1973- 429 or 460 engine?

[Dutchman]

Hello

I bought a 1973 thunderbird now i want to find out which engine it has a 429 or a 460
and if it is the 365 hp one or the 200 - 240 hp

the castings i found where D1VE-A2B for the engine and D0VE-C for the heads

The building year of the car is 73

and what would be good the get some extra power from this engine

Greetings
Dutchman.

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[DEVIL DOG 62]

Hello

I bought myself a thunderbird now i want to find out which engine it has a 429 or a 460
and if it is the 365 hp one or the 200 - 240 hp

the castings i found where D1VE-A2B for the engine and D0VE-C for the heads

The building year of the car is 73

and what would be good the get some extra power from this engine

Greetings
Dutchman.

429's and 460's are identical down to every nut, bolt and part, with the only exceptions being that the crankshaft and the pistons are engine-specific (but even the connecting rods are the same).

The external appearance is the same unless the original engine tag is still on the engine or maybe the original decal on the air cleaner (not that I would trust this to ID a motor).

One way to identify 429 vs 460 is to flip the motor over and unbutton the pan. One of the crankshaft counterweights (3rd down from the crank snout) has alphanumeric markings stamped on it's edge, and these markings identify whether it's a 429 or 460 crankshaft.

429 = 4U, 4UA or 4UAB

460 = 2Y, 2YA, 2YAB or 2YABC....or 3Y or 3YA

Also, for quick identification of the crankshaft, you may look for the nodule or embossment between the first main journal and counterweight. The 460 is embossed there, while the 429 is not:
Another way is run the vin# That usually gives you the engine and transmission info in it if the engine looks to be the original

 

[DEVIL DOG 62]

Listen to what they specifically say at the 4:00 mark in the video. I think you might have a 460 in it. Also listen at 6:40 on the video it explains the casting # on the block

 

[OneAmongOthers]

I believe in the 1973 year tbird they had dropped using the 429 in favor for the 460. However like Devildog mentioned between the two they are basically identical. Tbird was never really a performance focused car. Also in later years they car started getting much fatter. Getting extra power for what though? If performance is your goal then a intake and carburetor is a good start. ditching the stock ignition for performance wires, distributor and coil is good too. Also larger exhaust with headders can net some HP gains. This all without diving into the motor on such things like reworking the heads, cam, valve train etc...

 

[Bond007]

Correct. All 1973 birds had the 460. Not sure about HP but my 73 had much more power than my 75. My understanding is that by 75 they sapped power away with all the added emission measures. These were the early days of pollution controls on engines. My 75 is rated at only 200HP but it has lots of torque.

 

[OneAmongOthers]

Correct. All 1973 birds had the 460. Not sure about HP but my 73 had much more power than my 75. My understanding is that by 75 they sapped power away with all the added emission measures. These were the early days of pollution controls on engines. My 75 is rated at only 200HP but it has lots of torque.

That and much more restrictive heads, tighter emission regulations started spelling the end of BB engines. Sad day seeing a 460 producing only 200hp. At that point they become boat anchors.

 

[Dutchman]

Thanks alot!!

well running the vin might be a problem cause when the car got to my country they filled in that it was a 5.7 while it supposed to be a 7.5

now i,m a car mechanic myself and wanted to get it around 450 - 500 hp or something which can be done quite well
the car does run now but not on all cilinders the ignition is going to change to a performance electric one

intake and maybe a performance cam inside

the vin of the car is: 3Y87A145875

if someone could find it out with the vin number would be awesome

parts in america are cheap though but sending them to the Netherlands is quite expensive i don't know if its possible somebody could help me sending parts here as a gift so i dont pay custums?

 

[Dutchman]

found the things to decode the vin number and it is supposed to have a 460 cubic inch, 4V, V-8 (1972-1976)

 

[OneAmongOthers]

found the things to decode the vin number and it is supposed to have a 460 cubic inch, 4V, V-8 (1972-1976)

Go and get a marti auto report on the car. It will give you all the information you need on it.

 

[Dutchman]

Go and get a marti auto report on the car. It will give you all the information you need on it.

marti auto report?
well ill pull the oil pan from the car and take a look inside to be sure going to change all gaskets and stuff

what intake and cam work nice on those engines?

from what ive read is that with these heads the D0VE-C you got the 10:1 compression ratio?

 

[OneAmongOthers]

I doubt you are even close to 10:1 on a 73 460. Edelbrock performer intake works good. I don't know what to recommend for a cam as once you get into the engine then its valve train too along with the cam then you would need a new torque converter for the transmission to match what

 

[Dutchman]

Why do i need an other torque converter?
If i would change the cam?

I,m not changing the crankshaft just the cam with the lifters i ment

 

[Bond007]

marti auto report?
well ill pull the oil pan from the car and take a look inside to be sure going to change all gaskets and stuff

what intake and cam work nice on those engines?

from what ive read is that with these heads the D0VE-C you got the 10:1 compression ratio?

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A licensed manufacturer of true 'reproduction' parts for vintage Ford & Mercury cars, 1960-1973. Contact us for mail order retail sales, or wholesale account information.

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[OneAmongOthers]

Changing the cam to a more aggressive one will cause very slow starts when you are taking off from say a traffic light or stop sign. This is because it changes how the engine revs. Anyplace you get a cam from will recommend a high stall torque converter depending on how aggressive you go with a cam. The more aggressive or ‘lumpy’ the cam the higher stall converter you will need. Also remember changing the cam also changes how the engine vacuum works in the engine too. This is one of the reasons I myself never went with a cam upgrade. A lot of other things need upgrades too. Also here is really no point of putting in a better cam if you don’t do some head work. The heads are the most restrictive part on your engine.

 

[Dutchman]

Changing the cam to a more aggressive one will cause very slow starts when you are taking off from say a traffic light or stop sign. This is because it changes how the engine revs. Anyplace you get a cam from will recommend a high stall torque converter depending on how aggressive you go with a cam. The more aggressive or ‘lumpy’ the cam the higher stall converter you will need. Also remember changing the cam also changes how the engine vacuum works in the engine too. This is one of the reasons I myself never went with a cam upgrade. A lot of other things need upgrades too. Also here is really no point of putting in a better cam if you don’t do some head work. The heads are the most restrictive part on your engine.

Ah okay, Well i,m new to the Ford engine's
Had a pontiac 400ciu before this one and changed the cam on that car which didn't really change shifting point and stuff
but good to know ill keep it in mind and porting the heads was my plan to do so

 

[OneAmongOthers]

Ah okay, Well i,m new to the Ford engine's
Had a pontiac 400ciu before this one and changed the cam on that car which didn't really change shifting point and stuff
but good to know ill keep it in mind and porting the heads was my plan to do so

Again it really depends on how aggressive you go with the cam. Any engine is like that. I mean just looking at some cam sites (compcams) they even specifically state that a higher stall torque converter is required with some cams because of the aggressiveness. Thats not even including new lifters, pushrods etc...

 

[Dutchman]

Thx, ill look in to it and see what ill change ill port it first an get an other intake/carb on it