The Buildup

The 'ol saying, "one thing leads to another" could never be more true than when it comes to restoring automobiles or rebuilding engines. No matter what the budget, there's always more that can be added ($$). That's what pretty much happened with me.

I wanted a solid bottom end that could handle 6500 rpm, so we started off by polishing the CJ rods and adding ARP rod bolts. But then I thought main bearing studs would probably be a better way to go, and while we were at it, might as well go with a new crank with the fillets radiused and the journals nitrated. Then I thought the oil pump drive shaft looked wimpy too. A new super-duty shaft is only an extra $30. See how this works?

Soon we had a stout but pricey bottom end. But I was just getting warmed up. See, it only costs a little extra to hone the cylinders with torque plates -- that's gotta be worth an extra 10 HP, right? Then I get to the cam and think to myself, "Do I really want to put a wimpy CJ cam in a motor that might turn 6500? NOPE." I study the cam catalog for months, can’t make up my mind... do I dare put roller in it? Hmmm. Why not?! Then I read some articles about improvements to the oiling system, so we decide to block off the oil galleries to the lifters. Don’t dare starve those rod and main bearings that might someday do a powershift at 6500!

Now the heads

The origional 428 cast-iron heads were completely reworked and fitted with all new valves, hardened seats, CJ springs and retainers. I had a shop do a light porting job. I felt an adjustable valvetrain would do justice to the rest of the powerplant, and Harland Sharp makes some great roller rockers (although $300 is kind of steep). I go with them anyway thinking I'll skimp somewhere else to make up for it. After all this, I am thinking that these heads are going to make more power than any CJ heads I know of.

About this time Vic Edelbrock did something very cruel -- to me anyway. He brought out matching set of Ford FE heads and intake that would blow my cast Iron stuff into the weeds. Now that hurts!! After all the planning, work and money I put into the cast iron stuff!! I contemplate the pros/cons of the aluminum stuff for months, all the while saving up some dough just in case. Every test I read confirms the superiority of the Edelbrock stuff over the origional cast. Besides that, the weight reduction would be nice for that mystical Cobra this beast might end up in. So, sadly, I resign myself to a financial self-flagellation and sell off the CJ Heads/intake and order the Edelbrock parts (remember that stuff I wrote earlier about building a 428 on a budget? Well, we're way past that now!!). Even though the heads looked good, I felt I might gain a bit of power if the intake/exhaust castings were cleaned up a tad, so I sent them to a porter.

Turns out that the Edelbrock stuff is fantastic. But the addition of the heads created another problem. Since I blocked off the oiling to the hydraulic lifters I wouldn't be able to use the Edelbrock cam that matches the intake and heads. I call all the cam companies and nobody sells a solid lifter cam that matches the Edelbrock profile. Finally I settle on a custom grind that specs at 244@.050 108LC .585 lift. It turned out to be a good grind.

Once I had all the "right" parts and the machining was completed, I had Mel, at Riverside Automotive do his usual careful assembly of the short block. I finished the assembling at home and hoped my work would do justice to his. I added a windage tray and 7 qt pan to finish off the bottom end and went with a set of light shell solid lifters and new pushrods (because of the roller rockers) to motivate the rockers. This valvetrain should be bulletproof, huh?

To finish it all off, I wanted to dress it up appropriately with a nice set valvecovers. Valve covers are a simple thing, but the right covers can really add to the appearance of a motor. I must be picky when it comes to valvecovers. I don’t care for the cast aluminum Cobra repos and the CJ aluminum covers, which I do like are hard to come by. I have a nice set of Mickey Thompson aluminum's laying around but I felt they were a little on the gaudy side for this particular motor. I'd really like to get a set of chrome "Power by Ford" covers but I couldn't seem to find any that were nice. In the end, I got a set of smooth pent-roof style covers from Cobra Restorers that were on sale (see, I told you I would skimp somewhere). They will do for now.

Now, off to the dyno