Hi, I have a 95 E350 with a 460 EFI. I want to get about another 100 horses out of it and still maintain reliability. I've already put a BANKS exhaust and intake on it. Talked to the Ford Race guys and they said to put a supercharger on. When I looked at the engine compartment, I wonder where it would fit. Has anyone tried this?

Any other ideas for increasing HP without screwing up emissions, etc. ? Thanks.

Bob

 

Hi Bob,

If you have a 355 gear set, you can make it feel like it's supercharged by going to a higher gear ratio in the diff.

 

Try Kenne Bell, they told me they had a Whipplecharger that would go on my E-350 V-10. Other than buying a crate motor (that Motorcraft 514 looks tasty but it's almost $9 grand) a s/c is your only option. Unless you go NOS, which is, you know, expensive and hard on parts. Good luck ! Keep us posted will ya ? I'm always interested in guys hot rodding vans. I have big plans for mine, but those pesky 6 kids keep asking to be fed,,,,,,,

 

I've heard that throttle bodies do wonders for these motors w/ your current mods. A small RV cam and some Roller Rockers should also help w/o being too much for the comp. to adjust too. Definatly consider gears, as Leo T stated. If you don't tow surely there is a chip available. this won't add your 100 horses, but should help alot. Never seen a 460 in a van, but I couldn't even see room for a 'charger on the small blocks.

Theres also ud pullies, electric fans(don't use either for towing), better ignition, high flow cat w/ a custom (larger) y-pipe, synthetics all-around... Lots of small things do add up.

 

I'm still scratching my head over fitting a supercharger onto that big of a motor in a van. I've got a 351, and it looks like they used ky jelly to get it in there. Let us know how you make out Bob. I've got a guy in the neighborhood that regularly spanks me with his Dodge pick-up. Just once I'd like to send him home counting his cylinders. He told me he has a 318 in it, and he knows how to drive better than me. [urge to kill]

I'd like to change the diff gears, but this is the quietist, nicest acting diff I've ever had. I keep hoping it develops a whine or something.

 

Hey Leo, what year is yours? A K&N filter will help alot, as will a free flowing exhast.

 

Yea, there's a plethora of parts for that 460, and there's many, many 460's in E-series. I have the V-10 and I wonder at how guys add superchargers, but they do. Cam shafts are the brain of any engine, so that's a great suggestion. And since an engine is basically nothing but a big air pump if we concentrate on getting good, cool air in, and then facilitating getting that hot, burned up air out, our engines will be more efficient and therefore make more power. Lots of people make headers for the E-series w/the 460, it's a popular RV mod. The airbox is another good addition, along with a throttle body but only if you can increase the air that's getting to the throttle body, ie; through the air intake. A 3" minimum exhaust will help also. The Y pipe on the E-series has usually been a much better design than the one on the pick-ups, but it can stand improvement. There's an old saying; "speed is money, how fast can you afford"? I tow quite a bit and I'm of the opinion that electric fans and chips are better for towing, depending on how your chip is mapped. Ken Payne, the Diablo chip guy here can guide you better for which chip would be best for which application. You can get multi-chips, which will switch from towing to performance to stock (for running regular fuel) if you want. But add your hard parts first, so Ken can program a chip to maximize your engine with it's new parts. Good luck !

 

"There's an old saying; "speed is money, how fast can you afford"? I tow quite a bit and I'm of the opinion that electric fans and chips are better for towing, depending"

What kind of electric fan are you running to cool a BB down while towing? Most of the fans I've run across eitheir don't pull enough cfm's by themselves or didn't cover enough of the rad. to draw air through all of it. I know that Flex-a-lite makes dual set-ups for the trucks, but will it fit the van fairly well? I'm not arguing w/ you, I just want more info. Good point on the switchable chips,didn't think of that. He said he already has the Banks kit, so I'll assume it flows pretty well.

 

Hi P,

I have a 96 high top conversion E-150. It used to show up as my sig. I think with the new format something got lost somewhere. The 351 is a good engine. I don't think that engine and a 3.55 diff is a good match for a fairly heavy van. I thought about the K&N, but I don't think it would be good for the Maf sensor.

The price of gas just crossed the 2 dollar mark today. Getting kinda scary. Another reason to forget about perfomance.

They do have some mods with a double bonus, improving both power and gas miliage. Something like a better flowing exhaust system, or ignition upgrades. How about those heavy output injectors. Has anybody tried them?

 

I've got the 351HD, huge throttle body, has to be at least twin 56mm, and what appear to be 30lb injectors. Aside from being scary at times, it does pretty good on gas for a 351, I got 13.5mpg running 90 on the way to st. louis last month. the K&N filter kit is not supposed to harm the MAF sensor, give it a shot, and have the exhaust shop run you a new 2.5" cat back system from the convert back, that will free up a lot. You might even look into headers, but make sure you get the ones with provisions for the A.I.R., EGR, and O2 sensors.

 

Hi P,

I'll need some time to digest your tips. I had headers on a 65 GTO, and helped with horsepower. I've never had anything that fast since. 389 with tri-power carbs, and 4:10 posi rear end. I had to trade it because the little woman couldn't push in the clutch. There went my short lived fantasy. Those were the days of 23 cents a gallon gas. I was a tech for Chrysler at the time, so I did all the work on it. The headers got in the way of everything. couldn't even get the starter out without dropping the headers. That's why I would probably pass on headers, but a nice noisey, free flowing muffler, and big pipes sounds interesting. I always loved the sound of a v-8.
Do you know if dual exhaust is possable?
I was under it the other day, and was noticing the side gas tank, and odd ball spare tire carrier. I'm thinking of getting the spare out of there. I had my last one mounted on the back door. Just had to make sure you had a locking lug nut, and an almost bald tire.
Hey P, thanks again for the tips. I've heard alot of guys complaining about the K+N plugging there MAF, but mine is easy to get to for spray cleaning. Helping engines breath is one of those tricks that improve both power, and gas miliage.

Thanks for taking the time.

 

I really need to take some of my own advice, I use a tank of fuel a week (35 gallons), but I'm driving almost 60 miles round trip to work. It does ok, but I'm working on a 1980 malibu with a 229 to drive to work. Dual exhaust is a possibility, but not true duals, you can split it behind the cats and then run it however you want. You really need both cats, as the AIR pump feed into the rear one if I remember correctly.

 

I do not have an electric fan, yet. Flexalite has what seems like single or dual fans for anything, including the E-series with the V-10. Which in my mind is a small block, wouldn't you agree ? Since it's a 5.4 mod with 2 extra cylinders. That's my thought anyway.

 

Well, I don't see an application spec. model on their site is all...
I used their Black Magic fan to cool down my 318 and it was fine except in the worst conditions (towing, stop & go w/ a/c on-only during summer). If it would have been made spec. for my truck I'm sure it would have been better (cover more of the radiator). Plenty of people have problems towing w/ them BB or SB.

 

Well, there ya go, I wasn't aware that there was not a model for the E-series/V-10. I just assumed, since there is an F-series model. Well, like they say, you know what you get when you ASSume something, right ? Take care, Ken