73 mav I have always liked the ford bodies, maverick , mustang, falcon but I like the LS motors, with cam and head work I can 400 or better hp and still hit 20 mpg. I'm running the 4l80e trans. I don't like the super wide really complicated 4.6 ford motor.
I'm guilty of the same thing myself. I"ve always tried to be brand loyal.. but that power crazed engineering side always overides my taste for who made the powerplant. I still have a major softspot for the 385 series engines too.. but those are damned big engines to stuff into these cars narrow little framerails. I know from personal experience that a massively oversquared long rodded 429 can easily rev near a smallblock with the right parts. And you never mentioned what size motor that is.. but you won't even need any headwork to reach that "low-baller LS" power number. Headwork and milder cam on even "a little 5.3" can EASILY break 400 and I've seen heavily worked stock headed 5.3's running over 500 N/A. The bigger 6.0 with L92's can easily break 500 with worked "near stock head config's" .. or premium LS parts(LS6 heads/induction, etc). And aftermarket AL heads will get you closer to 600 with a mild'ish type cam.
Nice. A very easy 500+ horse combo you have there. You'll surely end up with well more than 400 RWHP. I would HIGHLY suggest getting those heads ported by someone who knows the LS6's specific requirements. I had a set on my bench about 5 years back and turned the customer down after I researched the work involved(too much time investment for the profit margin and I didn't want to have to replace them if I pooched em'). VERY finicky heads to maintain/improve lower lift numbers that keep climbing to the desired cams max lift range. "Hogging them out" only serves up larger peak numbers and hurts the midrange in the process. The trick is to keep the CC's as small as possible while extending the lift range to keep flowing more air for larger cams. 1.8 intake rocker ratios almost always help power on these engines due to faster openings(more area under the lift curve) without actually changing the timing specs in the process. Just make sure the springs and PTV clearance are up to the task though. Down the road you might also consider losing the LS6 intake and going with an aftermarket unit since they are notoriusly limiting for mod'd motors that run bigger cam/higher rpm's. There are also porting gains to be had there too.. but the cost starts nearing a good used FAST intake without the potential gains. Plus.. a larger throttle body never hurts these 6.0 motors either.
All done My 73 is running and driving around town. Glad it's over. Car is very strong and I'm going to have it dumped and tuned Tuesday th 11th
car looks good... for my swap I had to loose my Grabber hood for a low profile cowl hood... the hood I have looks good but wanted the Grabber one. what oilpan are you running?
That's a Boss 429 scoop. Damned nice and very clean install. Just make sure you pop the hood after beating up on a Mustang.. or two.. with it. Sure it's kinda' childish and petty.. but it's still good for a laugh to most. PS. And DON'T open the hood after beating up on the Camaro's. That'll keep em' thinkin' that another Ford just cleaned their clock.
