Whats it Worth, 427 HR

[Doc]

My title is also my post. I have found a 427 High Riser for sale and I would like to know what it is worth. The block is a standard bore center oilier. The heads are high risers and appear to be in good shape, I do not see any cracks. The intake is a factory duel 4v. It is missing the rocker arms but does have original front cover, balancer, & timming indicator. The oil pan is missing. The original crank is missing but the original rods and pistons come withit. Their is another 427 crank turned 20/20 with Lemons rods and weisco pistons that are fresh, balanced, and ready to go that I can get with the engine. I want to make a reasonable and fair offer for this stuff. Does anyone know what is a good or fair price for this engine?

[Excaliber]

Those heads and MATCHING high rise intake are really hard to find! The high rise was 'outlawed' by NASCAR in '65 or so. It was what the Thunderbolts ran (with a center oiler). The block itself is worth whatever center oiler blocks are going for these days, price is all over the map because you don't know what you got until you tear it down. I suspect the 'value' of this deal is in the heads and intake, not the motor itself.

I recently stumbled across a dual four barrel high rise intake that was offered at $1500 JUST for the intake alone! Heck with the oil pan and accesories, you'll want to go with a road race pan\pickup anyway. Same thing applies to the missing rocker shafts, no big deal, you'll want to go with modern roller rockers with good 'end stands' anyway. The high rise parts will almost certainly reguire custom pushrods before your done to match the block\heads\lifters. You'll likely need custom pistons with a 'dish' to get the compression ratio down to a reasonable level for pump gas. Figure a grand or so for custom pistons. Basically your looking at whats the fair price for a bear block (with a killer induction setup)!

The combustion chamber size is about 72cc for the high rise heads, thats on the small side. THATS why custom pistons MAY be required, possibly ruling out the Wiesco's your looking at. Also with custom pistons you can move the piston UP in the bore to get zero deck height. The original type specs for this engine has the piston about .030 below deck. This means there is NO 'quench' or 'squish' if using the Weisco's (depends on their design). Quench is a GOOD thing and something you DO want should you go with custom pistons.

See my engine build thread for more about why you want quench.

[Doc]

Excaliber,
Thanks for the info. I knew 427 anything is rare but I did not realize the High riser stuff is even more rare than I anticipated. Also thanks for the info on the quench design.
Doc

[Anthony]

There are 2 versions of the hi-Riser head, the C3 casting, and the C4 which is the better design.

I'd say $3000 for the block, heads, and intake. Unless you can verify that the heads are the C4 versions and are good, and the intake has not been milled too much and is usable, I wouldn't pay more.

[Excaliber]

The year should be easy to nail down as it is cast into the heads and intake. First four letters\numbers tell it all. Mine are C4AE-(I forget) F maybe? The C4 part is the year. I was not aware the C3's might not be as good as the C4's. Whats the difference?

Consider this before you get TO excited about the high risers. There not the best design for the 'street', all though I love mine! They do not have an exhaust crossover to heat the intake for better fuel atomization, then again, that means a denser air\fuel charge for max power. The ports are HUGE, not the best thing for lower rpm throttle response. They will support 7800 rpm, but it's unlikey you will turn the motor that high anyway. So why get them? Well, because there rare, very cool, and come with great 'bragging rights'. That said I would bet even the C3's are MORE than you'll likey ever need!

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Excaliber

I was not aware the C3's might not be as good as the C4's. Whats the difference?:

port design

[FFR428]

Also as I understand there were two designs on the 2x4 HR intakes also. One from the Tbolts and one form the LW Galaxies. One had a crossover of some kind and one did not. I forget the exact details but there was a recent disscussion on FordFE.com about them. My next build will be a HR. I have a $4k budget for heads and intake. LOL hope it's enough. Nice find on the HR. It would be nice if it's a number matching engine. You can check the block,head and intake date codes. Either way very cool and best of luck. Keep us posted on the progress. I've also heard the C3 heads were kinda rare more so than the C4-F's. The C4 castings were available through the late 60's as over the counter service items. The date codes would reflect the year/month and date of the casting. All the best, G.

[Excaliber]

Ah, the crossover may the biggest difference. Typical for 'cars', such as the Galaxie, any intake works best when heated by exhaust passing from one side of the intake to the other (cross over). Especially important in cold climates to keep the carb from literally freezing!

The T-Bolts came from the factory with ONE purpose in mind, go drag racing, period! No cross over needed for that. Note that many after market intakes today, like the ebrocks, do not have the crossover. A 'cold' intake allows for a larger charge of fuel\air, thus more performance. Some HEADS may have an exhaust opening FOR the cross over intake, but the intake itself is a blank.

[Carnut427]

A heat crossover on a high riser??? Whydeydodat?

Dan

[FFR428]

There is no heat crossover on the HR. I should have explained myself better...LOL I was speaking of the intake runners being different between the 2 intakes and the direction they went in. I'll see if I can find some better info and post it....

G.

[Excaliber]

Thanks for that semi clairification FFR428, I was scratcing my head.