I've been working on the Ford 521 as a side project for most of the year. It is getting closer and closer but the project has hit a lot of little potholes along the way. I had to design new tools and fixtures so I could work on the belt drive. This engine has a Danny Bee belt drive and none of my Jesel stuff would work. I've also had to design new tools to work on the valve train. I have a big collection of Mopar stuff but none of it works with the canted valves.

I had to get a custom damper from ATI for the engine so I could put the TDC mark on the driver side. The Danny Bee belt drive doesn't come with a TDC pointer and there is no space for it on the passenger side so I moved it to the driver side. The T&D rocker arms are a bit interesting to work on since everything is on compound angles.

It will be interesting to see how this engine runs vs. my old 514 Mopar. That engine made right around 900 hp with MW ported Indy EZ heads that flowed 365 cfm. The Kaase heads on this 521 flow 425 cfm and the ports are roughly 50% larger than the MW ports. But the 521 has a little less compression and a little less cam.

I also can't get a really good intake for the Ford. Trick Flow has a good design for the big Ford engine but it has been out of production for most of the year. I have an Edelbrock Victor for the engine but it doesn't appear to be a very good intake. I don't think the Victor will support more than 800 hp anyway. But I guess we'll find out soon enough on the dyno. All I need to do now is finish up the top end assembly and get it on the dyno.