I'm new the forum....I'm sure this has been asked before, but I have a 71 Ranchero with a 351 Cleveland in it now. I am going to put in a 429 CI....it looks like it will just drop in....I checked and motor mounts are the same as the 351C, (according to the parts guy)....any problems with the steering linkage or anything else you can think of? I am going to put in a C-6 Road Ripper-3000 from Certified Transmission in Omaha...I've used these units before and they work great. Any help would be appreciated. Was also thinking of putting in some frame rail supports. Any suggestions on where to get a set of these.
I removed a straight-6 and put a 460 (same as 429) in my 71. I had to purchase the mounts from Dearborn, as the 6 ones wouldn't work. I know 302 ones won't either. I have to assume the 351C won't too, at least the frame side mounts. The rubber engine side might be the same. This has been asked before MOUNTS. I even posted some pictures of mine on that thread.
The parts guy is COMPLETELY WRONG!!! The 429/460 has totally different mounts than the small blocks. As for the steering linkage, only time that will be an issue is with headers, but a BFH should be able to clear that up in a hurry. Sub frame connectors are pretty much mandatory here.
I was going to add them, but my floor and torque boxes are in great shape. That and I don't plan to 'flog' the truck too much. If I were planning a bunch of dragstrip runs, connectors would be at the top of the list.
My 429 Ranchero takes different mounts than my 351 Rancheros - the 429 are two piece on the engine mounts, the 351 are single piece mounts. I was able to get a new set of mounts after some searching around, they are available but you might have to order them in. They are different mounts, left and right. Can't speak to the sub-frame connectors, mine are body on frame construction...
We did a 70 Gt with a 351 to a 429 last spring. The mounts have to be changed and if i recall, we had to do something with the drive shaft. Shorter i believe. This is a daily driver so we added no sub frame connectors and we have no issues.
The guy that started this thread is doing a 70-71 BUT for the rest of us with 72-79's those are the bad boys we need to do that 429/460 swap
Yeppers, the 72-79 cars all have boxed frames and so long as they haven't been crashed in theory you can run about 1400 hp through it before you have to worry about twisting the car, but at that point you have FAR more issues than tweaking the frame. Ps: 70/71 Cheros are unibody and need a little more support but it's not terribly expensive.
429 Swap....thanks Thanks for all the info on this. Definitely going to do it. Getting a complete 71 429 out of a Torino for $300-$400...still negotiating. Have any of you tried out the heads they have on E-Bay from a company called ProComp...Aluminum heads (Pair) for $989.00....sounds too good to be true. Complete heads. Item #190363576723
The 429 mounts are two or three piece, one section mounts to the frame of the vehicle, the other to the engine, on the three piece ones the center is an insulator. Sean's photo in his mounts reference shows the three sections of the mounts. The photos below may show you enough that you can see the difference. This is what the 429 Engine side of the mount looks like: This is bolt on arrangement, note that it uses three fairly closely clustered points in the casting that are generally angled with the plane of the side of the block (this engine is bolted through the body mount arrangemnt to a rolling stand so I can move this 429 SCJ around while I'm getting ready to install it): This is a 351 CJ engine mount arrangement for comparison. Note that the arrangements are not even close, the 351 (and 302s) have casting lugs that project on a roughly horizontal plane and the mount rest directly on the structure of the vehicle with a through bolt to hold it in place:
Actually, mine are three piece mounts. One bracket on the engine, the rubber isolater and the frame bracket. Not sure if that is standard or part of the kit Dearborn sold me. Regardless, it fit like a charm.
Look at the last post (the muddy the waters one) - methinks that will be closer. Different body styles will dictate the different arrangements. In anticipation of the request for the part numbers... here they are ('B' is the Torino line, applicable to our vehicles):
The top right setup is what he needs. This thread can now be CLOSED!!!!! Everyone give yourselves a hand. Great job all around.
Procomp heads are pure GARBAGE!!! Go here for more info on building up your 429: www.429-460.com. Good luck!
Here is some of it I think http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1969...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item53df58bfb8 And a NOS part for a crazy prize http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NOS-...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item563928f464 I bought a 1970 429 a year ago and the motor mounts was on it, a friend of mine with a 72 has them, but I will get them back because they did not fit offcause, so if you really need them hard I will ship it to you for the cost of shipping, I don't know what it will be but sure not cheap from Norway.
If you need a set of heads, and you are not looking to make a lot of HP, the ProComps are OK. If you have a set of heads you would be much better off spending the money on them having them ported and cleaned up. I got a chance to play with a pair of ProComps a few years ago. I picked up a used pair for $200 and put them on my 4X4 while my D0VE heads were getting a full port job done. 90+CC dropped my compression down a lot, but they worked OK. After I got my D0VE's back I played with the heads a bit. I sent them over to Precision grinding (cheaper than having them milled, and you don't have to dissasemble the heads first, and a mirror smooth job) had 80thou taken off the face. Then I took my dremel and smoothed out the transitions, opened up the exhaust valve pocket and polished them up a bit. Stuck them on a buddies 466 and they chopped almost a second off his 1/4 time. He was using stock D3 heads before. Now if you want a real head, don't waste your time with Edelbrocks or Trickflow, or TFS, get a set of P51's and never look back becouse there will be no one in front of you.
