Pacific Performance 427ci Engine Build - 427 Fantasies

The one-piece oil pan gasket is plainly visible as the Canton pan is lowered into position. In this photo the main cap cross-bolts are prominent. Notice the two cross-bolts per side on each of the middle three journals, making these technically six-bolt mains.

The harmonic balancer has been installed as well as the timing pointer made for the Shelby aluminum cover. With the number-one piston at the absolute top of its bore, a tape with timing gradations is applied to the balancer with zero at top dead center.

FelPro gaskets are installed over the ARP cylinder head stud set, and the fully dressed Edelbrock aluminum castings slide into place. Notice the three reinforcement webs running across the lifter valley. These ridges aren't found on a factory 427 block casting.

It's kind of impossible to overlube an engine in preparation for start-up. Here, each lifter gets a generous coating of assembly lube on the roller before being dropped into its previously oiled bore.

For obvious reasons, steel washers are installed over the studs before the retaining nuts go on. Here, the torque wrench is used to snug down the heads in three stages to a final value of 90 lb-ft.

A modern single-plane intake might not have this problem, but the vintage manifold has a hot air chamber designed into the manifold that was used as an aid to engine warm up. It protrudes into the lifter valley, and if we want to use the Ford intake, it will have to have three channels machined into the floor of the heat chamber to clear the Shelby block's reinforcement webbing found in the valley. This will have no effect on the intake's induction function.

The cuts were easily made with the in-house machinery available to FPS, and the intake drops into place perfectly. The intake manifold bolts go down in sequence to a final value of 20 lb-ft.

We've dropped the pushrods into place, and in this photo, the studs that locate the shaft rockers are installed into the cylinder head. The shaft rockers are easy to install and very stable.

The entire shaft rocker assembly was dropped into place over the studs. Here, the supplied washers and nuts are installed onto the mounting studs. Tightening the stud bolts to 45 lb-ft creates a very sturdy valvetrain installation.

Freshly built, this Shelby all-aluminum animal is ready for the customer. After some pent roof valve covers and the dual-quad air cleaner are added, this exotic engine will do the Cobra proud.

Since the lifters are hydraulic, the valve adjustment is the standard drill for each valve. Rotate the cam so the valve you are adjusting has the cam lobe on the base circle of its lobe. Tighten the rocker to zero lash and then go down three quarters of a turn and lock the adjustment into place.