What FORD did was take at look at the BB chevy engine and built the 429 correcting all the problems with the BBC:thumbs_up:

Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet engines were not tame. When tuned correctly they were low 12s to high 11s in the Torino.

Yes and no. The intake is pretty fair but the exhaust port needs work. I do know someone that knows how to fix the exhaust port. He is a close personal friend of mine. In fact he is a REALLY cool dude!:smack:

You run about 10 degrees more exhaust duration because of the port.

ANY aftermarket head will be better than stock.:drink:

Trick Flow, Edelbrock and Ford Racing all make heads for the 429 for around $1000 each. Summit has the Performer RPMs for $920 per head for a 95cc combustion chamber and $1010 per head for a 75cc chamber. The Performer RPMs are what I'm running on the Chevelle.

Engine choices
 

Thanks to all for your input. I think the majority opinion is the 429, which is what I was leaning to. And yes, the conversations in the park steered me toward the 429.

I' m probably looking for something in the mid 400s for hp and 500s for trq.
I want something that will idle decent but have a little lope.

Thanks again guys.

Sounds like you're reasonably close with that 429, though you will probably have to change out heads to get to that approximate power and torque. But you can do that any old time after getting her up and run'n. :thumbs_up:

"What Ford did was study the BBC engine and correct all the problems."

"Any aftermarket heads are better than stock."

Is it just me, or does this sound....................wierd?:pot_stir:

Yea, when put like that it does sound weird.
It's too hard to get the Cobra Jet heads so aftermarket is the way to go over the regular stock type head. I can port the BBF head to help flow, but you gain so much more with aftermarket heads.
Next time I see you I'll explain what FORD did to improve over the BBC. It was all minor stuff .
Unfortunately FORD improved on BBC but when it came to the exhaust port they kind of.....well........missed it some. Also, the STOCK FORD rods can be thought of as a little weak.:sm_up_there:

With the right heads a BBF will match or (sometimes) exceed a BBC in power-- everything else being equal. Of course you can argue the point. :judge:

It is still cheaper to build a BBC than a BBF.:drink:

Since the stock 1970 429 is 360/370 hp and up to 485 ft lbs, getting to 450 hp and around 500 ft lbs is not that difficult with the right cam, exhaust and intake. This can be done with the stock heads. :drink:

Yeah, keep in mind big aftermarket SBC heads are around 200cc while BBC heads are well over 300cc.

If you plan to do heads and cam, I'd go with the 460. If you plan to run the stock heads, I'd go for the motor that make more hp stock (which sounds like it's prob the 429).

Well, actually I'd do it the other way around. Why? Cause the 460 has more low end torque and the stock heads would not be noticed as much with the extra grunt. But, that's just me.:judge:

The bore is larger than a 454 BBC (actually the same on both the 460 and 429) so you can put bigger valves in the BBF than the BBC. :pot_stir: