all depends on what stroke and bore you have set up with the block.

The 428 CJ didn't use exhaust manifold gaskets if that is what you are asking. Hooker makes a good header gasket for the CJ. You can find them listed at :
www.summitracing.com
or call Summit at 1-800-230-3030 24 hrs / 7 days / 365 days

I always suggest asking for references at a car club - many keep a list of "good" and "bad" shops, based on their members' experiences. If you aren't familiar with your local organizations, try here:

http://fomoco.com/index.asp?Dept=5&Page=SelectArea

That's our "Worldwide Club-Finder", listing over 400 Ford-related groups. Hope it helps.

John-

I haven't found a good source in L.A. I would say Ron Miller of FPP (Norwalk, CA) is the local expert on FE's but he needs to get his operation better organized. My business partner brought his 427 sideolier to Ron in December 1999 for a rebuild. After TWO YEARS it wasn't done so we had to get it out of there!

We've decided to send that engine and my cammer to Rob McQuarie of Blue Oval Performance. Unfortunately he's in Colorado... Shipping will be a pain but for a valuable engine it's worth it. I wouldn't trust any local shop- especially with the cammer.

JMO -Bill

Try Reath Automotive in Signal Hill, California. This is very close to the Long Beach airport about 20 miles south of LA. Joe Reath is the owner and knows what's happening with FE's and has Cammer experience. Joe was a partner in the NHRA championship winning Dunn & Reath funny car in the mid seventies which was powered by one of his brand "C" motors. I had a set of CJ heads done by him earlier this year and some friends of mine liked his work on their projects as well. Joe isn't into selling parts, just machine work and vintage rebuilds so you know he is going to be concentrating on the business at hand.

Royce Peterson

Tom,

Good standard bore 427 side oiler blocks with hydraulic lifter provisions go for $3000.00 and up. Something that needs lots of repair like sleeves or welding is what you can get for $1000.00 or less.

Side oilers with no hydraulic provision sell a little cheaper. You might find a usable .030 center oiler for around $1600 or so.

Think about a 428 block and crank. That is available for less than $1000.00 from several sources.

Royce Peterson

I've run both cams ( AA & B ) in my "406”. The AA is a great street cam in that it sounds great and pulls good and should not be ignored. Now the B cam really brings on the power after 3K and will go to at least 7K. My one concern with it is the lack of vacuum it pulls, may not be good enough for power brakes, and people should be aware of it. ( Stop before you go ) Also you have to take into consideration if your engine can take the higher RPMs that the B likes.__ JMO

If you're asking about Crane's hydraulic roller cam, I'm curious too as I plan on running one in 454 I'm putting together this winter.

Non-racing 390s came with three common damper styles over the years, some styles are better than others. What year do you have?

Shoe.

That exhaust manifold, also known as the 390GT exhaust manifold, came on the 1966 Fairlane/Comet.

It needed to be slightly redesigned in 1967 because one of the sides didn't quite fit the 1967 Mustang engine bay. The 1967-69 (and maybe 1970, I forget) version was used in the Fairlane/Mustang/Comet/Cougar and had one bolt relocated.

All 1966-later heads have bosses cast into them (but only drilled for small-car applications) which allow drilling the "diagonal" bolt pattern these manifolds require. The diagonal pattern was necessary to make the manifolds more "service" friendly in such a confined engine bay.

Shoe.

It could be either on the Q or R code SCJ or CJ. I think the later CJs had the aluminum, even that's a guess on my part. Mine has the chrome valvee covers, it was built 11/15/68.

I have a '69 428 cj in a mach 1 that has the chrome valve covers. A friend at work gave me a set of the fomoco finned aluminum ones that say "428 cobra jet" and have the snake emblem on them. But they don't seem to want to fit( not tall enough). Anyone know anything about this? I really would like to use them.
Thanks
Greg

My opinion is that the factory 428 Cobra Jet exhaust manifolds work very well especially for stock.
My personal experience is this, on a very mild 428 CJ with only a "hotter" cam (I still question my decision to run three different cams, Herbert, Rhoads, Schneider..)the rest stock, oh I did run a '67 aluminum PI intake, but the rest was stone stock from distributor to 735 Holley, the two cars I ran this engine in ran mid to high 13's consistently. First was a '66 Cyclone that weighed 3680. It ran 13.55 @ 104. Then I installed the exact same engine into a '61 Starliner that weighed 3,860. I did switch to the shorty HP 352/90/06/PI manifolds. That car ran a best of 13.72 @ 103. I did run dump out exhaust cut outs on both cars. As a matter of fact, the same ones.
So my opinion again is, yes the CJ exhaust manifolds work very well especially if you allow a quick opening down the line, dump out exhaust.

I read sometime back about a Mustang 428CJ that ran low 12's through the stock exhaust manifolds. It was quite awhile back but it was a very prepared "stock" 'stang.

Headers should always give you more power. But generally it's at a price, i.e., maintenance, fit, exhaust leaks & noise.

Your Marquis most likely has a 9-3/8" rear end carrier (also known as a 9-3/4" because some ratios are the larger size).

This rear carrier assembly looks much like a 9" rear carrier (the 9" is also sometimes called an 8-3/4" due to it's 1957-1959 ring gear size), and it even fits into most 9" sheetmetal housings (but you've gotta add a notch to the housing to clear the extra large ring gear). The maincap threads are bigger, as are the ring gear threads, as are just about all other dimensions.

The bottom line is you won't be able to stuff 9" ring gears into your 9-3/8" carrier, so make sure you know which size carrier you have before placing the order.

Note that it's easy to plop a 9" carrier into a 9-3/8" housing. I run a 9" nodular carrier in my 1967 LTD which originally came with a 428 and 9-3/8" rear. No mods are necessary. Just be sure to match the axle spline count.

As to your original question: 3.50:1 gears will wake the car right up. Beware that you've got the pre-1968-1/2 type of posi in that car. It's called the "Equa-Lock" and it does not grip as solidly as the newer "Traction Lok". Still, it beats the heck out of an open carrier rear when it comes to biting in.

Shoe.