Building Ford’s Fabulous 429 Super Cobra Jet

Ford’s legacy of powerful big block V8s dates back to 1958 with the skirted Ford FE Series 332/352ci engines that ultimately grew to 427ci by 1963 and 428ci by 1966. There was also the MEL (Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln) fat block displacing 430 and 462ci produced from 1958-68, a low-revving luxury car monster mash that ultimately became a popular mill for marine racing applications. The MEL made brute low-revving torque for just about any application, which made it perfect for luxury cars.

These engines were right for the time. The FE went on to win Le Mans, putting Ford in the world’s spotlight with new respect from around the globe, settling a battle of egos between Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari in the wake of a business deal gone bad. In fact, the FE big block remains the standard for Ford enthusiasts and the aftermarket.

Both the FE and the MEL swiftly became dated mills in the marketplace back in the 1960s. The MEL had these bizarre flat-deck, no chamber cylinder heads similar to Chevrolet’s 348/409ci big blocks where the angled block deck made the top of the cylinders the combustion chamber. Not sure why anyone thought this was a good idea, however, it was proven successful—especially for Chevrolet’s 348/409. At Ford, the abundant torque the MEL made worked perfectly in marine applications and for drag racers. It was also a quiet smooth luxury car powerplant long on twist for heavy Lincolns. It was incredibly quiet.

Enter the Ford 385 Series Engine

By the mid-1960s, Ford product planners and engineers saw the need for new technology in its big block engines. They needed to be lighter with a less complicated manufacturing process. Ford took the 90 degree Fairlane small block blueprint and grew it to big block size. It called its new big block engine the “385 Series” family of big blocks displacing 429 and 460ci also known as the “Lima” engines for their manufacturing plant Ohio. Unlike the small block, Ford conceived a totally new poly-angle valve cylinder head with “right size” port sizing for its new big block. 

The result was a Ford big block similar to the big block Chevy. Ford took the valuable assets of the big block Chevy and married them to its own traditional approaches to engine design with the distributor and oil sump in front. Poly-angle valve heads combined with port sizing made the 429/460 Ford a powerhouse. Ford didn’t conceive the 429/460 as a high performance engine. The intent was low-revving luxury power.

Ford soon found the 429 had great potential as a high performance engine. Just two years into production, Ford introduced the 429 Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet for compact and intermediate sized rides like Mustang, Torino, Cyclone, and Cougar. It was a natural marriage between a powerful big block and lightweight car models.   

Ford 385 Series Engine Performance

The 429/460 makes plenty of horsepower and torque without having to sell off the farm. You can do a cam and manifold swap and make abundant street power. The 429/460 cylinder head flows generously right out of the box and, with good professional head porting, it makes a lot of power.

What the 385 Series big block has going for it is simplicity. There’s very little to understand and, unlike a lot of Ford engine families, very little confusion. There’s one basic block for both the 429 and 460 with a 4.360-inch bore. The difference in displacement between the two was achieved via stroke, with the 429 checking in at 3.590 inches and the 460 at 3.850 inches. If you have a 429 and want displacement, it is easy to get via a 460 crank and you’re good to go. The aftermarket offers plenty of displacement via great stroker kits.

The Ford 429/460 Engine Block

The 429/460’s block is undoubtedly its greatest asset. You can infuse a tremendous amount of power—upwards of 800 horsepower—into this block with little concern. It is suggested you opt for a Milodon four-bolt main conversion kit if you’re going to push the power. You may also opt for a stud girdle for two-bolt main blocks. The 429/460 was never produced with a steel crank. All were fitted with a strong nodular iron crank with I-beam rods. None were ever fitted with forged pistons. The only significant change was an externally-balanced 460 with a slide-on counterweight from 1979-up.

Don’t get these components mixed up or you will wind up with compatibility issues.

Very little needs to be done to the oiling system. It is good to chamfer oil galleys to reduce turbulence. A good high-volume Melling oil pump is adequate for most 429/460 street/strip applications. If you’re going drag racing, you’re going to want a deep-sump pan. Road racers and canyon cutters will need a baffled road race pan.

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Did You Know?  The 370…For Trucks
A sidebar to the 429/460 is the 370ci truck 385 Series big block brought into the lineup to replace the rotund Super Duty truck engines in the F-, C- and L-Series heavy-duty trucks. The 370 had a 4.050 inch bore with the 429’s 3.590 inch stroke.  It was discontinued in 1991 and replaced by the 460.

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Ford 429/460 Cylinder Heads, Intake & More

Factory cylinder head choices are simple. There’s the standard 429/460 head casting for 2V/4V engines, the large-port Cobra Jet and Police Interceptor castings, and the aluminum Boss 429 castings. There’s also the fuel injected iron truck head that came along late in the 1980s through 1996. What you want for a 429/460 build is the 2V/4V head, Cobra Jet, or the Police Interceptor head if you can find the latter. Cobra Jet and Police Interceptor castings tend to be costly because they are so scarce, especially if you add port work to the price tag.

Because the factory high-performance castings tend to be expensive, especially if you intend to do port work, you are often better off with aftermarket aluminum castings, which run about the same cost and you can bolt them right on. Trick Flow offers a wealth of cylinder head options for the Ford big block. Ditto for Edelbrock, AirFlow Research, Ford Performance, and Speedmaster.

Factory intake manifolds consist of two basic types—Holley square base and spread bore for Rochester Quadrajet and Holley Spread Bore. The aftermarket brings you a wealth of dual- and single-plane intake manifolds depending upon what you want the engine to do. High rpm operation calls for a single plane manifold. Dual-plane manifolds are best for street and strip. Carburetor sizing depends upon expected rpm range and the priority of torque versus horsepower. Which is more important to you?

Unless you’re performing a concours restoration, ignition points are for the birds. If you’re running a stock Autolite or Motorcraft distributor, you can always employ a drop-in electronic ignition system. Time-proven Pertronix Ignitor kits can be installed in 30 minutes. Just don’t forget to install the ground wire. MSD and Accel ignition systems perform reliably and last virtually forever.

Building a Ford 429

We’re at JGM Performance Engineering in Valencia, California for a look at a rare box stock 429 Super Cobra Jet build with all the right parts. The Cobra Jet had hydraulic lifters. The Super Cobra Jet has an aggressive cam profile and a choppy idle with the sweet melody of 16 solid tappets thrashing out a beat. On the dyno, our SCJ exceeded factory power numbers thanks to a port job and induction system improvements.

Let’s get started.

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Ford 429/460 Engine Block Identification

Ford 429/460 Cylinder Head Identification