We got our 482-inch Ford FE finished up and on the dyno where it promptly blew our minds by cranking out 700 hp and 640 lb-ft of torque. Evidently these new heads from Trick Flow really work!

In our first installment, we installed the Trick Flow heads but were waiting for some final parts to show up. As expected, there were some issues that popped up during final assembly. The raised rocker arm position on these heads solves some geometry problems, but it also changes the angle of the pushrods and creates possible interference issues. On our engine, the intake manifold needed to be machined for pushrod clearance, and so did the bottom side of the rocker arms. We also needed to order custom pushrods with tapered ends to resolve a final clearance issue. Smith Bros Pushrods in Bend, OR was able to build a set of tapered pushrods for us by starting with thick-wall 3/8-inch tubing and machining a slight taper at the end.

The intake gaskets were another item that required some extra time and effort. The standard gaskets from Cometic are 0.060-inch thick and have the long port design. The Trick Flow heads use a short port size, so we wanted a matching gasket. More importantly, the intake manifold sat too high with the thick gaskets. Cometic can build their intake gaskets from different thickness of material, so we ordered a set of gaskets from 0.030-inch material. These gaskets were close, but still a tad too thick, so we ordered a new set cut from 0.020-inch material. These were a perfect fit. The ports in the intake manifold lined up exactly with the ports in the head, and the valve cover rails sat flat.

The owner of this engine wanted a classic Ford 427 look, so a tunnel wedge intake from Bear Block Motors was installed. The factory used this type of intake with a couple of backwards-mounted Holley carbs. But why use carbs when EFI works so much better? We discussed this engine with the folks at FAST, and they recommend their XFI Sportsman EFI system with dual throttle bodies. To complete the system, we installed a FAST ignition box and coil, as well as a FAST dual sync distributor. All of these parts plug and play with each other, which makes setup quick and easy. FAST's system also has a powerful internal data logging capability, which allowed us to view and record what the engine was doing during each dyno pull.

To help ensure success, we called Rich Nedbal from FAST Man EFI to help us build the tune file. Rich has a lot of experience with FAST systems, and he was more than willing to look over our shoulder as we worked on the tune file. With Rich's help, the engine fired right up, and we were able to quickly get into the tune optimization process. On an engine like this with a brand new tune, we've learned to start off a little on the rich side and then allow the EFI system to "tune itself" using the learn function. We cycled the engine through some different RPM points and smoothed out the table between those points on the laptop. Once that process was finished, the engine was ready for full throttle testing.

With a new combination like this, the log file from the FAST system is very valuable. Within just a few moments of running a dyno pull, we can look at the log and see what is going on. In this case, the engine wanted more fuel up top but less down low, and we decided to bump the timing up from 32 to 34 degrees of advance. These changes just required a few clicks of the mouse, and we were back making more pulls. All of the hard work building and tuning the engine was rewarded when we saw the dyno needle spin past the 700 hp mark. The best numbers we saw during the first day of testing was 704 peak power and 643 lb-ft of peak torque. Not bad for an old FE engine! Now we need to finish up some of the idle tuning and get the 482 shoehorned into the '63 1/2 Galaxie 500 that is waiting for it.

After the dyno testing was complete, we talked to a few guys who couldn't wrap their heads around an FE engine making 700 hp on pump gas. It does seem a little hard to believe at first, but when we looked over the FAST test logs, we saw some interesting data. The barometer at the dyno shop was 101 KPa, and the MAP sensor inside the intake manifold showed 100 KPa during the dyno pull. So the dual throttle bodies provided almost zero flow restriction. Also, the MAT sensor shows air temp inside the throttle body at only 61 degrees. Cold dense air is key to making power, and this engine had plenty of it. We ran the tests at 180-degree water temperature and burned unleaded pump gas at 34 degrees of timing, so the dyno results should translate just fine to the street. There is no doubt we can polish the tune a bit more, but for now we're very happy.

