Please forgive my newbie question, but what would be the ultimate setup, longevity, power, and least important gas efficiency? I've got a mid 70's 460 core from a t-bird, and would like to power my 56 f600 dump truck. The block is good and straight, but everything else is dusted.

I want something I can pull a tree out of the river, a JD 450 dozer, 5 cord of wood, etc. and of course, I don't want to rebuild it in 50,000 miles... so what are the hardest most durable parts for these big block beasts?

Whatta ya think?

 

Your wallet is the only limit. Crate motors, Stroker kits, aluminum heads, roller cams, any induction systems imaginable are available for the 429/460. It all depends on what you want/need and how much money you want to sink into one. From where your at and what your are talking, you might want to consider a Ford crate motor.

 

I hear ya, I'm thinking I'll wind up about 3500-4 right off the bat. Buttttttt, here's the kicker... I've got an uncle who knows his stuff, and can rebuild just about anything. So my thought was to find some used performance parts, even if it's a guy on craigslist who ran out of $ to finish his project, which results in a lot of new various parts at really cheap prices.

I just want to know, what's the best? A crate motor isn't going to cut it.

 

the stock 460 stuff is pretty tough stuff. the blocks are good to around 800hp, the stock crank probably around the same with proper machining. the rods are the weakest link as even the cj rods are pretty hp limited even with upgraded rod bolts. definetly wise to upgrade to a good aftemarket H or I beam forged rod like those offered by Scat and various other companies. forged pistons also are a good investment as they tend to live longer with less wear. expensive compared to Hyper or cast pistons, but worht it in long run in your application.

the max displacement i would go to is 514 as this is a 30 overbore with a slightly longer stroke. still leaves lots of meat on the cylinder walls and allows for an overbore if needed. also keeps the piston stoke to a minimum to help in longeivety of the motor.

you are probably looking at more of a torque monster than a high hp motor. i would stick with either the D3VE heads with larger valves and porting work on the exaust side to keep the port velocities up. that or the Edelbrock or TFS street heads if going to a 514 engine. no need for huge ports on a torque engine. also keep the cam mild and geared towards low end torque at the sacrifice of top end.

the 460 is a tough motor even in stock form and with the proper selection of parts, can be a very torquy beast or a high hp screamer. you shoud easily get diesel like torque out of a properly built 460.

rgds
Mike