Ford Racing 427 Sound
Ford Racing 427 Sound
I took time out to record the sound of the Ford Racing X head 427 (450 HP). Exhaust flows from Hooker shorty swap headers into a BBK H-Pipe then into Bassani dual catback:
Stock 302 Mustang Sound
I recorded the same clip for the original 215 HP 302. The sound is as original as you get…the car has 2,400 miles on it with the stock (RASPY) Ford OEM exhaust in place:
I too am about to do this swap. Perhaps not the exact same engine but yes the target is at least a 351w @ 351ci. The goal is a 427 though. I initially altered my plans when a family member offered to pay for the engine if I got a reman’d motor with a warranty so I chose a 95 F150 Lightning mill from RockAuto with unlimited miles, however, it got cancelled the very next day due to unavailability so the 427 is on again! Just need to choose the supplier.
Where are you located? I’m near Philadlephia, PA. Would you like to collaborate? Sort of like building a community supported howto site. I know the Ferrari community sometimes build’s on other’s experiences to create how-to’s.
Larry,
Good to hear from you, and I think your choice of a 351W to start with is excellent. I was at the same place many months ago. At the time, I did not know a good engine builder in my area. Since then, i have found one or two individuals, both in machine shops, that could build an engine to whatever specification that I needed. The Ford Racing option is a bit pricey, but I knew what I was going to get and it had a 2 year/24 month warranty. The bottom line is getting as much forged/precision/high flow stuff in the engine for minimum dollars. I am over in Kentucky, so collaboration would not work, but I will answer as many questions as I can.
Thank you for sharing on your experiences with the FMS-M-6007-X427FFT engine. I am having a hard time getting much feedback.
I am planning on installing this engine in a 427 Cobra Kit Car. Most guys go for the Z Head version of this engine but I want the power down low and I do not need the bragging rights of the 535HP. More than happy with big torque numbers.
Can you please update me on the engine issues you are having? Would you still recommend this engine?
Thanks Again
Luis,
Excellent question. I too was weighing the Z Head 535 HP versus the X Head 450 HP. Both are high compression (10.5:1), both are based from the Boss 351 block. Since mine will see road use (yes, I use it now as a daily driver), I was hoping to get a bit more stable idle than the 535 HP. The DECIDING FACTOR was the STANDARD 351 exhaust port height on the X Head engine versus the raised exhaust port height that comes with the Z Head. After a whole lot of frustration, I found that the Hooker 351 swap headers are THE ONLY HEADERS THAT FIT the 1994 and 1995 SN95 Mustang. All other will crash into the steering rod (even the BBKs do not work). I could not tolerate the thought of further shifting the exhaust ports when I had only 1 header that would fit.
I have topped my engine with the Edelbrock Pro-Flo 2 fuel injection system. The Edelbrock system allows absolute control of the fuel/air and spark, but I have found that is a great advantage and disadvantage, all at the same time. I will write more detail in a later post, but the 351 base fuel map that is included in the Pro-Flo 2 kit IS WAY OFF. It is not kinda off, but WAY OFF. With plenty of patience and a wide band air/fuel analyzer, the unloaded fuel/air map can be developed in the garage for 0 to 6000 rpm. For anyone thinking about walking down this same road, I will send you my fuel map, which should save you about 6 hours tuning time. I am guessing that the same concern exists for the Z Head engine, so I can see no difference for the X/Z Head in terms of the fuel injection. PS…once the Edelbrock Pro-Flo 2 system is dialed in on this engine, believe me IT IS A FREIGHT TRAIN.
The Ford Racing X Head is a tremendously smooth and powerful engine. I would give it a “B” in idle quality. With the Edelbrock system, it pulls a decent vacuum at idle, approximately 15″Hg. It should be kept in mind that both the Z Head and the X Head carry approximately the same amount of torque…each is 500+ ft-lbs, which forces you into the Tremec TKO 600 transmission. So, if you are like me and want to treat the neighbors to an occasional brake stand, the X Head will do you a very nice job…you can easily build a cloud of smoke in the neighborhood, even in second gear. What is more, I have some road gears in the rear end…3.27:1 so that I don’t have to tach 3000 rpm at highway speed.
I hope that helps.