Engine Details

The test engine is a 1967 Ford 427 block with a SCAT 4.25-inch crankshaft and 6.700-inch connecting rods, and Mahle pistons. We're using Trick Flow's new Power Port 175cc heads, Comp Cams' XR292R-10 solid roller cam with Comp 19046 rocker arms, a BBM Tunnel Wedge intake with dual FAST throttle bodies, and a FAST XFI Sportsman EFI system. The machine work, engine assembly, and dyno testing performed by Gray's Automotive in McMinnville, Oregon.

See all 17 photos

See all 17 photos The intake manifold needed to go on the mill so the pushrod holes could be opened up. The rockers are moved up on the Trick Flow heads, which shoved the pushrods against the end of the slot in the intake.

See all 17 photos We needed intake gaskets that were 0.020-inch thick in order to get the proper port alignment. Thankfully, Cometic had exactly what we needed. These gaskets fit the ports perfectly and were the correct thickness for our build.

See all 17 photos With the thinner intake gaskets in place, the ports in the tunnel wedge intake line up perfectly with the ports in the Trick Flow heads. Port alignment is critical for race engines and attention to details like this is one reason why the engine performed so well.

See all 17 photos Smith Brothers made us a set of pushrods with tapered ends to solve a clearance issue that we had between the pushrods and the rocker arms. Smith Bros. has super-fast turnaround on custom stuff like this.

See all 17 photos There is plenty of clearance for the pushrods once the intake manifold is milled. We saw no signs of rubbing anywhere, and there is plenty of space for assembly.

See all 17 photos The new rocker shaft assemblies from Comp went together without any issues. It takes some time to adjust the shims to get each rocker arm lined up on the valve, but this is time well spent. Correct rocker geometry, and having each rocker arm positioned properly over the valve increases power and reduces wear and tear on the valve train.

See all 17 photos We double checked all of the clearances at full lift. Our Comp XR292R camshaft has 0.388-inch lobe lift, which works out to 0.683-inch gross valve lift when using a 1.76:1 ratio rocker arm. That is enough lift that you need to carefully check for coil bind, as well as retainer to seal clearance. You also need to check for any binding or rubbing on either side of the rocker arm.

See all 17 photos We wanted to run this clear valve cover from FE Power but it wouldn't fit with the Comp rocker arm setup. Too bad, these clear valve covers are a great way to watch the valve train on a new engine to make sure that everything is working together properly.

See all 17 photos The big FE engine went on the dyno without any problems. Gray's Automotive is an expert with FE engines, so they had the correct dyno headers as well as other key parts required to test these engines. The remote oil filter uses a screen type element which can be quickly checked for trash. The screen was spotless after the dyno test ,which is always good news.

See all 17 photos A fuel rail was custom built to supply fuel to the dual throttle bodies. We also needed to fabricate a throttle linkage. Stock linkage kits don't work since Ford ran the carbs backwards. Spacer rings were required to move the air cleaner up off the distributor.

See all 17 photos This slick oil filter adapter block came from Aviaid. The block has fittings for the external oil lines as well as an oil pressure port.

See all 17 photos Meziere supplied the electric water pump, while the damper is from ATI. Both items fit and worked perfectly.

See all 17 photos The distributor is a dual sync unit from FAST. A dual sync distributor has internal sensors that provide cam and crank positions to the EFI system. Dual syncs do not need an advance mechanism since the ECM controls the timing. A dual sync bolts down at 30 degrees BTDC, and the computer does all the work after that.

See all 17 photos One great thing about the new EFI systems is that you get a ton of data logging right out of the box. In this screen shot, we see 22 parameters that were recorded during the dyno pull. The graph shows items such as throttle position, RPM, fuel consumption, air fuel ratio, ignition timing and fuel pressure. All of this information can be played back to see what happened during the dyno test. This type of information is invaluable for tuning the engine, and it comes for free with the FAST's XFI Sportsman system.

See all 17 photos After a few dyno pulls, we let the engine cool down and pulled the valve covers to check valve lash. Everything looked great and the lash was rock solid.

See all 17 photos The dyno graph shows a monster torque curve with the engine making more than 550 ft-lbs from 4100 to 6500 rpm. This engine is going to pull like a freight train in our Galaxie.