve lift, it won't be that bad.

[fordracing65]

Originally Posted by blykins

It's getting some ported Pond heads. Blue Thunder anything is hard to get right now, with heads estimated to be a couple of months out.

The Dominator isn't the carb of choice for this one....3 circuit Dominators are basically race carbs and I think they'd be too finicky for Jeff. Plus we're probably squeaking by on hood clearance as we speak. We'll make plenty of horsepower without it.

I went easy on the solid roller. We needed something that wouldn't wear springs out. These are street roller lobes and with about .660"/.665" net valve lift, it won't be that bad.

What's the difference from Pond ported heads vs the Edelbrock ported heads.

[blykins]

I had a lengthy talk with Robert while ordering some blocks the other day. His exhaust ports have a better design than the Edelbrocks and from the numbers that we talked about, the intake side flows quite a bit better as well.

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by blykins

The Dominator isn't the carb of choice for this one....3 circuit Dominators are basically race carbs and I think they'd be too finicky for Jeff. Plus we're probably squeaking by on hood clearance as we speak.

The Pond heads are good idea-didn't know BT's are thin just now.
For the record; John Dickey made a perfectly streetable 4500 for Mtichell. May still do that. And every dyno combination we did picked up 12 to 18HP when switched to a 4500. For testing purposes, that was with that crappy Ede adapter on the same intake as an AED 850. A bespoke 4500 intake was the best.
So he shaves the intake .250-or gets the slightly larger scoop. The pull of a 4500 is exceeded only by the 'wow'.
And at 487, there's plenty of displacement for 1050. We ran them on 427's and 460's.

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by blykins

His exhaust ports have a better design than the Edelbrocks and from the numbers that we talked about, the intake side flows quite a bit better as well.

What are the numbers at .650 on these heads?

[blykins]

I already have to mill 1/2" off the intake carb flange.....like I said, we're running low on room. Dominators are a pain in the booty as far as part throttle operation goes and it takes a good bit of tuning to get them perfect. This one will get a Q-950...

The Pond heads flow 340 @ .650". I don't have the exhaust numbers in front of me.

[fordracing65]

Originally Posted by blykins

I already have to mill 1/2" off the intake carb flange.....like I said, we're running low on room. Dominators are a pain in the booty as far as part throttle operation goes and it takes a good bit of tuning to get them perfect. This one will get a Q-950...

The Pond heads flow 340 @ .650". I don't have the exhaust numbers in front of me.

Robert told me the same thing about his heads, he said Edelbrocks are crap compared to his heads,

[blykins]

I don't take anyone's word for anything. They'll get flowed when they get here and if they're not up to snuff, then I'll have them ported on my dime.

[fordracing65]

So you have never used them before? Can't wait to see the numbers...