What would you do?

[donh5599]

I have a 5.0 and a 429 and can't decide what one to put in my roadster. What one would use and why? Thanks

[mrmustang]

I have a 5.0 and a 429 and can't decide what one to put in my roadster. What one would use and why? Thanks

5.0L, far more streetable than the 429, will also handle better.

[donh5599]

I see your point but only about half the horsepower

[Mustang Man]

For starters. what are the conditions of the two engines? Fresh and ready to drop in, or do they both need full rebuilds? If they need rebuilds the 5.0L will be cheaper to rebuild and can EASILY surpasss the 429's rated power. Plus the 5.0L will be cheaper to fit transmission and other accessories to it.

The 385 series engines are not cheap to build up performance wise and if I was REALLY going to do a big-block in a Roadster I'd do an FE so at least it was the right engine family. Pick up a bargain truck 390 block and you can build a nice budget 445 stroker with it and top it with Edelbrock or Survival Motorsports heads, hydraulic roller cam, etc and you'd have a roarin' big-block that can be made to look the part.

HTH...
Mark

[turbonut48]

5.0 !
Stroke it and do a mild cam. 3.50 or 3.73 rear gears and I d say you ll be happy wilh the performance.

The Nut

[skullandbones]

Went on a little drive last night with the roadster (302 with some mods). It has 3.27 gears. If I had the 3.55 or 3.73, I think it would be jumping out from under me at this point. So go with the 302, give it as much hp as you need and think about the big block in terms of what MustangMan said. You don't want to create a money pit and still not have exactly what you want. JMO, WEK.

[2FAST4U]

I had a 503 BBF in my first Roadster. Loved it! Would do it again. You can make it into a 557 ci monster if you want.

[2FAST4U]

Or, if you have the funds, make its into a Boss 429.

[Bob Cowan]

What you're asking is, "I have to do a job, what tool should I use?" Could you be a little more vague? :)

Before deciding which engine would be better, you need to decide on the parameters. What are you going to use the car for? What's more important for you, straight line acceleration or turning corners? What's your budget? What do you want the car to look like? Do you even care what the car looks like? What condition are the two engine in? Does gas mileage matter?

[edwardb]

I see your point but only about half the horsepower

Sounds like you already made up your mind.

FWIW, I'm on my second build and doing a small block with both. If I had either to do over again, wouldn't change anything.

[CraigS]

I don't know any specifics about your 429 but suspect it's one of the heavy mothers. OTOH, big cubes let's you get say 450hp w/ nothing but a set of heads and a very mild cam. that makes for a very streetable driver.

[Wayne Presley]

I've done both in a FFR, both worked well but I did like the torque and sound of the 460. Had more hp and TQ than the previous 408 car.

[Avalanche325]

5.0L, far more streetable than the 429, will also handle better.

I agree completely.

I always thought 429s were a bit of a boat anchor. If you modify the 429 to supass what you could do with a 347, you wouldn't be able to use it anyway. Your car will be heavier and your wallet lighter.

[dallas_]

Before deciding which engine would be better, you need to decide on the parameters. What are you going to use the car for? What's your budget? What do you want the car to look like?

Only you can decide which is best for you. You can make an argument for either one depending on what YOUR preferences are.
Please do not rely on what others think. Build what YOU want.

[GJerry]

How do you like your horsepower served? From torque or from rpm? You can make a lot of power from a small block. They are also, of course, lighter and take up less engine bay space making things easier to work on. Car will also handle better. If torque is your thing, go with the big block.

[GJerry]

To present my reply another way. I own a BMW Z3 with a 1.9 liter four cyl. low horsepower engine. I usually run the rpm up to near redline in each gear to get the maximum performance and it's great fun to drive. I also have a Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins turbo diesel truck that have tons of power. Not much funto drive.