Thunderbirds with big blocks?

Topic: Thunderbirds with big blocks? (Read 1314 times) previous topic - next topic

Thunderbirds with big blocks?

February 23, 2006, 01:18:43 PM

What year thunderbirds came with 429's or 460's in them? I'm pretty sure it was in the 70's...I don't know what years.

What was the curb weight on those beasts and what was the stock hp & torque?

Thunderbirds with big blocks?

Reply #1 – February 23, 2006, 01:54:20 PM

im pretty sure they didnt get the 460, but may have gott'n a 429 in the early 70s, by the late 70s im pretty sure they were eather a 351m or a 400 like my 79 lincons were. i know lincons in the late 70s had the option for a 460 but i cant give a deffinate answer on the tbirds.

Thunderbirds with big blocks?

Reply #2 – February 23, 2006, 02:06:08 PM

1967: 390 FE or 428 FE
1968: 429 "Thunderjet"
1969: 429 "Thunderjet"
1970: 429 "Thunderjet"
1971: 429 "Thunderjet"
1972: 429 or 460 optional.
1973: 429 or 460 optional
1974: 460
1975: 460
1976: 460
From 1977 on Thunderbirds only got small blocks be it the Windsor or "M" serries. I hope this helps :D

Thunderbirds with big blocks?

Reply #3 – February 23, 2006, 02:07:37 PM

Oh yeah from 1967 on they weighed at least 4,000lbs with the 1976 model approaching almost 5,000 lbs :eek:

Thunderbirds with big blocks?

Reply #4 – February 23, 2006, 02:21:56 PM

Be kind. Do it to a Sport or an LX.

It's futile, I know. you Tom, look what you've done.

Thunderbirds with big blocks?

Reply #5 – February 23, 2006, 02:33:34 PM

Quote from: oldraven

Be kind. Do it to a Sport or an LX.

It's futile, I know. you Tom, look what you've done.

:flip:

I do miss my 2300 at times:D

Thunderbirds with big blocks?

Reply #6 – February 23, 2006, 03:14:23 PM

Quote from: SLEEPER T-BIRD 87

:flip:

I do miss my 2300 at times:D

And with all that extra weight up front, I bet your bird does too.

Thunderbirds with big blocks?

Reply #7 – February 23, 2006, 03:27:33 PM

IIRC the Modifieds are considered 'big blocks'...

Thunderbirds with big blocks?

Reply #8 – February 23, 2006, 03:31:06 PM

Quote from: oldraven

And with all that extra weight up front, I bet your bird does too.

;) but those 175lb coilovers sure do poor things:hick:

Thunderbirds with big blocks?

Reply #9 – February 23, 2006, 06:17:57 PM

Quote from: RTStabler51

IIRC the Modifieds are considered 'big blocks'...

nope, they are small blocks

Thunderbirds with big blocks?

Reply #10 – February 23, 2006, 10:43:43 PM

My brother had a '76 with the 460. That car was sweet - white with white leather interior. The car, in association with my father and a can of ether, was responsible for the first time the Fire department ever had to come down our street :D

The story: He was trying to start it and pretty much emptied a can of ether into the carb. Cranking the engine over did nothing more than pump the ether into the exhaust system - the wires were wet so he had no spark. He sprayed some "wire dryer" on it and it caught. And boy, did it catch - the entire exhaust system, from the manifolds to the tailpipes, disintegrated with an amazing BANG (I swear that car jumped about four feet off the ground, too), and the resultant fireball caught the grease and graphite that was all over the undercarriage on fire.
I'll never forget the image of my father under the car with a Kool-Aid pitcher full of water splashing it up onto the floor of the car vainly trying to extinguish the flames.

Luckily, the only damage was to the eardrums of everyone within 1/2 mile, and the fact my father burned his eyebrows off while trying to put the fire out. My brother sold the car shortly thereafter, and it sold immediately to the first guy that came and looked at it. It was actually a trio of black guys and they literally got into a fistfight in the driveway over who was gonna buy the car. Needless to say, after the fight ended, there was no dickering on the price :D

Thunderbirds with big blocks?

Reply #11 – February 23, 2006, 11:38:02 PM

Technically the modifieds are considered big blocks...they use the big block bellhousing pattern and some other junk like that. I don't consider them "real" big blocks though.

Anyway, I was just curious. Years ago I saw a mid-70's Thunderbird in one of those national car ad things, had a big block in it and it had been tubbed and it was pretty sweet. Those things are barges though, so I dunno.

Thunderbirds with big blocks?

Reply #12 – February 24, 2006, 12:22:48 AM

Quote from: Thunder Chicken

My brother sold the car shortly thereafter, and it sold immediately to the first guy that came and looked at it. It was actually a trio of black guys and they literally got into a fistfight in the driveway over who was gonna buy the car. Needless to say, after the fight ended, there was no dickering on the price :D

I take it this was when you still lived in Dartmouth.

Thunderbirds with big blocks?

Reply #13 – February 24, 2006, 12:50:17 AM

Quote from: Red_LX

Technically the modifieds are considered big blocks...they use the big block bellhousing pattern and some other junk like that. I don't consider them "real" big blocks though.

Anyway, I was just curious. Years ago I saw a mid-70's Thunderbird in one of those national car ad things, had a big block in it and it had been tubbed and it was pretty sweet. Those things are barges though, so I dunno.

The modifieds seem to be as wide or wider than most big blocks, with a small block length. At my local junkyard, they have a "big block bus" full of all different makes. There's a 400m sitting next to a 454, and the 454 looks rather narrow width wise compared to the 400m.

Thunderbirds with big blocks?

Reply #14 – February 24, 2006, 09:05:58 AM

nope, they are small blocks. they may have the same bell pattern as a big block( some 400's had the small block pattern) but all they are is a tall deck 351c. heads interchange with the 289/302/351w