Sorry about all these questions but I am running into some major problems with my 460 build and I tried a search and didn't find anything. I'm pretty much building a duplicate of this. http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/116_0008_ford/ An 8.82 to 1 compression 87 octane 460. I ordered the same cam and everything. Problem is, they say they had 28cc dished pistons and as far as I know these do not exist, I think they had 22cc. They also said their pistons were .022 below the deck which is what I have (D1 bock). They used Dove heads, I have C9VE heads (close enough). I would like to square deck my block down to 10.3 so I can have some quench benefits. Speed pro makes a 23cc dish piston. I have been using this caculator. http://www.angelfire.com/fl/procrastination/motor.html
4.390 bore(.030) 3.85 stroke, .051 head gasket (0 deck height-after 10.300 maching) and a 23cc dish will give me 9.95 to one compression. Will this be ok on 93 octane? What if I need to pull a car or something? I think this may be too much but I have a lot of people telling me it will be ok. If I don't square deck the block I will be at 9.5 or 9.6 to 1 compression but no quench area so that may detonate worse.
Can anyone help me out here? Anyone know of a larger dish than 23cc or have any advise for me?

 

You should be just fine with 9.9 on 93 octane. Just for comparrison Proeliator here on FTE runs 10.5:1 on 92 octane and I run 9:1 on 87 octane currently. My current build that should be running in 2 months will be 10.8:1 and run on 92 octane.

 

That's cool, thanks. I'm hoping Proeliator chimes in. Has he tried to pull any heavy loads with 10.5 on 92 octane? I'd like to enter this truck into a street class truck pull, I will probably run 110 leaded gas just to be safe for that but I'm also worried about towing a trailer if I ever need to.
Also does anyone know the actual chamber cc's on a C9VE head? I've heard 72cc, 75cc and 76cc. For my calculation purposes I used 72cc so if they are larger than that, that's all the better.
And I have also already ordered the same push rods that were used in the car craft article that I posted above. If I deck my block down .022 will I have to send my push rods back and get some that are .022 shorter? I will have a fully adjustable valve train so I will be able to adjust them correctly but I'm worried about throwing the geometry off.

 

most of the C9VE heads are suppposed to have a nominal chamber of 75cc but they can vary to as high as 78cc unless of coarse they have been milled. for calculation purposes I use 75cc, and then for every .005 milled off I subtract 1cc this isn't correct actually but it usually guesses a little tight on the compression so your playing with the safety margin and it's pretty close for most people. If you need it closer then you need to actually check your chambers by measuring them, but most purposes don't need that much accuracy.
Ivan will get away with the 10.8 but what he didn't tell you is he is running alum heads makes a huge difference, Pro isn't but you just have to watch your timing and tune is all if it starts to ping or detonate on the road then back the timing off some. And also make sure your not running it on the ragged edge of bieng lean and your gonna be ok.
Also when doing the truck pulling you could run 100LL av gas a little cheaper than 110 race gas if you can get it from your local municiple airport (around here 100LL is only about .30 cents higher than 92 octane) last year I ran 110 race gas on 13.4:1 compression if that gives you something to compare to.

 

Static C.R. is only part of the equation. You're on the right track with the quench issue and the small, fast burn chambers but you really need to keep the dynamic compression ratio in mind. This is what the engine "sees" when it's running. Cam selection plays a big part in your DCR. The longer the duration the more compression bleeds off during the compression stroke which not only determines the engine's tendency to detonate but also affects low end power. There are several free DCR calculators on the net and you can plug in different cam specs to figure out what cam works best for you.

Also keep in mind the breathing ability of the heads. At low RPMs even small chambers have a difficult time filling properly. Cleaning up the pockets and the proper valve job will increase the efficiency of the heads at low & mid level valve lifts and help the bottom end power.

Cooling will be the key to running higher C.R. on pump gas. A 170 or 180 deg t-stat, heavy duty radiator and good water pump will make a big difference.

 

After reading that article my comments are that it was a poorly thought out, crappy build. Those goobers should stick to Bowtie engines. When you build a Blue Oval mill you have to think past the bolt on goodies and actually build a motor. The fact that they were able to get decent numbers out of the engine is a testament to the potential that the 460 has even if you let a numbskull build it. Just another reason to find a machinist/engine builder who knows Fords.

A decent porting job and valve job would've increased the HP by 30-40 and bottom end TQ even more. That engine should easily be able to run a static 10:1 C.R. on 87 octane with the proper quench clearance. There's no way you can get decent quench with .073 deck clearance.

 

Been following this thread since I have a 70 model 429 with teh higher compression. Took the super cab on a 3 hour trip today loaded with 4 buddies to a swapmeet. We had to do probably the largest grade in Western North Carolina. 93 octane and no pinging or knocking that I could tell of and engine temps were 185-190. May try 89 but for just 10 cent a gallon more the 93 is not killing me. I too believe the quench height is key to controlling detonation..