this is a long boring type up, just a for warning if you dont want to read it, im just looking for some opinions and help.


I traded my 76 F150 for this thing, was so tired of fussing with it for it to not work and have so many problems. its a 1990 F150 2wd shortbed reg cab, lariat interior, stock red paint(original) inline 6 5speed and it has a few problems i want to get sorted out. when its started cold it doesnt seem to want to stay started and it acts like its running on 3 cylinders til it warms up then its totally fine. cant say much about that except for its annoying as hell. it needs things like a new headlight housing and turn signal housing for the passenger side, front and rear, might as well replace the dirvers side while im at it, im gonna take off the old bumpers and scrap them and make some tube bumpers instead. the tailgate handle broke off, theres also no inner piece so the mechanisms to unlock the tailgate are showing, there no ***** for the light or wiper switch, no wipers, nothing after the cat and i dont have a key for the locks. i have a self made budget of 500$ to fix all the things i give a crap about and the rest not spent will go in an intake system if thats what you guys would reccommend. for the exhaust i have an old blown out blue glasspack that i am the proud 5th owner of that will likely go on it.

now, to get to the glory of it all- im debating between getting an FE block larger than 360,a 460,or a 454 to build up and drop in the truck hopefully before my senoir year in high school,(im a sophmore 11 weeks in ATM). my only goals with this are to not blow out the axle, achieve atleast 400hp and 500tq BARE MINIMUM. i dont know which transmission i want to put in but im thinking a C6 only because ive heard they can handle alot of power stock. ive looked up budget builds on the internets and read up on plenty of people claiming to have spent 2k and achieving 500 horsepower out of a 100% streetable DD engine, and i know thats got to be BS. Im ready to spend money to build a good engine, and that's where I need you guys to help. Looking to make it carb'ed and i also would like to keep the A/C if I can since it does work. My grandpa ons his own custom race engine shop so dont worry about that end of it, its very well covered.


What would you guys say is a fair price to pay for a 460 in good shape, a 390/406/410/427/428(i would be buying straight from my grandpa along with a transmission as he has 13 390s alone, 3 427s and 1 'nascar' 427, and 2? 428s), or a 454? Not really looking to get a 454 since my friend has one in his 1500(which gave me the idea for a sleeper), but being open to ideas makes the money work. Ill price up transmissions at a later date. I have no idea what my budget is going to be but i would safely assume 4k for the engine alone.

I wanna go fast

Keep in mind I dont drive very much and im not reckless much,(unlike my brother who drives like a bat out of hell and is 1990f150kid on here).

 

Realistically, its going to be very expensive to build. I'm just going to straight out suggest a 460, and go from there. ANY motor you buy, you're going to want to have rebuilt. No sense in buying a rebuilt motor because you're just going to tear it down again. For a high mileage 460, maybe between 300 and 500 bucks. It varies by area so I can't give you an exact number. So say were at 500 bucks there. A good tranny that is a fresh rebuild would be ideal, I'd put in a ZF5 Speed manual tranny, but you could put in a C6 if you wanted. Either way, you'll be in 500 bucks or more on a tranny to support that much power. So you're in 1000 so far, that's with just a worn out motor and a tranny. If you're looking for power, a stroker would be the best way to go. I believe a 514CI stroker kit exists as well as a 521CI. I think summit has a 521CI complete motor listed for 10 grand that boasts over 550 horse. So if that gives you an idea of how much this "sleeper" is going to cost, there it is.
Oh and a few notes here. There is no reason to have a half ton truck with a 500 horse motor on the street. Simply because you will never use all of that power. Put a vehicle together to run on a track where you can safely "go fast" under their rules.

 

Pft.

Chevy motor is what you need me thinks. LS1 will knock you back 20 mpgs and still have more power than most rigs on the road. Stock.p

 

I found a 460 with a c6 out of a 2wd 87 or 89 f350 with all the pulleys and witing, it's carbed so I think it's an 87, he said he pulled it cause carb trouble and scrapped the truck, would this be a good deal? Also, my truck is running like total **** all the sudden, could 2 clogged cats cause this to happen? Only thing I've ruled out is the fuel filter so far.

