I have a 1989 f350 Crew Cab dually that I've completely restored. All new parts front to back including tranny. Just bought a 92 model engine and doing a complete rebuild with lunati cam, headers, iii injectors etc. c6 and 4.10 gears. External cooler etc.
I pulled a 20' car hauler before which did great with a 6000# load on it. Any thoughts on what difference cam and headers will make? Wondering if anyone has experience towing 15-16k with one?

 

We talking lots of miles towing that 15K, or only once in a blue moon? Short trips, or cross country? Hills?

You're going to not like it very much with a 3 spd auto C-6 and 4.10 gears. And you're mpg will be in the low single digits. Bring lots of extra fuel capacity.

And this is from a guy who's last truck was a built 440 big block Dodge with 3 spd auto, 4.10 gears.

You *can* do it. But you really may not like it much.

 

yes. Cross county and through the mountains. I live in tn and have elevation climbs in every direction. I'm used to a 36' conquest super C with an 8.1 chevy gasser. It's about 8 mpg with it. Been to Yellowstone and back a few times.
Do you have any experience with external overdrive?
I'm old and I love my old truck! My wife tells me I could have bought 2 new ones for all the money I have put into it.
Looking at the gear vendors unit.

 

Gear Venders will help some ..... and there's another $2800 -$3200 for it but the 460 is just a major gas hog period. I had a '74 T bird with a 460 and I swear I couldn't get over 8 mpg with that thing. As far as a cam, headers etc. A good set of ceramic coated (for heat) 1 7/8"-2" primary tube 14 or 16 gauge headers and a true dual exhaust system will help. You'll need LOTS of low end torque up to about 4500 rpm for a good tow motor.

The cam and cylinder heads are the heart of the engine, the cam will have to be matched to whatever your dynamic compression ratio turns out to be. You just can't throw the ever popular "RV cam " in there and expect it to work wonders. I would highly recommend going to a Ford only forum and run your application by the members and get the right combination of parts. It's not rocket science but all the combined parts have to compliment each other to work properly.

Example..... this is a 507" Cadillac I built for my '32 Ford, lots of good stuff in there with shaft mounted roller rockers, forged conn rods, ported/polished heads with larger stainless valves and a host of other reliable engine making parts. On the dyno she ran like a diesel, all low end grunt. 466 hp @ 4500 rpm and 535 torque @ 4300 rpm........ but it cost a lot of money, to me anyway. Maybe your bride is right and you should have bought a diesel, good luck though.

 

Wow all great info! With help from lunati I chose a low rpm cam that would give maximum torque between 1000 and 4000 That would still work with fuel injection. I'm hoping for close to 500 ft lbs myself. Curious- how much did caddy engine cost to build?

 

I did it all myself except the machine work.......$6700 + $500 dyno time.

 

This was my old combo. 460,C6,4.10s and some minor mods. I towed 10,000lbs from Ontario to Florida down I 75 multiple times and never had a problem.

 

To the OP: When buying a cam, my preference is to have one spec'd from a guy who builds your motor all the time. They likely have more experience with your combo than any cam maker. I would at least have one of those kinda guys review the specs on your cam...might make for a better experience...just my 2cents.

On the topic of fuel economy, the 3.5 ecoboost in the F150 gets 7-8 mpg when towing 10k...based on everything I've heard and read. My 2002 diesel only gets 11-12 mpg with a 10k trailer. Takes fuel to move that kind of trailer.

BTW, has your wife priced a new crew cab dually lately? They ain't giving them away. :-)

 

This forum will answer all your questions. There's one member in particular on there, Scotty (AKA "The Mad Porter") who will spec a cam or build you a complete crate engine. http://www.460ford.com/forum/

 

I'm kinda too far along on this one but if I'm pleased I may start on the next one. I just have an odd passion for the bb ford. Quick shift- how far did you get on a tank with that rig? I have ready to install a 38 gallon rear tank.
'65 I keep tellin her that!
you guys have any experience with aftermarket seats?

 

My only issue would be the fuel mileage. I would plan on 5 mpg's per gallon and bring a 5 gal gas can as well.


You will have a bit of a problem with fuel stops since the truck lanes won't be of any use to you. But some truck stops have gas pumps in front with all the truck stuff to the rear. They may have enough room for you to maneuver.

 

I had a 34 gallon main, and 2 20 gallon saddle tanks. And I frequently "sweated" making it to the next fuel stop. If you get into a serious head wind with that thing.... you better park it until the wind dies down.

But this was before all the phone apps and mobile phones. So with a good fuel stop app on your phone, you should be able to plan your routes around getting gas. I don't think I'd hit the road with less than 50 gallon capacity, and 75 would be better.

As I said previously, it's not that it WON'T do it, but you are really going to feel that fuel bill in the wallet. There's a difference between *can* and *practical*. In just about any situation you can get a truck in to, my new truck gets 2 times or better mpg than my old big block Dodge. Some times I miss that old Dodge, but not ever when I pull into a gas station.

 

I had a 91 F250 with a EFI 460 with 4.10 gears that we pulled a 12K trailer with but it had the 4 speed OD transmission. Stock it was a dog and a super gas hog, but after I installed a Banks Power Pack it came alive and was just a gas hog not a super gas hog. I came from a 460 C6 and 4.10 gears with a carb that I had built with just a few goodies and was not impressed with the EFI until I modified it. The biggest problem the 4 speed transmission wasn't up to the task and before it totally went out I traded it for a V10.

You have already opened up the breathing so that's one thing out of the way but if you are going to pull a lot I would go with quiet mufflers just for cab comfort, the 460 can really make some noise under load. I love the C6 and if build right it's hard to tear up but I would look at a Gear Vender to get the RPM down on the highway. The lowest I ever got with the fuel injected 460 was 5.5 going west in Wyoming on 80 in a heavy wind and it would make 6 to 7 maybe 8 without wind but that was also with a OD transmission. My older 460 with a C6 and 4.10 gears would get 6 pulling almost all the time but with the way I had it modified it was a blast to drive just hard on the pocket book and rear tires

Denny

 

Also so far, no one has brought up being able to actually stop that thing, with a 15 to 16 thousand pound trailer... and mountain grades....

 

Back then there wad a big difference between F250, F350 and F350 DRW when it comes to brakes but still he will need a brake controller.

Denny