I own a 1973 Ford F250 4x4 pulling truck. I currently run a 390 c.i. The boys at the FE forum are trying to help me determine its horsepower. However, in the near future, I hope to upgrade to a 460. The c.i. limit in my class is currently 468 c.i. but predicted to change to about 475. The next class up limits c.i. to 515. Many people in this class run the 514 c.i. How exactly do you get that c.i.? I've talked to a few people and they have recommeded finding a 429 block and an internally balanced 460 crank. From reading many threads on the forum this seems like a smart start. I want to make around 650-750 horse. Is this possible with these c.i. limits? If so, how much money are we talking? Any build up suggestions I could use to start constructing a parts list? One note is that aluminum heads are not allowed in my current class but are allowed in the 515 class.

 

A 514 c.i.d. is a 429 or 460 with a 4.140 inch stoker crank and I want to say .030 over bore for the block. You will need to run 6.8 long conrods for this. Type in "Ford 514 Stroker" into any internet search engine and it will pull up all the possible sources for this combo. One company I will recommend staying away from is SCAT. Unless you buy a forged crank. The cast ones leave a lot to be desired as far as casting flash and manufacturing goes. Any compitent machine shop can guide you in the right direction too.

 

I am running a 466 in my street stock pulling truck with cast iron intake and iron heads. With the new cam I am putting in it, it should make around 650 HP. If you don't have any rules on camshaft size you can do it easy. A late 60's early 70's block would be the best to start with and a set of cast iron Cobra Jet heads. Run at least 12.5-1 compressoin or higher. If you are starting from scratch you can buy the parts for a 514 cheaper than a 466 or 475. There are so many companies making cranks rod and pistons for a 514 that they are affordable. Cubic inches means more power.

Dennis
1999 F-350 Powerstroke
1977 Highboy 429 4-speed 35"s
1972 Ranger on a 1978 F-250 4x4
frame 466 630HP Street Stock
Pulling Truck

 

The real limiting factor will be in the cast heads...the maximum power even for a fully ported set of iron heads will be around the 625-650 HP mark and that is using all the other engine goodies such as a roller cam, Dominator carb, big-tube headers, etc.
To get above 650 HP you need to buy a set of Pro Stock style heads or at least a set of Ford SVO part# M-6049-C460 heads. A set of ported Blue Thunder heads will work also. Just bolting those heads with matching intake on your original 650 HP buildup will easily bump the HP to 750 or more.
As far as money expect to spend upwards of $5,000 just for the heads, valve train and intake manifold for the Ford SVO heads...even more for the Pro Stock style of heads.

P.S. A set of iron CJ heads or even the newer aluminum Ford SVO aluminum CJ heads will still limit you to around 650 HP with a maximum engine build.

Deen

 

DeenHylton, did you fall asleep with the mouse in your hand?

Boy, I must of...my head must of fallen forward on the keyboard as I slept! Deen

 

I'm going to have to disagree with airharley about Scat cranks. A lot of people use them on stock and stroker engines with absolutely no problems. If you're going to exceed 9000rpm, then I'd look at Crower cranks and some serious rods. But that's not going to happen with iron heads.

Deen's right, your capability going to be limited by cast iron heads. PI or CJ iron heads are what the serious pullers use in restricted classes and the CJs will support 650-700hp with the right roller cam.

Prepare to invest chunks of money. A set of iron CJs done right will cost you as much as a set of aftermarket heads as bare cores are running $6-800 and up.

 

Jamey L. what kind of fuel can you run? I pull in a class called Competition Street and we are allowed 472 c.i. and factory production iron heads. But,we can not run racing gas. Are you allowed to run headers and aluminum intakes? One last thing where do you pull?

 

We are allowed to run racing fuel. We can run aluminum intakes, and by this season almost everybody will be running upright headers. I pull with the Nebraska Truck Pullers Association. Our class is currently called Super Stock. Some changes have already occured in this class for the upcoming season. We can run cut cleted tires and a 2 1/2 ton rearend. The cubic inch is still undecided. The name of the class may also change. If you could, give me some facts on your club or where you pull e.g. rules, limitations.

