Thread: Waking up my Ford 460

Tweet

What would bolting a set of 460 DOVE heads do for my 86 460 engine? Would they make significantly more power? Would they use substancially more fuel as well?

Thanks,

Tom

I didn't think the question was that off the wall.....maybe it is.

I had some help from admins. They moved the question to FE instead of the Ford Big Block forum. Thanks!

Not sure which heads u have on it now or the dish on ur pistons,but if u know the ccs of ur current head and the ccs of the dove u can figure it out .The main thing is to not raise the compression ratio to where it will not run on pump gas.Those doves are some of the best heads ford made other than the cobra jet and super cobra jets.set up right those heads will support a good 500 to 600 horse power!!!!!!!soo yes they will bolt on ,but do u have the right stuff for them to work without changing pistons ?again u need to know the ccs of the piston dish.

Well the 1986 is a de-tuned smog engine with fairly low compression ratio (about 8.8 to 1) I was told. So I thought bolting on the DOVES might be workable. As far as I know the engine as it sits is a stock 1986 460 ci pickup motor with 4-bl carb and dual air pumps with all that dang plumbing. The toughest thing is to try and keep exhaust manifolds on it without leaks.