Part I: Shortblock Assembly

In April we introduced Project FE, our 1969 Mach 1 project car originally equipped with a 390 cubic - in FE motor. With a cam, heads, and intake the 390 had produced timeslips in the low to mid 12's - not bad for a stock bottom end. However the engine had seen better days, so we decided this was a good opportunity to increase the displacement via a stout 428. We found ourselves a block and crank in good condition, and last month we dropped it off at the machine shop. In the meantime we decided on what we wanted to achieve out of this motor in terms of power levels, and then ordered up all the right parts needed to live up to our expectations.

With the 428 motor we are not looking to achieve a certain horsepower figure. The goal is for the 428 to pull the Mach 1 to high 11's or better, through a C6 transmission. At this point we estimate 410-440 horsepower at the rear wheels, but more importantly 450+ lb.ft. of torque.

We're building the shortblock to be capable of spinning to 7000 rpm, naturally aspirated, however leaving some possibility of adding a small nitrous shot. With our cam selection, realistically we're looking at shifts around 6500 rpm.

Follow along,s tep-by-step, as we build up the 428 motor. In the next issue we'll complete the top end and drop it into our Mach 1 project car.

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