 

My advice is to run either Dove heads or PI heads on the 460. With the Dove heads and a roller cam ou should be able to make the kind of horsepower you want. I agree with Deen that the heads are a limiting factor, but not on his horsepower number. I know guys who are making the Dove head Flow 390 Exhaust and 260 intake. If you want to spend some money find a set of iron Blue Thunder Heads. These are rare, but they are out there. As far as price goes prepare to dig deep in the pockets. Making the kind of horsepower you want is expensive, and as the old saying goes there is no replacement for displacement.

 

If you're limited to iron heads, get DOOEs. Iron BT are few and far between. For high rpms, the larger exhaust and intake ports on DOOEs with a solid roller cam are as good as iron gets. A serious limited cid puller on another forum who turned regular 8000rpm runs with ported, raised exhaust plate PIs is going to CJs (DOOE) this season for more rpms. The demand for DOOEs has driven the bare core price up to where you'll have about the same amount of money in them, done right, as a new set of bolt on aluminum heads.

 

I am doing the same thing as above. I am currently running PI's and am going to the 1970 heads. The price is half of that of Aluminum. you will pay $3000 for a set of mildly ported SCJ heads from Jon Kaase Racing Engines. MPG Heads Service offers the Dove head for $1675 ready to run with roller cam springs and stainless manley valves. The heads are CNC ported and will flow right there with the new SCJ heads. I figure for the money the Dove's are the way to go. The PI heads are good, but you can do more with the 70's. Also a Victor intake will match to a Dove head better where as a Portosonic Offy is the way to go with the PI's, and they are kind of hard to find. This is just my opinion, but the iron CJ heads are not the way to go. I have talked many old time pullers and they with this head you make horspower, but not as good of torque. I have seen lots of guys build drag motors for there pulling trucks and some of the other guys with smaller motors walk all over them. That is just my opinion.

 

Well, after reading all this here's my opinion(I've only been doing this close to 30 years) Kaase gets the money from his name, I have $3500 in my Blue Thunders & no production head will touch my flow numbers. The MPG head flows well(or so they say, I've never seen one), but not nearly as good as a well ported new SCJ head. PI's are always going to be a better head than a D0VE. The Victor intake has a CJ port which is larger than a D0VE port, but the mis-match is actually benificial. Problem with a lot of thinking on heads is flow. Most companies flow their heads with a cheater tube to inhance flow. The key isn't a good number, is quality & flow balance. Iron CJ heads are in demand for a reason, they can make serious power! In the end, it's budget, can you afford the CJ's? Something else to think about, ask around & see what the winners are running. I have seen a lot of serious fast Fords around & did some checking when I bought my BT's 10 years ago. If you want to know about Ford power try Keith Craft http://www.keithcraft.com/ If you decide on the D0OE's I do have a set for sale. The key here is listen to everyone, shop around for what the winners use, & go with the best you can afford.

 

Question for qtr miller. Are you running iron or aluminum Blues? Also, alot of the guys I pull with use the Dove heads. I was going to go with the Kaase heads, but it is a little risky considering we have an iron head rule. I have not seen anything mentioned on this forum about the EX 514 head from Flow Technologies. They are producing an Iron head that is modeled after the infamous A head. If anybody wants to spend serious cash that is the way to go.

 

I have the Ford port Aluminum BT's. Just saw a set of iron ones with the BBC port sell for close to $2100 bare! I have heard some about the EX 514, almost all good except they're almost impossible to get! I myself, for the mere fact of budget, like the D0ve heads, they do work but require work. The way to go on these is to run the stock intake port with a SCJ intake. I did this and actually lost a tenth by going to a Port-O-Sonic. If someone were to want a set of heads done(I don't do them anymore) Scott at http://www.reincarnation-automotive.com/ does nice work.

 

I've only heard of two people who actually received the EX 514s and they clammed up on flow and specs. Word was that demand exceed the initial run.

http://www.flowtechnologies.net/services.htm