What could I expect if I rebuilt my engine with a set of tmeyer pistons? I've been thinking about doing a 460 swap in my 78 bronco I already got the 460 but I'd have to rebuilt it and after spending the $ on headers motor mounts and so on it gets expensive super quick. So I'm wanting to know what kinda power I could get with a set of the tmeyer pistons and good cam? Would I need any head work?

 

IMO, The 400 is a much better engine than the 460 if its built right, it can produce just as much torque with less nose weight, call Tim, buy the pistons and LISTEN to him and please buy all you need from him and YOU will be happy. Then sell that boat anchor 460.

 

First to make thing very clear, we are Ford bias, not 400 bias.

We have seen a simple build you are way farther ahead with the 400.
The expense required to do the swap can be saved.
Plus you save about #150 on the nose of the vehicle.

We have a dyno sheet where we superimposed 2 different dyno engines.
We tried to select a comparable 460 & 400.
Cam, compression, and OE heads wise.
The 460 did make more power, but very, very little amount.

Again, the 460 has it's place, in fact I have attached a picture of a 460 we built
for a customer, "in it's place"

 

I will buy everything I need through Tim just wanna make sure I'm happy my goal is 350to 400 hp. And I'd like the budget to be 2000-2500. I already got a edelbrock intake. My 400 is a fresh engine just seems kinda gut less for the cubes

 

Arkredneck,

Don't feel bad - every engine from that era was a DOG! The SBC had a performance heritage long before being choked down as smog motors, the 400 never had a performance heritage - just bad timing really. Imagine turning a 1979 F-150 into a "Retro Raptor", you could do a lot with a little modern technology applied to some good '79 hardware!

Tim is the man for sure! Use his pistons, cam bearings, camshaft recommendation, some good rod bolts, etc. You will need some head work to get over 400HP with the factory heads, do you know what castings you have? Like all things Ford - some are better than others!

 

I'm gonna look tonight and try to see what heads I got

 

Do you know the spec.s of the current pistons and cam? Especially the compression height of the pistons? Most sit way too far down in the cylinder bores and give an actual 7.5:1 compression ratio for soggy performance. Your current heads/big valves can prolly get you into 350-400 HP range stock or with slight correction to any factory casting defects such as lumps, bumps, flashing ridges, misshapen ports, and razor sharp machining edges which will glow red hot and cause pre-ignition/knocking, with a $10 hand die grinder, air or electric... also, Tim's pistons should give a very noticable increase in MPG... which is great if gas prices soar again... and snappier engine feel...

 

I have no clue how the engine was built. It appears to be freshly rebuilt. It pulls 22" of vacuum at idle. It does ok but I don't like "stock". I want it to be noticeable that's it's not stock when it's running. I didn't have a chance to pull valve covers and look at head casting #

 

These engines usually have a lumpy idle stock if the idle RPMs aren't set too high because of the high lift rocker arms and overly retarded factory cam timing (which also needs to be corrected)... there were some bad 400 blocks in '77 and earlier, but yours being a '78 prolly avoids that problem... the '70-'71 heads heads were a bit more powerful/freer flowing, but any of the heads should be able to do your 350-400 HP goal... above that takes more consideration on heads... pistons, cam, and cam timing the big concerns... I'm assuming you already have a 650-750 CFM 4bbl. carb., headers, true dual exhausts/high flow 2 1/2" - 3" mufflers (preferably mandrel-bent exhaust piping with no kinks)... suggest a cam with .050" lift durations in the 204/204 - 220/230 range somewhere's...

 

It came with a 351m from factory but I measured stroke and it's over 3.5". It's got the headers edelbrock intake and carb. I gotta check casting # on block. I was thinking about one of them comp cams big ***** thumper cams but nothing is set in stone yet. I'm also wanting to build it so I know what's in it. The bronco has almost zero rust so I plan on keeping it a while

 

I would avoid the Thumpr and EX cams for a truck... Thumprs a little big and EX too radical of cam lobe design for long cam/valvetrain life... 400" engine should have a full 4" stroke/4" of piston movement up and down... rods, blocks, and heads the same for 351M and 400... there are no decent off-the-shelf-pistons available for the 351"M...

 

Let's get this straight.....you are going to buy "everything" from Tim Meyer and then you are selecting a camshaft by yourself? What part of "everything" does a camshaft not fit into? Tim has built many of these engines and he has run them on the dyno. That makes him an expert.

Now about your engine. It could still be a 351M. If so, you need pistons and crank. Rods are the same. Cylinder heads? Not enough difference between the years to spit at. I think they are all over 200cfm peak flow which will get you into the 400hp category. But to drive an engine in a truck you need torque. Fortunately the 400 has a good structure to be a torque motor. The enemy of torque is the rumpty-rump idle. I am guessing that Tim will specify a camshaft with around 210 - 215 degrees intake duration at 50 lift and a Lobe Separation Angle of 112 degrees. The camshaft timing issue is really a non-issue the moment you purchase an aftermarket timing set, although on the Bubba website he says that didn't happen to trucks anyway.
One thing to watch out for with this engine is that valve lift is so high with the 1.73 ratio that one quickly runs into valvespring and valve stem seal problems, namely it's really easy to go over 0.500" lift, and clearance between retainer and stem seal goes away, also a stock spring might coil bind. That's another reason to have professional help selecting a cam.

The master mechanic who got my truck past emissions told me his favorite carburetor for this engine is the Holley 80508, which is a modern version of the Holley 3310 750cfm carb. But it will run great with a 600 or in between.

One of the reasons the engine was a slug is its low compression. Plus the open combustion chamber is knock-prone. The TMI pistons for stock heads solve both problems simultaneously as they increase compression and get squish which helps with the knocking. I corresponded with the chief engineer at KB years ago when I first bought my '77, with a suggestion to do what TMI succeeded to do. I'm sure I wasn't the only one with the idea.

You'll find your truck is low maintenance and pretty fun to drive, after you get all the bugs worked out.

R.

F

 

Keep us posted here. I am planning the same thing so I am eager to see what you end up with