460 Good power and torq down low

 

460= horrible milegage, constant replacement of head gaskets and fuel pumps

 

390=horrible mileage also...but not the head gasket and fuel pump thing

 

what do you consider "horrible"? my old 390 got 10 to 12 mpg, my 360 gets about the same now.

 

my 390 gets 9-10 mpg. Not REALLY that bad for a truck engine...and definitely worth it for the power I get out of ol' 390. I guess I just dream of getting like 15 mpg with it.

 

No question: Ford 427 SOHC.
657 factory horsepower. Highest power production engine in history. And contrary to the chebby babies from NASCAR in the 60's, it WAS a regular production engine available over the counter from Ford; unlike the chebby 427 Mk V that no one could buy from gm!
Mark

 

Haven't found anything yet that makes me smile as big as my 390 does

 

For my money I prefer (in no particular order) Mopar 440, Chev 454 and Ford 460 and the various big inch versions of these designs. These 3 engines are all very durable and offer the most HP per dollar for todays Hot-Rodder. As to the above statement "460's are shear and utter crap", I doubt anybody thats owned and modified one would make that statement. These engines finished 1,2 and 3 in the most recent engine masters challenge that Popular Hotrodding held, Jon Kaase took the victory with the shear and utter crap 460. Nothing beats a Chrysler Hemi, 427 SOHC or 429 Shotgun Hemi for cool exotica, but for the average guy trying to make big power on a working man's budget, you can't beat the 440, 454 or 460. I'm surprised nobody mentioned the Stage 1 and Stage 2 Buick 455's, they run damn hard, but again, not cheap to build.

 

I do not know what everybody has against 460's, yes i admit that instok form that they sucked but if you umm... "modify" the smog stuff and make them breath a little easier they can give even the best gm or mopar a real run. And to all you guys who think that a 460 will always get beat by a 429 remember "there's no replacement for displacement. But although I do like 460's and I plan to put a 514 in my ride (now there's an engine!) the chevy 572 has to be the best crate (note crate) motor you can buy.

JJ

 

Regular production in what vehicle? Seriously. Were there more than a handfull?

 

It was produced and available to the public thru Ford parts dept. only, basically it was a crate engine of its day. Unfortunately, this engine never came in a production vehicle.

 

Some of ya'll are either ignorant or just plain dumb, because you are forgetting some very important facts. First off, Chevy's big blocks were few and far between, mostly because the 350 small block was such a good engine. Big engines like the 427 vette, Olds 455 Rocket and the 454 SS were Chevys big powerhouse. Biggest problem with these blocks is lack of available parts. Limited production lines and race-car only use most of the time kept Chevys out of the public eye for a while. While still available, they can be hard to up grade if parts are not readily available. Dodge had the bullet on this one. Nothing touches the HEMI Big Block. With Factory Sponsorship in NASCAR, Dodge and Petty Enterprises teamed up to produce the most lethal racing engines ever. Dodge's Hemis have more NASCAR wins than any other American manufacturer (with the majority coming from Petty himself) The 440 scat-pack and 383 were untouchable. Even the 360 and 318 (which weren't big blocks) blew the doors of everyone. Emissions and the loss of leaded-fuel hurt the Dodge engines heavily. After NASCAR banned the Hemi from racing because it won too many races, Dodge withdrew factory sponsorship and disappeared from the racing scene. Dodge powerplants felt it too as the big-block Dodges vanished as amatuer racers grabbed as many as they could. Ford watched Dodge and Chevy closely and took advantage of Dodge's situation. Knowing they would have trouble defeating the Hemi on the circle-track, Ford went to the Drag Strip with the 351Modified, 400Modified, and one of the most feared blocks - the 7.5L 460 Big-block. The largest engine produced until 1990,(the Viper V-10 8.0L) and the largest V-8 in production until 2001 with the 8.1L 465 Big-Block from Chevy, the 460 was a force to be messed with. Despite funky emissions equipment to keep the EPA off their backs, the 460 could outpull, outpower any engine around. Biggest drawbacks were weight and size (this engine is massive) California carb-equiped models had problems breathing under all the emissions equipment California required. The Famous 427 everyone talks about is easier to find than you realize. Biggest thing about this engine is that it was not a production engine, or at least not originally. Only two cars ever carried this famous powerpack, and they are as famous as the person who built them. The 1965 Shelby 427 Cobra and the 1965 Shelby GT-500KR. In 1964, while competing the famous 24 hrs of Le Mans race, Team Shelby blew both of their engines during their attempt to beat Ferrari and become the first American to win the famed event; in their scramble to find an engine to replace the other two someone noticed a NASCAR 427 Crate-motor sitting in the back of the shop. No one remembers how it got there, but they dropped it into the all-aluminium Cobra and were off again. They blew that engine too, but a star was born. The following year, Sheby produced the 427 Cobra and went on to win the 1965 World Manufacterers Championship and The 24 hrs of Le Mans race. After retiring from racing, Shelby American rebuilt the mustang into a powerhouse in the form of the Shelby GT series. Their star was the 1965 Shebly GT-500KR equiped with the same 427 that had proven itself at LeMans. This was the last year for Shelby American and the Last Hurrah for the famous car-builder. The GTs power can be seen and heard in the movie Gone in Sixty Seconds, with Nicholas Cage driving the lovely lady Eleanor.

 

That is hands down the 426 HEMI, I rode in a 69 ROAD RUNNER with a 426 HEMI with a 4sp. and I have been in some awful fast cars in my life but nothing like a HEMI. A twenty dollar bill taped to the dash, if you could grab it just after the owner nailed it you could have it at 100 MPH I still couldn't reach it. G-FORCE.

The 460 FORD for all around use can't be beat. The 454 CHEVYS might out run me, but they don't out pull me.

 

I heard about that same trick in two different cars... one w/ a 351C and the other w/ a 390. Gearing and carburation make all the difference...

 

if yall really want power from a big block and you have six grand to spend dont waste your time on anything but a 514ci cobra jet its the real beast none of this hemi crap