I have a 1997 Ford F-250 I’m slowly rebuilding. Was the first truck I ever had and plan on making it a very nice truck. It started as a 351W automatic. I’ve swapped in a big block 460 out of a 96 U-haul truck, swapped the auto trans for a zf5 speed, got rid of the split front end and swapped in a Dana 60. Has a 4” lift and 38” tires. Enough of all the swaps I’ve done to the truck, I’m looking to build the 460 and build it to make quite a bit of power. Not a daily driver but I do still want to be able to drive it a couple hundred miles with no issues. Wanting to buy another 460 block and build it from top to bottom.

The 460 is pretty much all stock other than some mad dog fender well exit headers without cats, going into 2.5” exhaust pipe with 2.5” 16” bullet mufflers exiting at the rear tires.

Ive heard that to really wake the motor up I would need to buy a mass air flow kit and harness.

All help would be greatly appreciated!!

 

I'd build a larger displacement engine, 521, 545 etc. And then do the modifications to the EFI system.
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To really wake up the engine you need better heads. Swapping to MAF is only going to lighten your wallet. Without the potential to move more air through the engine you are throwing good money after bad. Unfortunately the stock 7.5L heads are low performers, but can be ported. Swapping to carb heads becomes a chore since the EFI heads use a unique intake and exhaust port configuration.

Good reading here on what a solid port job can do for a EFI 7.5 engine: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...ts-are-in.html


Some good heads and stroker kit as Dave suggested will net you a lot of gain that will require a custom tune or go with this from Stinger Performance: https://www.stinger-performance.com/...ine-management

 

I haven't done any port work on the EFI heads but just a couple of weeks ago I did some port work to a set of D3VE heads that are going on the 460 that's in my truck. They responded really well to some simple port work. Getting 300cfm out of the intake with a stock replacement valve wasn't difficult and taking the exhaust from 125cfm to 150(no pipe) was pretty easy.

I built this engine about 20 years ago with a set of D3's that have hard seats and stainless valves but are otherwise stock, Performer intake, and headers, ,030 over bore, KB pistons. It made 330 horsepower on my dyno and it has always run well in my truck. Recently however it has started to develop a burnt exhaust valve so I'm going to rebuild the engine and change the cam along with putting on the modified heads. The cam that's in the engine right now is a Reed Torque Master flat tappet hydraulic 205/210@.050 .495/ .510 lift on 112 in on 108. A few years ago I changed from a C6 to an E4OD transmission and now I think that the engine is overcammed when running down the highway using OD in lockup. I'm going to drop the duration down to 200@.050 which I think will work better.

With all that said it all depends on how much more power you need and where in the RPM band that you need that power. I know that Scott Johnston has done work on a few combos for the EFI applications and I'd give him a call.

 

Thanks for the input!!! I have been doing a little research on stroking the motor but everything I’ve watched videos or read up on has been carbureted.
I’m pretty mechanically inclined on just about everything except the engine, I mean I know how to do the work but when it comes to compression, lift, lope, stroke, and things of that nature i begin to get lost and don’t know what will work with what or what appropriate numbers would be in those categories…😂

But I’m just wanting to wake the motor up to around 600hp and pretty torquey as well. The truck isn’t really used for anything. I work on the road and when I come home I like to drive it around and give my 17 powerstroke a break. As far as pulling, if I ever need to pull heavy loads I typically just use the powerstroke and go on long trips I use the powerstroke. Around home we typically have truck pulls and from time to time we have a hometown class and I put the truck in it just for fun but I would like the truck to have a all around descent performance. I know that’s a big order to fill but that’s why I’m here, I’ve never had any motor rebuilt so I figured I’d jump on here and pick some brains and see what some of the seasoned motor builders could come up with!!!

 

600 horsepower is not difficult to get from one of these engines with additional cubic inches if if you use the base cylinder heads. A few years ago I did a pump gas 545 for a customer with a big four wheel drive that he likes to take trail riding and stuff like that. The engine made 700lbs/ft @ 3800 and 597 horsepower at 4900 rpm. That was with headers, a Torker 2, DOVE heads and a hydraulic roller cam with 230 @ .050 duration. I wonder if the factory EFI system could be made to run on a low RPM engine like that?

 

With something like the PimpX from Stinger Performance it can be done. Yes there are others, but Stinger has a very scalable product.

 

I'll have to read up about the Stinger. My personal experience with aftermarket EFI stuff has been very mixed. Some was ok, some terrible.

 

Id like to have the details on thay engine!

 

This engine is nothing fancy and you could do better but it was built using the parts that the customer had to work with and overall I think it turned out really effective. It would have been really interesting to have tested with a Perf RPM Air gap intake. Would the torque numbers have been higher? I was starting the pulls at 3800rpm because it was hard to hold below that speed. I should have changed the dyno orifice to see where the peak was happening.

The short block was built in a D9TE block with a Scat forged 4.500 stroke crank and Scat I beam rods 6.700 length. Pistons were the Mahle dished ones that gave 9.75:1 compression. Heads were very mildly ported D0VE's with the CJ size valves from SI. The intake was a Torker 2 that I did some minor work to mostly in the plenum. Carburetor was a 950HP Holley. Camshaft was a hydraulic roller from Demos' Cams, DM230/230 8A2. This used the DM 230 lobe on both sides and that grew a couple of degrees when ground on the 460 core so the specs were 233@ .050 on a 108 lobe sep in on 106. .621 valve lift using a set of 1.73 ratio Yella Terra rocker arms. It had a Powerbond damper and a rear sump Millodon oil pan with a stock M84D oil pump. Morel standard travel lifters were used along with a PBM double spring and 502S retainers.

The headers were home made but they are what it needs to fit into the chassis.

Here it is on the dyno idling with the 950HP on top of an HVH merge on top of a 1 inch open spacer which proved to be the best combo.