A friend is selling a rebuilt but never fired 428 locally.
It's not a 428CJ but does have 428CJ heads and crank. Block
is a passenger car 428. Has a Dove roller rocker set-up with
end-stands, Comp 270S solid lifter cam and Cobra cast aluminum
T-pan, etc. Some details are listed below. Any idea what a
reasonable price for this engine would be?

Thanks,
Dan Jones

Intake Manifold:
Ford C7 Police interceptor aluminum, port-matched to CJ heads

Cylinder heads:
C80E-6090-N with Ford valves, 3 angle valve job, 0.022" to 0.024" valve
guide clearance, Crower springs (115 lbs seat pressure) and Crower retainers

Rocker Arms:
Dover Engineering aluminum roller rockers with shafts, stands and end stands

Camshaft:
Comp Cams FB 270S-10 solid lifter (270 degrees advertised duration,
224 degrees @ 0.050", 0.540" lift, 110 LSA, p/n 33-244-4), installed
2 degrees advanced

Lifters:
Ford solid

Pushrods:
Ford solid lifter type

Pistons:
TRW forged (10:1 compression)

Valve-to-Piston Clearance:
0.200" Intake, 0.180" Exhaust

Exhaust Manifolds:
Cobra Jet

Block:
C6ME casting with "A" in bellhousing area (428 passenger car block, not a
bored out 390 block), casting date 5L19 (Nov 19, 1965), bored 0.030" over

Crank:
1UL Cobra Jet, rods and mains 0.010" unde, 0.002" mains and 0.015" rods
oil clearance

Rods:
C6AE

Oil Pan:
Branda aluminum Cobra T-pan (6.5 quart with windage tray)

Oil Pump:
Ford Power Parts blueprinted Melling

Oil Pump Shaft:
Ford Power Parts heavy duty

Timing Chain:
Ford Power parts double roller

Timing Cover:
Ford polished aluminum

Water Pump:
Flowcooler

which you would expect to pay something for. I guesstimate over $5k (maybe well over?) in pieces if you were starting from scratch to build this thing.

Jim

he could easly have another $5,000-10,000 in assembly work. I always kind of presume that when things are done correctly records are kept but that seems to never happen. So you look for balancing evidence (even to the point of how proffesionally the weight was machined off and of course matching components) and how neatly things were assembled/cleaned painted.
Could be a shame to tare apart a fully built engine for parts

The valve guide clearances are off by a mile, I assume this is a typo?

a stout 428. It still needs a good Holley, Ignition, and get some pipes. That is just cheap power.
What's it going in. Cause it's going to need a stout drive train to handle the 428. Oh ya that will cost extra.LOL

...engines sold by private parties tend to fetch between 30%-60% of the cost to build - depending on how well the buyer knows/trusts the seller and how the quality of the work appears to the buyer. Unfortunatly, unless you are an engine shop - you are going to take a beating.

Few that seems low esp toward the 40% of the cost to build and I understood it to be a never run motor. $30,000 motor $12,-18K Better get advertising. There's always a shoe that fits that foot somewhere

...I don't know. I know that in the windsor motor world people seem to be pretty thrilled to get 50 cents on the dollar if the have to sell a project motor.

> Sounds Like a stout 428. It still needs a good Holley, ignition,
> and get some pipes. That is just cheap power. What's it going in.

I've got a 1956 F100 long range project (2 or 3 cars are in the
queue ahead of it). The F100 is currently set up for a SBF.
The original plan was a 408C with C302B heads and Roush single
plane intake converted to EFI, backed up by an AODE. All my
other rides are 5 speed manual transmissions and I'd like to run
an automatic overdrive in the truck. If it weren't for FE
automatic overdrive transmission issues, I wouldn't hesitate to
use the FE for the truck.

> depending on how well the buyer knows/trusts the seller and how the
> quality of the work appears to the buyer.

I know the seller personally and trust him. He kept records and
will pull the engine apart for inspection if I wish. Shop has a
good reputation as well, though I've never used them.

> I understood it to be a never run motor.

Yes. It was built quite a while ago for a project that never
materialized. It needs to come apart to re-lube the cam and
bearings anyway, so I'd check all the clearances then.

> Could be a shame to tear apart a fully built engine for parts

Agreed. If I didn't already have most of the parts to build a
428CJ on hand, I wouldn't consider it. I've got a standard bore
428CJ block, pistons, heads and crank, along with some good rods
and a 406 tri-power set-up. One thought was to swap the parts
from Gary's engine that I want (roller rockers, aluminum oil
pan), then re-sell it. Probably smarter to use Gary's engine
and sell my parts, though I'd probably hang onto them since
some of the parts are original to my dad's '69 Fairlane Cobra
(he swapped in a 427 side oiler stroker with only a few thousand
miles on the original 428CJ).

> The valve guide clearances are off by a mile, I assume this is a typo?

Most likely. I typed up the specs from some handwritten notes and
tossed the original.

Thanks for the input guys,
Dan Jones