I have a '96 F-350 4x4 w/460 and was wondering how C9VE-A heads would work on it?
This is the situation I'm dealing with:
When I bought my truck it had a slight exhaust tick from at the mating surface of the exhaust manifold and cylinder head(passenger side) so I bought some Remflex gaskets and installed new headers and that only helped for about 3 days until I realized the previous owner had let the leak go for far too long and the leak warped/burned the head at the exhaust port.
I'm not quite sure what will become of this truck or engine since I decided to take the truck off the road due to it being a regular cab truck and I need more room; That, coupled with the cylinder head issue.
I believe the C9VE-A heads are circa 1969-70 and are 75cc combustion chamber with 2.09 Intake and 1.65 exhaust. Will these heads work in conjunction with the stock pistons from the '96 460? Whether or not I go EFI or carb swap is for future consideration so right now I'm just interested in whether or not the bottom end of the '96 460 is compatible with the older heads and what my compression ratio would be?
Also, will I see an increase in power by swapping heads? I'd appreciate feedback from those with hands on experience and not just from those who are speculating, such as myself.

 

It will work fine the pistons, but carb heads don't match up with efi exhaust or intake manifolds. Not sure if your exhaust port is warped beyond repair. I would try planing the ex ports and opening up the heads a little and just reuse them. The F3TE head is capable of good flow numbers.

 

If it will work fine with the pistons then I'm OK since I was already planning for the intake and exhaust variations and I've got the necessary parts to accommodate the head change.
Planing the exhaust side of the head will do no good since surface warpage is only part of the problem. Cylinder #2 exhaust port has a large valley burned into the mounting surface. Even the bolt hole to the left of the port is burned out. Besides, even if the head was salvageable, both C9VE-A heads are cheaper than the cost of machining. I already have a source for various other parts to finish of the build. My main concern was if my pistons would be OK with the C9VE-A heads(Which you answered) and if I'd see a gain in HP and TQ by swapping heads? Does anyone have the answer to the second question by chance? Again, these heads I believe came from a 1968 or 1969 Lincoln.

 

On my 460, I'm running stock crank with stock rods and mid 80s pistons. I believe these are the same or very similar to the pistons you are using. I'm running C9VE heads AND oversize valves. There is no interference issues and if I remember correctly, you can run up to around a .600" lift cam without having to worry about valve relief on the pistons. I'm running a .530 ish lift cam. Yes, it will raise your comp ratio. My motor is around 9.5:1. I actually went with the mid 80s pistons to knock the comp ratio down, as they have a bowl recess in the middle of them. Flat tops would have pushed the comp ratio too high. Hope this helps.

 

With '96 style pistons and '69 C9VE-A heads, with my ballpark compression ratio near 9.5:1 and a slight timing advance, is 87 octane still alright? Also, I have an aluminum 4bbl intake, a Holley 4150 670 CFM carb, and I'll be running shorty style headers or stock style exhaust manifolds. With that setup, how will power compare to a stock '96 460(Numbers Please)? By the way, my truck is not OBDII. I may change the cam if I don't feel enough seat-of-the-pants power with the parts I mentioned.
This truck will not be going back on the road. The truck will either be a woods rig for my family and I or else I will put the engine in my '78 Bronco I plan on restoring some day.

 

My 460 runs a 0 deg timing set with timing set at 12 deg BTDC and I run 87 octane. I do have some pinging/detonation if I don't use a small amount of octane booster, but I'm 90% sure it is either my distributor mechanical advance or a lean condition on my 600 cfm Edelbrock carb, I never sized the jetting, just threw it on and ran with it. I think you would be fine with some tuning. If it were me, I would change the cam to say an "RV" style cam, something slightly hotter than a stock cam. While you're at it, change your retarded timing set and water pump, since you already have it off.

 

As far as hp numbers, not sure what to tell you. If money allows, plan on headers. Big hp constraint right there.

 

EFI engines came from the factory with straight up timing.

 

The stock exhaust manifolds, when port matched are capable of plenty of hp. Unless the C9's are opened up quite a bit, they will not be a big constraint. Might hold back 5hp.

 

My bad. You are right. Was not aware if this, I assumed they ran the retarded timing set as well.

 

Did you notice an increase in power by switching from your stock EFI heads to the older C9 heads? I know you said you weren't sure about actual power numbers but was there a significant seat of the pants increase?
I'm asking because I won't be able to tell if there will be an increase in power over stock EFI heads by switching to the older C9 heads because my truck has been down on power since the day I bought it. Since day one with the manifolds leaking and causing the computer to be practically running in limp mode, putting proper functioning stock EFI heads back on will feel like a world of difference so I'm not sure if there is a an actual seat of pants increase with older style heads?
My '78 Bronco has 3.73 gears and I won't be going any larger than 36 in. tall tires, do you guys think I'll still have decent power if I swap the 460 engine with the upgraded heads even though my tires are taller than stock and my gearing isn't that low? I've seen guys with '78/'79 Broncos that they used for off-roading only and they had stock axles with 3.54 gears and 44 in. tall tires and they never complained about a lack of power once swapping in a stock 460 engine. They were mostly using those trucks in low range 4wd though. Even though my tires won't be huge like 44's, it won't have the gear reduction of low range since it will be driven a lot on the road in 2wd and I hope the 460 with upgraded heads will be enough grunt to get me up hills without having to downshift my ZF5 too much.
Does anyone know if my Bronco will be OK as far as power goes with the aforementioned drivetrain details?

 

Not sure, I never had the motor running in the truck with manifolds, had headers on it since I built it. Sorry.