I recently bought a 1977 f150 with a 400 and c6.It is all original except it has a holley 525cfm with electric choke.I'd like to get a good bit more horsepower outta it along with some get up and go,without breaking my bank.Any suggestions would be well appreciated.

 

But if wanting more how much do you want to spend or how much$. first thing is do a compression test of cylinders. Make sure your engine is in decent shape. if compression is down on any cylinder your gonna have problems and will never be good until corrected. Once this is confirmed good a timing chain upgrade is a must. while chain is being installed need to upgrade to better camshaft if factory. Factory chains have timing retarded and this one upgrade is good for around 30 to 40 ftlb torque. buy a good timing chain!! IF you upgrade camshaft pretty much need to upgrade heads with new valvesprings!! Now decent header headman 89360 fenderwell exit nice little header and torquey, 1"5/8 tube. $220.00 bucks at jeffs bronco graveyard. Need to take paint off and paint with high heat paint! Decent intake edelbrock rpm type or something close. 650 cfm carb. tim meyer website lots of info on your engine and need to check out. if curious check out my photos of my 400 ford with cobrajet heads and other goodies. Its almost finished and waiting on aftermarket oilpan

 

old school. new cam and timing set (i dont believe the trucks had the retarded timing like the cars though so not so much of a prob) but if you go too big you may need valve work i.e. springs may bind. Better manifold like an edelbrock performer. Your carby is actually theoretically not .too fat away. fit a set of extractors and if there is any money left upfrade the ignition/distributor. Your truck probably has points so work out what sort you are happy/familiar with. these are all the things you could do if the engine is in good condition with the exception of any head work without tearing the engine out/down but should all be done anyway. next is to get some compression. Here is australlia the legenday 302CC 2v heads are pretty cheap and available but in the US they are apparently comparable with after market heads so they would be the go aftyer that get a set of pistons to get it cracking. If you read any of these threads T Meyer comes up and would be your first call, other than that if you had a cleveland expert handy source a set of 351c pistons and have them sleeved to suit the 400 rods. Good Luck and I hope this helps, but I suppose it all depends on your budget.

 

Thanks for suggestions.I'm currently finishing up a 69 mustang so I will be waiting to after its done to tackle truck.I'm just trying to get a good idea what my options are atm.Luckly the body is in great shape needs a couple panels replaced but nothing major.I'm really not sure what my total budget will be atm but I'm gonna try to keep it as low as possible without sacrificing quality.

 

rebuild kits for these are more expensive than a 351C, at least going by the prices here in oz. bearings and rings are somiliar as is cams, water pumps etc. Pistons with the previous exceptions get a bit harder. If you're doing up a 'stang you may already have an idea on engine rebuild prices. Carbies are how ever much you want to pay and the same goes for the ignition. Basic electronic going all the way to topend programmable. with a basic MSD type somewhere in the lower middle bottom.

 

Also I'm gonna try to keep it looking as original as possible.My mustang has a 302 in it and I recently installed a edelbrock 650 in it which i found out may be alittle bit of overkill so if i can i may swap it out for the holley on the truck.Dunno if i can I'm floating around the Indian Ocean atm and cant really do to much looking but when I get back to the USA I'll be doing alot of research

 

650 would be a pretty good start. Stay safe.

 

Will do,If this slow drillship ever gets to Capetown South Africa I'll be going home