Sorry for the lengthy post guys, but you asked for an opinion and sometimes it takes me more than 2 sentences to express mine.
Unreal, first you began asking about a CE in a COPO, then about one in your tribute car. Comparing a COPO to a tribute car is like comparing apples to oranges, and there are lots of things to take into consideration when trying to determine "market value" of a true COPO or clone car. Hence...my lengthy post.
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Bottom line is I traded my 512 two bolt short block for a 512 CE coded 4 Bolt (F 5 9, so it's a 427, not a 454). I did not do it for monetary gain, nor to try to make my car any more "real". I did it to make it a more accurate tribute car. Hagerty man suggested I raise the value of the car when I get the CE motor in it, which I plan to do.
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A 2 bolt for a 4 bolt is a good trade, since neither motor would be "correct" for a clone/tribute anyhow, so who cares what the code says, if it's a true 4 bolt 427. This swap may in fact increase the "market value" of the car, but not too dramatically IMO. But again, the only way to determine this is an attempt at selling it, where ultimately, it's only worth what the highest bidder will pay on that particular day. Personally, I doubt it would fetch much more with a CE than any other comparable block (i.e. any 512 4 bolt)but that's for you, the purchaser, and the Hagerty man to decide. Personally, I understand your reasoning behind trading a 2 bolt for a 4, but if the 4 bolt was an LD and your 2 bolt was a CE, I'd still have swapped for the 4 bolt since neither would be the "right" engine for a clone/tribute car no matter what code is on it.
I guess the original question should have been, "Is a 512 4 bolt better than my 512 2 bolt, for use in a clone/tribute?" To that I'd have said "Yes." Or if you asked "Will installing a 512 4 bolt instead of a 512 2 bolt increase the value of my clone/tribute any?" I'd have said "try to sell it and find out."
Does that make sense? I Hope I didn't lose anyone back there...
