Help please, 460 ford info.

Hi, I am about to go look at a couple of older F-250's to pull a 460 and C6 from. Does anyone know of any specific problem areas these engines had that I should be looking for other than the usual?

I have been lurking on here forever and was going to put off making an account until I was finished with this and had something interesting to post, but I have tried asking this question on a couple other boards and instead of any real information I just got reasons why I should use either a smaller engine or a 454 Chebby. Searching Google wasn't really helpful either, I read something about rear main seal leakage and that was about it.

Thanks for any help you might be able to offer.

What are you looking to do? What do you mean by "older" year-wise?

Only thing I will say is to pull them separate. It's one heavy SOB.

Ranger50 wrote: What are you looking to do? What do you mean by "older" year-wise? Only thing I will say is to pull them separate. It's one heavy SOB.

One looked like a '79 model, the other I'm not sure, somewhere around '78 or '79. Probably just find some d0ve heads, a 429 timing set, 100 shot. Just the easy to find and cheap stuff for now.

It's going in an '83 2wd Suburban. My 5500 lb. autocrosser.

Why the crossbreeding? If it was mine, I'd stick to the land of "boat anchors". A 2 bolt 454 will take and make power for less $ then the Ford up to a point. Just have to be thrifty with your spending.

Ranger50 wrote: Why the crossbreeding? If it was mine, I'd stick to the land of "boat anchors". A 2 bolt 454 will take and make power for less $ then the Ford up to a point. Just have to be thrifty with your spending.

10.30" vs. 9.80" deck height, 4.90" vs. 4.84" bore spacing, more room in the block for a long stroke and large cam. Just seemed like a better engine for a truck this size. Just an offset grind and .030" overbore gives something like 520c.i.

Plus we have 2 of them in the junk lot at the dealer I work for.

460ford.com is the best resource I've found.

I got one for free from my old boss that I have half-rebuilt (rotating assembly's done, stalled on the heads), but I don't have anywhere to put it yet and I didn't pull it myself, so I'm afraid I'm no help beyond the link.

As far as I know, though, these things are about as reliable as hammers.

Eventually I'll probably build up one of these to replace the 400 in the colony park.

alex wrote: 460ford.com is the best resource I've found. I got one for free from my old boss that I have half-rebuilt (rotating assembly's done, stalled on the heads), but I don't have anywhere to put it yet and I didn't pull it myself, so I'm afraid I'm no help beyond the link. As far as I know, though, these things are about as reliable as hammers.

I have been reading over at 460ford a little bit, they have a ton of info but it seems to be all performance and aftermarket related. The only problem areas I have found were on the RV forums, where they were overheating them and cracking the exhaust manifolds, but I think that's more of an RV related thing rather than a 460 problem.

What parts did you use for your rotating assy?

I'd stay away from the fuel injected stuff - old sensors/connections/wiring makes headaches. IIRC, one can't put a carb on the fi heads?

you can dream at carsbycarl.com

have fun!

DavidinDurango wrote: I'd stay away from the fuel injected stuff - old sensors/connections/wiring makes headaches. IIRC, one can't put a carb on the fi heads? you can dream at carsbycarl.com have fun!

I haven't read up much on the EFI versions, I think you can swap the heads and intake and use either block but don't quote me on that.

I've got a 460 in my parts chaser/horse hauler/all around truck and I love it.

It is thirsty though, expect 10mpg highway and 12 in the city, empty, full , uphill, downhill, tailwind, headwind it never seems to change.

The manifold thing isn't just motorhomes, my truck has the same problem. It's not actually a cracking problem, it's warpage and the fact that Ford didn't use gaskets on the manifolds.

My truck is a '90 I'll live with the noise rather than having to pull cylinder heads because the studs broke trying to get the manifolds off.

Shawn

In reply to bwh998:

All stock. I got lucky and everything was reusable. Had the crank cleaned up and the block checked out - didn't even need the cylinders bored, no appreciable shoulder.

I'm not planning to make crazy power with the thing, just a mild cam, intake/exhaust, and I'll eventually get around to trying my hand at doing a port/polish on the heads.

Trans_Maro wrote: I've got a 460 in my parts chaser/horse hauler/all around truck and I love it It is thirsty though, expect 10mpg highway and 12 in the city, empty, full , uphill, downhill, tailwind, headwind it never seems to change. The manifold thing isn't just motorhomes, my truck has the same problem. It's not actually a cracking problem, it's warpage and the fact that Ford didn't use gaskets on the manifolds. My truck is a '90 I'll live with the noise rather than having to pull cylinder heads because the studs broke trying to get the manifolds off. Shawn

Thanks for detailing the manifold problem, I didn't even know that they were gasket-less.

alex wrote: In reply to bwh998: All stock. I got lucky and everything was reusable. Had the crank cleaned up and the block checked out - didn't even need the cylinders bored, no appreciable shoulder. I'm not planning to make crazy power with the thing, just a mild cam, intake/exhaust, and I'll eventually get around to trying my hand at doing a port/polish on the heads.

Cool, I'm hoping I can put one of these on the road without any major work too.

