What's new
By:
Filters

460 build

klork

Well-known member
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
73
Messages
47
Help me compile a parts list for a 460 for my truck! Its a 71 f350 crewcab 2wd. I really wanted to do a new 7.3 with the 10 spd but they are too new and the 390 decided to try to commit suicide like a highschool girl that wants attention. (coolant has started to get into the oil so it didnt succeed yet) Engine actually still runs well but I dont want to sink money into a 390 when 460s are cheaper and parts for them are cheaper the FE parts. So my goal is to have a fun truck to cruise around in and do some towing. I have a LJ i am building and may pick up a camper down the line. Budget is somewhat of a concern so probably not going to build a 545 stroker with kasse SR71 cylinder heads. This engine was supposed to hold out another year or 2 so I could finish my jeep before I did a swap on the truck but like normal everything wants to fail all at once and here we are.
This is my list that I have come up with so far.
Stock displacement 460
stock rods?
I know the stock crank is strong enough.
compression between 9-9.5:1 to be able to run on 87 octane. I do NOT want to feed this thirsty bitch premium.
My original thought was to get some newer designed heads either AFR or trickflow do to their better designed combustion chambers and better ports but not sure they are worth the extra 1k over a really good set of ported D3 heads. (i am about 2 hours from fox lake racing so I can easily drive there to drop off heads to get ported to avoid shipping?
hypereutectic pistons? Not sure that I would need forged for this. ( AFR heads need special pistons to go with their redesigned valve locations so probably stuck with forged if I go that route)
Performer intake manifold. (trickflow heads would need their single plane which is $600)
Holley sniper fuel injection system with their computer controlled distributer
L and L 1 7/8 headers
Trans I am not sure on yet. Truck has a dana 70 with 4.10 gears. I want a 6r80 but its 3k JUST for the adapter and controller for the trans and I dont think I can swing that with an engine build. E4od? Should be cheap enough to get ahold of and the controller is reasonable.
Stick with a newer c6 with lock up torque convertor and change gears to 3.73 for now then save up money to do a 6 or 10 spd swap late?
The next year or 2 it is mostly going to be driven for fun with random trips the home depot or more likely pick up parts for stupid projects with my vehicles
My goal for fuel economy is to get a minimum 14 mpg.
 
Last edited:
Thread is useless without a budget...
If you can't afford the adapter, just run a C6 and be happy. RV cam, flat top pistons, alum intake + sniper, headers & duals for cool sound.
What's not to like?

BUT...
If it was me, I'd be shopping for a wrecked 7.3L + a 6 speed and convert to 4x4.
But that's just me
 
*Removing an FE because 385 is cheaper*

Fuck you, just put a small block Chevy in it. :rolleyes:

FEs stroke to 445 with a cheap rotating assembly that is the same price as any other stroker kit, with the high-quality rods and pistons you'd expect. You can go hyperuetectic to forged, all about the same price as any kit. The aftermarket heads aren't that expensive or you can re-work many stock castings. Intake manifolds are about $25 more expensive, headers are about $40 more expensive.

Everything else is the exact price as a 385.

You have to buy a long drill bit to hog out the crank oil gallery, chamfer the passages around the oil pump gallery, and drill out an oil pump hole. That's all the specialty block-work for an FE. It's an hour's work and you got an 18" drill bit out of the deal.

460 stock crank and rods are good to 500-600hp.

460ford.com which went the way of the last 4x4 board. :shaking: But the content is still there.

https://www.460ford.com/threads/460-horsepower-chart-revised-1-24-09.119213/
 
Last edited:
I'm kinda a fan of iron heads and manifolds, stock cam, stock EFI intake... hell just grab a 100k mile EFI core and toss some stout valve springs in it
you're doing EFI anyways, just go with a microsquirt doing batch fire and waste spark with LS coils
added bonus of the megasquirt based setup is it'll talk via canbus to a transmission controller
70ish mm borg warner is very cheap breathing, and 5 psi will get you your power goals with 87 octane
 
If you’re building a tow rig, big heads are a waste. I would build stock engine with a mild torquey cam, 9-1 compression, good intake and exhaust. FI, and whatever 4sp auto.
 