 

You didn't say a price.
Running like crap is very vague. What exactly is it doing

 

Ah I didn't, he said he'll take 400$ for it. The truck runs like its on 3 cylinders(not 4, I know what 4 sounds like) and it almost does every second, and its blowing out plumes of unburnt gas. The po said he replaced the spark plugs and spark plugs wires but the truck sat since last winter with gas in it.

 

get a 351w, look up forstroker.com Jim is THE BEST in the ford small block world. 5k approx will get you a serious 408cui engine that eill put down at least 450hp to the tire.


Andrew james has the right idea to be honest. And theyre cheaper than fords to build.

and im with gnr22, i never understood trucks with lots of horsepower (torque is dofferent). a 500 horse truck will still get walked by a 350 horse car (like a fox for example). To each his own though. I also dont understand doing these 460 engines for performance..why not a stroked and poked small block? throw some boost on a 408 and youll see 800horse

 

I ain't gonna use nitrous, seen it go bad way to many times. I'm not wanting to use a small block because that's too expected IMO, and my dads 65 f100 has a 351. I've looked up building a small block but I decided in a 460. You guys aren't changing my mind unless you sell me a built small block for dirt cheap. I'm not gonna go Chevy with this simply because its a ford,and Chevys don't look good in ford blue. I'm not doubting you Greg50H, but can you show me proof of a 350hp small block beating a 500hp big block? I can't imagine that happening unless your taking about a big heavy *** truck.

 

If your grandpa owns a "custom race engine shop" Then why are you even bothering to ask on here?

There is alot more than just throwing a high HP engine in your 22 year old truck. Plus you said you want to 100% street able DD.

c6 is a 3 speed with no overdrive. So unless you plan on having 2.73 gears it would suck on the highway.

With a $4000 budget for the engine alone I would personally do a 393 stroker. Or even a mild 302 with a turbo. Then a nicely built Overdrive trans with 3000 stall. Then 4:10 rear end.

 

My grandpa built FE engines not 385 series. He owns PH racing here in plant city Florida and he built the jr dragsters that won 2 year in 98,99,or 2000, can't remember. When I said street able I meant the engine, plus I'd probably resell the c6 and get a zf5. Not that I plan to do much insterstate either. I'm not against turbos, if actually love one but I don't think I could afford one and still have much money left over for internal parts.

 

Get on NLOC and read up about making these trucks fast. Plenty of them running a bunch of boost into stock internal 351s.

ZF5 trans is deff not a "fast truck" trans. If you want a 5 speed for a "sport truck" the TKO 600 is pretty much the only way to go.

I have a build E4OD in mine with a nice stall converter. Its great.

 

The problem with a high powered 2wd truck is traction. Sure, bars and sticky tires help, but there is only so much that can be done. AWD is a beautiful thing, but it's tough to do on these trucks. You don't need huge power to go fast, you need useable power and efficient delivery. If a tire smoker is what your looking for then go for the 460, but there is something to be said about high end power too. Build a SHO powered ranger, that'll have 'em talking

 

I'm not going to suggest a small block because a stock block won't stand up to that much power.
However, I will show you a 350 horse foxbody mustang SMOKING your much heavier half ton ford with a heavier motor even with 500 horse. You won't be able to take off from a stand still like a foxbody because there is hardly any weight over your rear wheels.

 

Oh and i know it's a kinda Nul point but of all the truck in my dads stepdads and grandpa yards this is the only one with a 5th wheel, just needs a ball. Would a 351 stand up to good power like a stock 460 internals would?and don't the 4.9/5.0/5.8 all have the same bell housing? I read that somewhere

 

If it needs a ball, it's a gooseneck hitch, not a fifth wheel. What would you tow with a 1/2 ton with a gooseneck?