Thread: Wanting to give my 460 some pep!!

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Hey hot rodders;
I'd like to do a tear down on my 460bb,clean her up,do a thorough
inspection of everything,and build her back up with some performance
parts.
My question is,what few perf.parts could i add to get some pep?

What i have is a '77 Ford F250,2 wheel drive,and all stock with the exception
of an Edlebrock 1406 carb(electric choke)4bbl and K&N air filter,MSD blaster2
coil and dist.cap

I have had the oil pan off a couple of times and seen that she's a 2 bolt main.
Any suggestions?

What kind of budget you looking at for the build??? One thing, make sure you get the timing chain set for the older 460's, the one you have is probably retarded for emissions and the older one's aren't... A set of the older 429 heads would also really help the performance... Paul Kane is our resident 460 guru, hopefully he'll stop by with some more specific recomendations on cam and other parts...... Some other's on here I'm sure will have some good suggestions, too. Look through them all and decide what works best with your intended usage....


PS---If you want to save yourself some grief down the road, and help the performance, spend some extra $$$$$$$ and go with a hyydraulic roller cam.... So many problems with the flat tappet cams losing a lobe or two cuz of the lousy oil the gov'ment has mandated we all have to use... No zinc in it, cam lobes get wiped out. With a hydraulic roller, no such problems, just put it in an go fast!!!!!

You really don't need too much 'help' for these engines - the later DuraSpark distributor and possibly an MSD box, but the OEM box is pretty good.

If you can find the D0VE-C HEADS (Dave S suggestion which were used on both the 429 and 460 from '68-'72) you will be w-a-a-a-y ahead.

The 1406 carb 750 cfm should be fine. The OEM intake - There are better!!

Camshafts - I agree with needing a roller version in today's oil world. Many choices to pick from.

Timing chain - a Ford or similar double roller with a multiple position small gear. I ran one 9* advanced in a '76 F250. What a wake up call for that engine along with a Holley 3310 (the 780cfm version) and a set of dual exhausts. That truck (std cab, 2wd, 3.70's) was a sleeper but would still pull a big 9000# camper easily.

Get more into it and we'll help you spend your hard earned dollars

Shweeet!! thank you very much for the input!!
I will definitly start with hydraulic roller cams and
definitly be on the look out for some Dove-c heads.

Once again,thank you guys for your input and eventually
when i get her all put together, i'll let you know how she runs

I disagree with the need for a roller cam. A good flat tappet cam will outlast cheap rollers any day. If you want good mid-range to high-range rpm power, start with a good single plane intake. The single plane will require a bigger accelerator pump shot, so you'll have to adjust the carb. Better yet go to a 750-850cfm carb. Headers next. A mild cam (what we used to call a 3/4 race cam) will really wake up the intake and exhaust. Make sure you have a nice hot spark, either a late model electronic or MSD. You can make a lot more power with these items before you have to spend money on heads and roller cams.

Originally Posted by moparfever

I disagree with the need for a roller cam. A good flat tappet cam will outlast cheap rollers any day.

You didn't really read WHY a couple of us recommended a roller camshaft

When you make that statement about flat tappet vs roller cams you insert the word "cheap" in there. Not sure where you find a "cheap" roller cam, but if you are comparing apples to apples, a roller cam is far superior to any flat tappet cam, hands down. This has become even more important with the reduction the oil companies are making in all the good additives that kept flat tappet cams and lifters alive in the past. Even the car manufacturers are realizing this and is the reason so many new motors come stock with roller cams.

I also question your advice about a single plane intake. He wants this engine to have a little more zip on the street, and common wisdom is that single planes are great for drag strip use, but fall on their face in daily stop and go driving.

Don

well your old ? well NO i build engine and machine them every week so your telling me them bad cams coming out of them BBC and small blocks i have seen over the years are not bad ? i take a roller any day .your hoping your flat lifter cam lifters are going to say turning and there lube under the lifter foot to stop things going south .were a roller just rolls over the cam .i do not have to worry about the face on the lifter ground on the right radius . finsh on lifter face .junk oil . owner not breaking in the cam right . yep i stick with junk roller cams

Pat, I'm not trying to deny your experience. If you're an engine builder by profession, then you clearly have one over on me when it comes to seeing how an engine wears. Are you saying that on those engines with excessive cam wear, that there wasn't already some other reason to tear it down or rebuild it? I'm thinking in most cases it's already time to freshen it up, but I could be wrong. I'm just saying that for me, personally, I don't see the benefit of rollers if I'm not running steep ramps and high spring pressures. What's the cost-benefit analysis of buying roller tappets vs. buying additives anyway?

C'mon, kids, play nice or they'll take your crayons away!
Seriously, though, I have both rollers and flat tappet engines with 300K miles on the same cam. Then, too, I've had both fail in less time, some went south in no time at all. The critical time with flat tappets is the first minute or so after initial startup. If it fires right up with no problem and runs easily, and there's a good cam lube and zinc additive used, I have had no trouble at all with modern oils. Not to say rollers aren't better, just not absolutely necessary for a street engine.
As for heads on a 460, the C3's can be made to work well if you are rebuilding the engine anyway, just buy the pistons needed to put the CR where you want it and port the heads a bit to get rid of the restriction in the exhaust ports. And of course get a timing set that is straight up, not retarded like the factory ones.
It's not just the retarded timing sets that kill a stocker, the cams have a profile reminiscent of a Stovebolt Chevy 6.

My thinking is, as long as he is going in there and changing cams anyway, why not get the peace of mind a roller would provide? We are seeing so many flat cams going away prematurely these days that lots of people are adding $ 10 to every oil change because they are dumping in some additive to put back the stuff the oil companies are now leaving out. How much does it add to the cost to go roller cam? Maybe $ 200-$ 300 total? For me that little difference would be well worth it............no break in procedure, potentially longer life, and probably better performance due to less friction.

Don't take offense to this slightly spirited discussion we are having, if we were having it around a round of cold ones it would not come off as harsh as it does in print. We are just seeing a difference in philosophies here. On some forums this would be considered very tame.

Don

Go for eldelbrock rpm heads,rpm cam,and holley 870 street avenger carb,cheapest way for low buck performance,needs 10;1 comp though? runs fine with eldelbrock mech fuel pump?

Originally Posted by 1977 ford 460BB

Hey hot rodders;
I'd like to do a tear down on my 460bb,clean her up,do a thorough
inspection of everything,and build her back up with some performance
parts.
My question is,what few perf.parts could i add to get some pep?

What i have is a '77 Ford F250,2 wheel drive,and all stock with the exception
of an Edlebrock 1406 carb(electric choke)4bbl and K&N air filter,MSD blaster2
coil and dist.cap

I have had the oil pan off a couple of times and seen that she's a 2 bolt main.
Any suggestions?

I have one on the street with early 429 heads. Comp hydralic around 280 deg
cam. early timing gears of course, Wiend stealth and decent headers
that feels real strong. 4000lbs with 3:55's and a 10 in. convertor.
I have a 850 holley for it, but run a 600 double pump for street purposes.
Still feels good red light to red light etc...flat tappet with Lucas additive. I prefer the screw in studs
and adjustable rockers. IMO the CJ heads are too big.