So, i have a 1977 F250 4x4 with the 400. Its a tired out old engine, but i love it. I understand the potential of a 460, but i like the uniqueness of a 400. Plus the temptation to build up the 460 is too great, and i just want a reliable motor.
So my question is, what do you think about remanufactured engines? Which companies are the best? Empire Engine Sales?
I have never been a fan of reman engine most seem to be very low quality. The ones we used to sell were junk and nothing more we got a 351C 2v in for a guy and it had one 351C head and one 400 head this made one bank run almost a full point higher compression on one bank, needless to say it never ran right and only lasted about 20,000miles. I have only seen one reman that was decent and it was a Jasper. The 400 suffered many short comings from the factory that really don't allow it to live up to its potential, it is really easy to make huge power and pretty decent milage gains if rebuilt correctly. If you do nothing esle I would run zero deck pistons from TMI these motors had very low compression from the factory, if you really want to wake it up go zero deck with aussi heads, you can get away with above 9:1 compression big change from 7.5:1 or 8:1 most of these motors had stock. I'm sure others here can provide more info.
-Johnboy
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-1979 F-250 4X4 400 4spd
-1989 Bronco 300six swapped in ZF 5spd
-1967 Mercury Comet Sports Coupe
I'd stay away from a remanned engine and put that same money into a rebuild for your 400...or just search and find a good running 460 with the potential to be built up.
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___'77 250 400 37 Boggers____'96 350 CC 460 35 SSR's_____'79 Bronco 351M 35 M/T's
Ben
Take your block and parts to the machine shop and assemble the long block yourself if you want to save money, or just get a quote from some reputable shops (try to find Ford shops; look for Ford signs on the wall! ), buy your TMI parts, Aussie heads if you please, and drop everything off. Shouldn't cost a whole lot, and will last you a very long time.
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Mark in FL
restoretherepublic.com
Do a search for the M block on the web. There is a wb site out there ( I don,t remeber what site it is) that has a lot of good info on what can be done to the M block. If you decide to switch to a big block you should be abel to use the same tranny. Same bolt pattern
I really can't complain about remans. I bought one from a guy on ebay and I haven't had any problems. But, it is a reman from ford. He bought it for a bronco that he had and somebody bought the bronco for more than what he had invested in it without the motor. Needless to say he didn't have any use for the motor anymore so I got it CHEAP!! I don't know what the actual ford remans go for but I am sure that they are more than what I paid. I got lucky, keep your eyes open and you might too!! The other guys are right though. If you buy the parts yourself and have a reputable shop do the work atleast you know exactly what you have. Not to mention you can do some upgrades alot cheaper that way. Better pistons, cam, high quality rings and bearings. Things that if you bought a reman and decided to do would cost alot more being that the motor would have to be torn down. I guess in my opinion if you don't need to motor ASAP, like I did, the better option would be the rebuild.
Thanks for all the help guys, i'll think about it more, i'm leaning towards a rebuild now, i want to assemble it myself(not my expertise, so i want to learn) w/ the help of a friend(very good w/ motors). thanks again.
Try gofastparts.com- They are in Redlands ca, sell just about every kind of crate engine known to man and typically cheaper than anyone else I have compared during the past 15+ years! Customer service is excellent!!!!
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"Beechkid"
Member: Flatheads ain't so bad
Chevy owners have to cheat to win!
Thanks for all the help guys, i'll think about it more, i'm leaning towards a rebuild now, i want to assemble it myself(not my expertise, so i want to learn) w/ the help of a friend(very good w/ motors). thanks again.
Good idea, but 400 engines hace thier tip and tricks, not all engince builders will have the knoledge to make power out of this engine, so you can always use this forum for this tricks, also use high compression pistons and other aftermarket parts, for these parts contact tim and here its his store :
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), buy your TMI parts, Aussie heads if you please, and drop everything off. Shouldn't cost a whole lot, and will last you a very long time.
Uncle Ted
