Quick summary: 1978 Ford F150 4x4 and 4 inch lift. Mechanical skills......minimal and self-taught but I have come a long way since owning this truck in my opinion.

With that being said, the truck currently has a 400 that is unrepairable (cracked block) So I made the decision to search for a 460. I found a 514 and purchased it along with the hughes transmission and other items. I feel confident with installing the engine and already have purchased engine mounts, a larger radiator, a bigger fan, etc. My issue/concern is this, getting it started and cam broke in without wiping a lobe/lobes. It has a flat tappet cam, and I spent (at least to me) some coin on this setup. I have been trying everything under the sun trying to find someone who has an engine dyno to break it in correctly, but I have either come across "we don't have anything for BBF's or "we only deal with engines we have built", which I completely understand for liability reasons. Kaase actually referred me to a shop that isn't far from me that has great reviews and actually said they could help, but since the initial conversation.....communication has been cold. I am willing to wait as I realize shops are behind and it's the racing season...just want to know I am on the books

I am thinking about trying my hand at it. Concerns: based off the paperwork I have, the engine was built and assembled in 2012. Is there anything I should do or be concerned about outside of pre-oiling before the initial start up? The engine has never been fired and has sat in a shop since the owner got sick. I have a ton of paperwork on the engine.

Things I have come up with are:

• Needs to immediately start
• Needs to be ran 2k-2500 rpm for around 15 minutes and then fluctuate the rpm for the last 5 minutes.
• check oil pressure throughout, temp, amps etc
• use oil with ZDDP in it
• Check for leaks
• Have multiple people to help (don't have)
• A thermal gun ran on each cylinder

What else? Also remember, it was built in 2012 and has been sitting.

Apologize for the long post, but appreciate the feedback

 

You can break it in yourself, take all the steps needed and if it wipes the cam it was going to happen anyway. I only use roller cams now this drama is something I'm over.

First thing, do you know what cam it has ? what is the lift and what is the pressure over the nose ? it may be that you have to put weaker springs in for the break in then change them back.

Standard procedure is 20-30 minutes at 2k . don't worry about the rest of it everyone thinks they have the perfect recipe.

Run a high zinc non synthetic oil with a break in additive. or better yet break in oil.

Set you timing as close as possible and pour a few tablespoons of gas in the carb.

Have your dial back light hooked up and ready to go, as soon as it's up to speed set your timing . always be monitoring heat with a gun and watching for leaks. check the oil for water.

If it's been sitting that long I'd run the oil pressure up with a drill.

Do the best you can and if you fail it was probably going to fail no matter what. I've lost 2 cams on break in and everything went perfect as far as procedure. I've had sloppy break ins with shut downs and hard starts and they're just fine. don't sweat it that much you only have so much control over it.

 

Appreciate the direction. Out of allllll the paperwork I have on the engine the one thing that is missing is the cam card. I have the receipt for the cam but not the card that provides the specs. You're right on saying if its going to fail its going to fail no matter how much due diligence I put forth. The way I was approaching it was if someone reputable with more experience than me broke it in and it failed....well it wasn't on them or me. I then wouldn't have to pull it again take it to a shop. I could just leave it there and pay the engine builder to make the engine right.

Quick question, when you say run the oil pressure up...what does that mean? Is this referring to the pre oil time meaning make sure all the rockers are really saturated? The oil I purchased is comp cam break in oil and then will be changing to Vavoline 20-50 ZR1 if the break in goes well

 

I would tear it down for inspection. 10 years is a long time for an unfired engine to be sitting. It'd be a shame to have a light layer of rust on the cylinder walls destroy the rings, cylinder walls, and bearings on start up.

Are you sure it has a flat tappet camshaft? It seems odd that someone would go to the expense of buying a stroker rotating assembly, then use a flat tappet camshaft. If it has a flat tappet camshaft, you definitely need to do a flat tappet break-in before driving it. If it was me, I'd install a roller camshaft.

Yes, you need to pre-lube the engine. You can buy a pressurized luber, or buy a drill type pre-lube shaft, or make a pre-luber from an old distributor out of a 460, 429, 351M, or 400. You definitely need to make sure the engine fires immediately. To increase chances of immediate fire up, triple check that you've got the distributor installed correctly, and prefill the carburetor float bowls. Ensure you have a good PCV setup so you don't blow gaskets and seals before the rings seat. Have a fire extinguisher on hand, and be able to instantly disconnect or cut the negative battery cable. Have a vacuum gauge hooked up, and have a screwdriver to adjust the idle and idle mixture screws. Have the correct wrench for the distributor hold down bracket so you can adjust timing. Assuming you're doing all this with the engine installed in the truck, ensure your transmission and transfer case are topped off with fluid. If it's a new automatic transmission, make sure the transmission and converter are topped off with fluid. And even a manual transmission in neutral needs oil during camshaft break-in...the input shaft and gears are spinning.