I'll leave it stock if I can get a summer out of it,then pull it back out over the winter.

Ford engine into a big chevy to AutoX... Welcome, you will fit right in.

Thank you. I just happen to love the looks of the 8th gen suburbans.

460 one ton crew cab dually and 28 ft trailer full of sprint car and all the stuff that makes them go, on propane. It has a bad habit of eating at lest one rocker arm a season, at o'dark 30 on the way home.

That sucks, any idea whats causing it? I see several posts where people are bending pushrods, nothing really about rocker arms though.

With these engines sitting for a while I'll have to be careful when i turn it over with that pushrod issue.

This is about an hour away from my house:

http://www.scca.com/news/index.cfm?cid=51046

For an autox it's pretty long and straight. Is there a class that I could run something like this in? I was there this year and can't recall seeing any trucks at all.

bwh998 wrote: For an autox it's pretty long and straight. Is there a class that I could run something like this in? I was there this year and can't recall seeing any trucks at all.

Scca rules say

vehicles with wheelbases exceeding 116” may be excluded by the Event Chairman if he determines, at his discretion, that they cannot readily negotiate the course.

Unstable vehicles with a high center of gravity and a narrow track, in-cluding SUVs, minivans, and 4WD pickups, must be excluded. Exam-ples of such vehicles are listed in Appendix A. Extra caution should be exercised with non-traditional vehicles (e.g., trucks using racing slicks).

The following are examples of vehicles excluded from Stock for reasons of stability, per 3.1: Dodge Caliber (non-SRT) GEO Tracker & Suzuki Sidekick Jeep CJ series Suzuki Samurai Scion xB (2004-06)

DavidinDurango wrote: I'd stay away from the fuel injected stuff - old sensors/connections/wiring makes headaches. IIRC, one can't put a carb on the fi heads? you can dream at carsbycarl.com have fun!

Nothing wrong with the EFI except you have exactly ONE intake you can run. If you redrill the intake, sort of like the LA/Magnum Dodges and Vortec's in GM land, and put a carb intake on EFI heads.

LOL.. ask my friend Bob about Carl...It ain't pretty and it was in Bob's words, "A wussy puss street car build with a Bob Costas cam, Bob Costas heads, and pump gas compression."

Trans_Maro wrote: I've got a 460 in my parts chaser/horse hauler/all around truck and I love it. It is thirsty though, expect 10mpg highway and 12 in the city, empty, full , uphill, downhill, tailwind, headwind it never seems to change. The manifold thing isn't just motorhomes, my truck has the same problem. It's not actually a cracking problem, it's warpage and the fact that Ford didn't use gaskets on the manifolds. My truck is a '90 I'll live with the noise rather than having to pull cylinder heads because the studs broke trying to get the manifolds off. Shawn

For 6k pounds lugging around, it ain't bad. When I drove OBS F-SuperDuty box trucks for the newspaper, I calculated they got 6mpg hauling 15k pounds worth of newspaper around the city and idling for LONG periods of time. Didn't matter if it was running on propane or gas either, 6mpg.

All those BB trucks never had gaskets, Ford or GM. Gaskets are only sold to cover up the warping manifolds that just need to be sanded down flat again to make the best use of gaskets.

Ranger50 wrote:

DavidinDurango wrote: I'd stay away from the fuel injected stuff - old sensors/connections/wiring makes headaches. IIRC, one can't put a carb on the fi heads? you can dream at carsbycarl.com have fun!

Nothing wrong with the EFI except you have exactly ONE intake you can run. If you redrill the intake, sort of like the LA/Magnum Dodges and Vortec's in GM land, and put a carb intake on EFI heads. LOL.. ask my friend Bob about Carl...It ain't pretty and it was in Bob's words, "A wussy puss street car build with a Bob Costas cam, Bob Costas heads, and pump gas compression."

Here's what I know - Carl gave me exactly what I asked for - and was more than willing to spend time discussing options. The motor pulls like a mf and can get 18+mpg. Your friend reminds me of a lady at work - HATED the salad bar salads (why would anyone make a salad they hate?) FWIW.

In reply to DavidinDurango:

His motor didn't even make it out of break-in before needing to be REBUILT.

MrChaos wrote:

bwh998 wrote: For an autox it's pretty long and straight. Is there a class that I could run something like this in? I was there this year and can't recall seeing any trucks at all.

Scca rules say

vehicles with wheelbases exceeding 116” may be excluded by the Event Chairman if he determines, at his discretion, that they cannot readily negotiate the course.

Unstable vehicles with a high center of gravity and a narrow track, in-cluding SUVs, minivans, and 4WD pickups, must be excluded. Exam-ples of such vehicles are listed in Appendix A. Extra caution should be exercised with non-traditional vehicles (e.g., trucks using racing slicks).

The following are examples of vehicles excluded from Stock for reasons of stability, per 3.1: Dodge Caliber (non-SRT) GEO Tracker & Suzuki Sidekick Jeep CJ series Suzuki Samurai Scion xB (2004-06)

That still leaves track days, I think. Just a lot more driving to get to the tracks.