409 recomendations?

[Ragtop]

I have to say I have had no previous experiences with these engines but have admired them for years. I recently purchased a 409 out of a boat and since it seems to have the low performance heads, I'd like to use a 348 Tri power intake on it for use in my (glass) 34 Ford coupe. I have a rebuilt 700R4 trans with all the good stuff it in to take more horsepower than my 409 will generate. I want a reliable pump gas engine that will sound good and perform well on the street - no intention of drag racing it or abusing it. I'm interested in opinions on what piston to use, what cam etc. I'm also thinking about some type of electronic ignition, but I understand the 409 distributor is different from a small or big block and I would think the diameter would need to be small to clear the tripower carbs. I have a 9" Ford rear end with 4.11 :1 gears and a 31 or 32" tall tire. The car will probably weigh in around 3000 to 3500 lbs. Thanx, appreciate hearing from the experts and I've really been enjoying this site.

[Bungy]

Ragtop, Sounds like you got the combination pretty much figured out already. The Tri-power will work great on the 09 with the low horse heads. As far as the distributor goes, The length is different then a sbc/bbc but the diameter and internals are the same. (points dist.) You can actually run a little higher compression in the w-engines as they are not as prone to detonation like the sbc. You can run a 10:1 piston on pump gas without any problems. As for the camshaft. Stay below 220-225 degrees duration @.050" valve lift and keep the lift around .500-.525" My recommendation for your combo would be the Crane hydraulic cam with the split profile. Duration is 218 intake and 230 exhaust. Valve lift is .525 intake and .543 exhaust. Sorry don't have a part number on this for ya, but it should be pretty easy to get. Check out the links on the main page. Any one of the parts suppliers listed there can hook you up.
:cheers

[CDNpontiac409guy]

That's not a bad cam, Bungy. I've used it often in the past. Trouble is, it has a very long advertised duration ( 290 / 300 if I'm not mistaken )... I found it to be hard on fuel. Good power though.

Ragtop, maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I still haven't bought into the electronic ignition way of doing things. I have had such incredible performance and reliability from points... well... nuff said.
I'm going to get it for this one :help ;)

[bobs409]

I like points too so I'm with you Aubrey. hee hee

[jester]

Points? What the he## are points? :dunno
Here is the plan..
(1) Dump as much fuel in as you can.
(2) Now add as much air as possible
(3) Through in a large piece of compression
Now to set the thing in motion , you need to ignite that brew with as much spark as possible. The point system is so outdated, Electronic is for me...

[dq409]

Gotta go with jester on this one !! :clap

If you compared the spark of points and the spark I get with the MSD and Daves set-up it will change your mind,,, OK ,,, some of you anyways!!! ,,,dq

[bobs409]

You can't teach old dogs new tricks. :)

[Ragtop]

Thanx for the info! pints are OK, but I've always liked an arc welder go'in off in there. Does MSD make a 409 distributer? Any specific piston recomendations other than the 10:1, Like mfg etc.? How much HP and torque would a motor like this put out?

[bobs409]

It all depends on what you want, no harm either way. Arguing points vs. HEI ranks up there with a political debate and one that will be heated and really go nowhere. For some of us (myself included), I don't race mine and do tend to lean to originality over modification when possible so a points ignition is just a natural for me. (so are powerglides, manual steering and drum brakes but that's another arguement) :D

It's been mentioned that points are outdated but when you think of it, our whole cars/engines are outdated! :D (not to us though) One of the things I like about these great old cars is their simplicity and I like to keep that. Give me mechanical over solid state any day. ;)

Points have their advantages and disadvantages just like HEI does.


Well, that's as diplomatic as I can be on the subject. :brow

[fourspeed409]

A friend of mine was having trouble with dialing in the points in his 56 after he dropped in a warmed up 350. We couldn't get it to rev past 4500 and it had a bad skip in the mid range RPM. He bought a MSD 6A-L and triggered it with the points. That solved both problems, and with the box hidden it all looks stock. Now the engine pulls right up to the 6000 RPM limit chip. The rev limiter is a good thing too because the day we got it dialed in it puked the diff.
Shane

[Ragtop]

OK, I like the points with MSD idea - in fact I have an MSD hanging unused on the firewall of my 60 ElCamino - looks like a move to the '34 firewall might work out well.

[JimKwiatkowski]

Ragtop,you asked about a MSD Distributor Summit have them part # 8393 price is $372 both me and Fatride have them.Do a search on MSD Disributor to learn more info

[Fran Preve]

MSD's are nice I have a 6AL on my wife's race car, but what about a Pertronix conversion?. Keeps stock appearence and they have a II version if you need a little more spark. For a street car/mild engine it seems like an option.

[Loafer409]

Pertronic's?
Ther are those on this site that don't like it''' I have in on my boat, motorhome and my 409 and have had no problems with it,,,I do carry the parts to convert back to points in case it go T.U. on me...

[Ragtop]

Sounds good. I've heard good and bad about Pertronix, but nuthin' bad about MSD. A stock looking dizzy would look good though.

[JimKwiatkowski]

Ragtop,I know you like the stock look but I thought you would like to see a MSD Distributor since you already have a MSD-6A.I like to use all the same products on the ign system they were designed to work togeather and no I don't for MSD :D .So here's a photo if you want the socket type cap they cost $20

[JimKwiatkowski]

By the way a 34 ford coupe is awesome looking if didn't have a 57 that would be my next choice.Do you have any photos?

[Ragtop]

No photos as of yet. I bought the body and a set of frame rails about 2 weeks before selling my house. Since then I've been too busy building a new house and moving. Since my shop's not done yet I have stuff stored all over the county. It'll probably be spring before I can really get back to it. My ride right now is a '60 El Camino that's got a 350 and a Muncie 4 speed - If the 409 works out in the coupe I'd like to switch the 350 over to a 348. But that's a way down the road right now. I relly appreciate all the ideas for my 409 and I'm anxious to start accumulating parts for it.