Yeah. I'm very happy with those bearings.
4-5 look like they started to wear but look acceptable.

Front main block bearing and Rear main cap bearing has wear also but again, not too concerned.

They can MICRO POLISH the rods and mains and should just shine them up, but if they clean and mag it then a normal polish is nessisary and then you can get -.001 bearings.
Like was said though, no grooves or scores in the journal it will be fine.

 

I did this 1988 F350 460 rebuild a couple of years ago. if you run into any problems just give me a shout out and maybe i can guide you. I have a C6 in mine. look for any past threads fom Larrylass on this ebuild

BigLar

 

Thanks larry, I'll look it up.

Thanks UNTAMND for the advice. I'll probably go with the clean, normal polish and .001.

I have three questions.

1) How are you supposed to store the cam? I think I'd read that you store it on it's end.

2) My Haynes book says to not disassemble the pistons to let the machine shop do it. I was going to get new pistons but was hoping the connecting rods could be reused. So will the machine shop install new pistons on the connecting rods but let me insert the assembled rod/piston myself? I helped someone do this before on a toyota and we took the pistons off ourselves and put news on ourselves.

3) Given that I'm going to take it to a machine shop to clean and polish, how clean do I need to get the block beforehand?

 

1 A 460 cam is pretty stout. And most new cams no matter what engine, are stored in boxes flat. So that's how you can store it.

3. You scrape off the bulk of the grease and flakey rust and they will take care of the rest.

2. The wrist pins are pressed into the rods. The machine shop needs to do this because their press is setup for this (and they heat the rod end).
You can put the rings on the pistons and put them in the block.

 

So I'm about ready to go to the machine shop. I talked to one that is local and has experience with fords, the guy was assembling a ford 600 (from a 460) in a race car as I was talking to him. (Spreen Machine in Boerne Tx).

I am thinking that I just want a stock rebuild since this is my first solo attempt. So I am thinking of just having them recondition the heads, clean the block and bore if needed, clean the crank and grind if needed, inspect the cam to see if I need a new one (I think I do, the lobes are worn down), remove the pistons and check the connecting rods. I'll have them new camshaft bearings and I'll buy the kit and assemble the rods, bearings, oil pump, rings, pistons, rockers, lifters and such.

I have a question about the lifters and push rods (rods that connect lifters to rockers). If I get a new cam, I think I need new lifters for sure. What about the rods, do I need new rods if I get a new cam? Next question, I it turns out that I don't need a new cam, can I still replace the lifters, they are not rounded (convex?) like they should be. And to follow on to that one, if I get new lifters (old cam) do I need new rods? They all look ok as far as I can tell.

 

A new cam requires new lifters.Even the old lifters need to be matched to the same lobe/lifter bore they came from.New pushrods should also be used.Summit Racing sells OEM 460 pushrods for $27.00.The valvetrain parts develop a wear pattern.Your machine shop can inspect the valvetrain parts for wear and tell you which ones,ie;springs,retainers,locks,rocker arms,valves,etc...,need to be replaced.All these parts wear.Now is the time to replace worn parts that could cause any problems after the engine is running and back in the truck.You don't want to drop a valve or have a pushrod punch a hole through a rocker arm later on.

 

You want a new cam. You'll be able to find a nice upgrade from stock that will work with efi.
As far as lifters go, they need to go back on the lobe they originally were broke in on.
New lifters on old cam has been done plenty of times, but most places and people frown on it. The cam has all the roughness off it now so really there is little to "break in" lifters are smooth so those don't change much except for the swirl pattern.

Pushrods are fine. Unless you're putting heavy valve springs the stock ones are good.

 

So new cam = new lifters, old cam = old lifters in same hole (I marked them so I'm good there. Pushrods are probably okay but $27 is pretty cheap to be safe. If I'm going new cam, lifters and pushrods, do I need new rockers even if the machine shop says the old ones are ok?

I may post photos later of the rockers.

 

Ford sled style rockers are stout. Check for scoring inside where the surface is. The pushrod cup is an area of wear also. Those should be uniformly worn and only half the ball goes in.
The tip of the rocker may be worn off center which is ok. But it should be flat all the way across. No groove.

I'm not sure if roller rockers fit under the centerbolt valve covers. Maybe someone knows. You can get pedestal rockers that don't require machining to put on. They are fine with mild valve springs.

 

I used number 8 as the example, the rockers and pushrods all look about the same.

 

And the lifters and camshaft view. I was mistaken about the camshaft, I thought the lobes were worn so as to change the shape. Maybe it just needs to be cleaned?

At this point I'm thinking of taking up a career in engine parts photography. ;-)

 

From the pics it looks decent.
I'd still get a new slightly bigger cam and new lifters. Pushrods are cheap, rockers are good.
You have this engine all apart and putting good money into it, please don't skimp on an extra 200$. You'll appreciate it later. Before you buy cam, post on here, ask and then buy. Not the other way around.

 

What cam do you recommend? What do you mean by bigger? I've been waffling on do a performance rebuild vs a stock simply because of my lack of experience, I can afford to spend more than just a stock rebuild. My hesitancy is that I am concerned that by changing the specs that I won't have a reference point like the manuals that I've bought. And my number one goal is to successfully rebuild it so that it starts and runs (I know that sounds basic, right?).

But I've seen where you can port the heads and intake to improve performance on the EFI along with a new cam and headers. So any advice is more than welcome.

 

I can reccomend what I'd buy but it isn't what I think you should buy.
I like to size cams to the use of the engine, not to what the owner thinks they want it to do.
Conanski may have some good ideas. He seems to like certain cams for the 351.
What I mean by bigger is slightly more lift or change of duration.

You can port the heads. There is a lot to remove under the valves. The casting is terrible.
Number and remove the valves. Then carefully take a die grinder and smooth out the area up to the valve seat. Then radius down and out. Picture where the air supposed to go, and make it happen. Don't force the air to go where it should go, but help it along.
Don't need to go nuts. Most anything is an improvement.

 

In terms of usage, it won't ever be a daily driver. It's an extra vehicle. I might pull my boat with it (5000 lbs) but I never pull it further than 100 miles and usually only 3 to the boat ramp. My kids in high school might drive it some. I might pull a small fifth wheel with it later (5-7K lbs) but that's not for sure. I'll probably drive for my commute every now and then.