Same old 429/460 question

Hey everyone and first off my apologies for asking a question that has been asked before in several forums. It is just that I see so much conflicting info from site to site and then I found this site and knew I could get the proper answer here. I have a 78 bronco with what was said to have a 429 cobra jet in it. I had some work done years back before I really knew much about engines. I can't really remember for sure but I think the guy that fixed my engine may have swapped out my original heads with a set of dove c heads because I was low on money at the time, not sure, my memory fails me as it was years (9) ago. Well to make a long story short, I need to identify if what I have is actually a 460 or a 429 cj engine. I know from doing some searching that it according to the D0VE-A casting could be both as they use the same number. The current heads are D0VE-C which definately are not the original heads for a 429 cj. Is the only way to tell the two apart in fact to drop the pan and check the crank or is there another way that I am not aware of? Thanks again to all of you that can be some help.

Do you know what the block casting code is? It is by the the starter. Other than that, you can drop the pan and see if it's a 4 bolt main block, and get the crank casting codes to determine what crank it is.

You are sure that this 78 Bronco has had a big block Ford installed into it...? It certainly never came in production with a 429 as the original engine.

A 351M or 400 with early Cleveland heads is more likely.

rmcomprandy wrote:You are sure that this 78 Bronco has had a big block Ford installed into it...? It certainly never came in production with a 429 as the original engine.

A 351M or 400 with early Cleveland heads is more likely.

D0VE-C heads so someone has swapped in the BBF.

Yup its definately either a 429 or 460 I'm sure of that. The block casting code is D0VE-A. That is why I'm confused because with a D0VE-A casting number I have read that both the 429 and 460 used this code during certain years. I just want to confirm that it is in fact a 429cj which I have always thought it to be. Also thanks to everyone who responded so far, I appreciate it.

It could have been a cj engine to begin with but as you said it was rebuilt 9 years ago and the engine builder could have swap heads.If it was a cj engine it would have had dooe heads and when he did the engine and you not knowing much about it he could have put the dove-c heads on it. Then kelp your dooe heads put $$$$ in his pocket by saling them to someone who knew what the were not saying he did that.The only way you will be able to realy tell is to pull the oil pan and check to see what crank it has.I hear alot of people saying they have a 429cj because they have a dove block and dove heads on it but the cj heads are dooe in the same place yours say dove-c.

borrow a bore scoop,look in spark plug hole, see how many valve releves there are, 2 its not a cj, 1 its a cj

I have a D0VE-A block that came from a Mercury Marquis 429 2v







so it MAY or MAY not be a CJ engine/block

a DOVE BLOCK IS what we all call a cj block,it can also be a d1 but that rare.

the oddest one ive seen was my 12,000 mile sept 70 cyclone,cj engine,num matching,but was a plain jane c9 block,i knew the car sence it was new,org engine. i changed the started for him and saw its a c9,lol. ford used what ever they had.lol

what you have is a k code 2v 429 thunderjet engine

To see if it is a 429, you can stick something in the spark plug hole and measure the stroke. If it is a 4.75" stroke, it is not a factory CJ...........

I see that the last post on here was in 2009, but in the event that someone comes across this post maybe they can provide me some insite. I've recently come across a D0VE-A block and was curious about one of the casting numbers on it. On the front of the block is the casting number 460, now I know that these blocks were used in the 429 SCJ/CJ motors and the 460 PI motors. Does this casting number represent the CID of the motor making this a block used in the PI engine? I ask because the individual is selling it as a 429 SCJ, which I would love nothing more than to piece back together. My only concern is that I don't want to piece it back together parading around saying that it's an authentic SCJ/CJ engine when it's really a stroked down 460 with SCJ/CJ heads. Everyone I know tells me I'm looking too much into this but I tend to be a sticklor for detail. Any insite into this matter to help ease my mind would be greatly appreciated, if anyone happens to come acrossed this post again. Thanks.

christopher.bigham wrote:I see that the last post on here was in 2009, but in the event that someone comes across this post maybe they can provide me some insite. I've recently come across a D0VE-A block and was curious about one of the casting numbers on it. On the front of the block is the casting number 460, now I know that these blocks were used in the 429 SCJ/CJ motors and the 460 PI motors. Does this casting number represent the CID of the motor making this a block used in the PI engine? I ask because the individual is selling it as a 429 SCJ, which I would love nothing more than to piece back together. My only concern is that I don't want to piece it back together parading around saying that it's an authentic SCJ/CJ engine when it's really a stroked down 460 with SCJ/CJ heads. Everyone I know tells me I'm looking too much into this but I tend to be a sticklor for detail. Any insite into this matter to help ease my mind would be greatly appreciated, if anyone happens to come acrossed this post again. Thanks.

The casting numbers on a block will NOT tell you whether or not it is a 460 or a 429CJ or regular engine.
They will ONLY tell you what it COULD be.

SCJ's generally always have 4 bolt mains, CJ motors are 4 bolt a lot of the time but you will see 2 bolt motors and Thunder jet engines are always 2 bolt