 

I broke my 410 in using 30w non-detergent oil and a bottle of Lucas Oil engine break in additive.


The 410 I bought sat for 50 years after being rebuilt adit had never been started.

It appears that the only thing that happened from that sitting that long is it looks like its going to need new valve stem seals.

I also went with Valvoline VR1 20w50 full synthetic racing oil.

 

Thank you Ranger. I am not positive about the cam being flat tappet and only going by what the seller mentioned. I did purchase a pressurized luber as I originally intended on doing it myself until I started reading about potential mistakes when breaking in an engine with a flat tappet cam. Good points on the pcv setup and fire extinguisher....need to get one. I guess I can get some idea on if its a roller or not when I pull the valve covers for pre oiling correct?

 

Wow 50 years.....that gives me some hope. The engine I purchased was covered up but wasn't sure if anything else needed to be done without it being turned over in quite some time. Thanks!

 

Yep, you can pull the valve covers and look through a pushrod hole. If you don't see tie bars or a hold down "spider", then it's a flat tappet. Hopefully it's a roller camshaft. But I still follow the same initial startup/break-in procedure.

 

Do you have a good handle on everything you need to do and buy when swapping from a 335 to a 385 engine? There's several good threads here. Check out members, Doosenberry, and Lafermedavid. They've done the swap. My 502 is built and tested, and I have all the swap parts. Haven't installed it yet, since my 400 is running well and gas prices are stupid. Member 77&79F250 "Rich" is a good source for stuff too.

 

You can pull a valve cover or the distributor and see if it's a roller or not. if it's a shiny cam and or the distributor gear is bronze or hard steel it's probably a roller. if it's that old odds are it's not, rollers have been around for years but few people used them back then.

Do you have roller rockers ? do you know the compression ratio? you might be burning race fuel. my guess is the cam card got lost for a reason. I would measure the lift you don't want a drag strip engine in a 4x4.

If it were me this is what I would do. pull the valve covers and see that you have. if it's a flat tappet you have 2 choices, if you have stout springs and you probably do change them out for break in then swap them back.

Or the best option. hopefully knowing the compression I'd order a custom spec roller cam and change it now. have a better running engine with no drama and no surprises. it'll run you about a grand. well maybe a little more today it's been a year or so since I bought a roller cam and lifters. you would not regret it. keep in mind if the cam gets wiped the whole engine has to be gone through.

 

Not to keep beating this dead horse, but 440 is making very good points. Flat tappet lifters and camshafts made in the last couple of decades are junk. He's seen flat tappets wipe themselves out, and so have I. Every flat tappet camshaft I've pulled, has had lobe and lifter deformation. I won't install a flat tappet camshaft in any engine that can use a roller camshaft.

And again, I'd take that engine apart for inspection. Not just looking for rust, but I'd be identifying every part, checking bearing clearances, valve spring specs, valve to seat fit, etc. If everything checks out, it'll only cost you a little time and a few gaskets. If it doesn't check out, you'll be saving yourself from a possible catastrophe.

 

All good input, and X2 on Ranger and 440's input on what to have handy. Personally, back when I did more engines, I still sweated the cam break-in every time, my last engine I did in 2021 for my 77 F250, it sat for almost a year before I fired it up as I crashed my Yami and fractured L1/L2, break in went smooth except for my china wall leaking due to my sliding the intake a smidge when I put it on.
I would pull a valve cover and see what you have, you've read enough on it, it is either going to go great or not. The only cam failures I had were in high mileage engines that were due for a rebuild, however, other than my most recent build, I haven't done one in about 5-6 years prior to that.
You got this, now go do it!

 

I pulled the spark plugs and looked into the cylinders with a bore scope. I found dead bugs in one if them.



I was also able to see that it had 0.030" over domed pistons which meant 10.5:1 compression. The cylinder walls looked great.



I also checked the bearing clearance on one rod and one main bearing. Rods and mains were 0.010 under.



Then I rotated the crank until I found the 1U stamp that verified that it was a 428 crankshaft.

When it was in the truck and ready to start the spark plus were still out of the engine so I just cranked it over until I was satisfied that the oil had gone thru ever oil passage and into the lifters.

Started right up with no clatter at all and it runs great.

 

One other thing, never put antifreeze in for the break in.

 

I used Lucas break in oil with my Melling cam and no name lifters and springs without issue. I did have the benefit of the carb being properly set before disassembly and the fact that it wasn’t my first rodeo. It’s my understanding that high rate springs may be some or all of the issue with cam and tappet damage. Or I could be wrong.

if you are still concerned, you can check out Cam-King | Cam Reseach ? Custom Ford Camshafts They will break in your lifters and cam on their machine for $60

Michael