Start with an EFI era truck shortblock so it's easy to put a ZF behind it (correct balance and flywheel spacing). Truck rods are stronger. D3's on efi cast pistons get compression ratio up a little better. That's what I did but I started with a 70's car 460 and rebuilt it. IDK why but every stock EFI 460 I've seen has been a wheezing pig, assuming it's an issue with heads and intake. My 460 runs okay when I actually do something with it once every 3 years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLxU9iP7mtU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_MSiZUhl0M

Hogged out D3's according to the reincarnation website (I paid the $20, it was worth it for the info and pics). I used a flywheel for my 70's era 460 (zero balance and thin) and then drilled it out for the PP from the EFI era 460 I pulled a zf5 from. 0.030 over, Edlbrock intake 750cfm holley, biggest summit brand cam they had at the time.
 
evernoob said:
*Removing an FE because 385 is cheaper*

Fuck you, just put a small block Chevy in it. :rolleyes:
Oh no I prefer something other then the factory FE engine!

FEs stroke to 445 with a cheap rotating assembly that is the same price as any other stroker kit, with the high-quality rods and pistons you'd expect. You can go hyperuetectic to forged, all about the same price as any kit. The aftermarket heads aren't that expensive or you can re-work many stock castings. Intake manifolds are about $25 more expensive, headers are about $40 more expensive.
Why would I buy a stroker kit for a minimum of $1700 plus machine work when I can buy a low mileage 460 for around $500 and have more cubes then a stroked FE

Everything else is the exact price as a 385.
Cheapest FE intake I could find is about $425 and most are 6-700. There are a decent amount of options for the 385 series in the $3-400 range

You have to buy a long drill bit to hog out the crank oil gallery, chamfer the passages around the oil pump gallery, and drill out an oil pump hole. That's all the specialty block-work for an FE. It's an hour's work and you got an 18" drill bit out of the deal.

460 stock crank and rods are good to 500-600hp.

460ford.com which went the way of the last 4x4 board. :shaking: But the content is still there.

https://www.460ford.com/threads/460-horsepower-chart-revised-1-24-09.119213/
Click to expand...

I think I am really leaning towards ported d3 factory iron heads to keep costs down.

I think I actually want an auto in this truck which is about the first time in my life I am saying that. I know I am a pussy but my left knee has started to bother me in the last couple years from driving stick cars all my life and an auto would be kinda nice.
 
0ilburner said:
Thread is useless without a budget...
If you can't afford the adapter, just run a C6 and be happy. RV cam, flat top pistons, alum intake + sniper, headers & duals for cool sound.
What's not to like?

BUT...
If it was me, I'd be shopping for a wrecked 7.3L + a 6 speed and convert to 4x4.
But that's just me
Click to expand...

Post pics of your cabin build.
 
maybe if you chopped, channelled and sectioned that pickup into something with the frontal area of a honda civic and found some stuupid high ratio rearend so it could do freeway speeds at about 1k rpm
 
14mpg with a 460? Even down hill with a tail wind my 79 with a fairly mild 460 is single digits. :lmao:
 
I'll echo what others have said, just go buy a wrecked EFI truck and get all the shit. If you get a 460/E4OD truck you're set. The EFI and transmission are pretty self contained on an older Ford, you just need to provide it the appropriate power/grounds. If you get an 88-91 setup it's even still got a cable speedometer. That way you've got OEM EFI with OEM parts you can get anywhere, and no separate transmission controller.

Your MPG goal is 3-4 high, expect more like 10 unloaded.
 
Captain Call said:
14mpg with a 460? Even down hill with a tail wind my 79 with a fairly mild 460 is single digits. :lmao:
Click to expand...

I can get 14 mpg out of my 93 C350 centurion empty. I get 7 towing a trailer too though. Ironically I get the best fuel mileage dinking around at really high elevation. Going 80 towing my Jeep on a trailer it gets 7 mpg, 80 empty I get 12 mpg, 35 to 55 mph tops from Durango Co to Ouray and around to Telluride and back to Durango I get 14 mpg every time. 4x4 460 E4OD with 4.10’s and 265/70/16’s.

I used to think I needed to Cummins swap it but I’ve decided against spending the money and time on it. It’s no turbo diesel but is 1000 times more enjoyable to drive than the newer small block gassers I’ve been driving. Gets as good or better fuel mileage too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Back Refresh