Hello, All! I apologize in advance for the long post. I've been lurking on this site for a couple of weeks now, and have spent several of my evenings reading through the incredible amount of information concerning the 460 and the many choices that must be made when rebuilding. This huge amount of info has allowed me to decide what I want to do to my 460, but I'm at a loss when deciding specifically which parts to go with.

A little background info: I have a 1973 F350 Crew Cab Special with a C6 and a transplanted 1986 460 smogger, all stock (probably), from an F350 of that same year. It's been plagued with exhaust leaks for all of the 8 years that I've owned it, and I finally decided to pull the heads and get it fixed for good. Of course, this small project has begun to snowball, as they usually do. After removing the heads, I found that one of them is cracked between two valves. The head casting number is E6TE-DA.

The truck lives below 4500 RPM, spends most of its time dead-heading on a highway, but occasionally hauls a 10 ft camper or pulls my Massey Model 65 on a trailer that probably weighs as much as the tractor. I'd like to do a few things to improve the performance of the 460 without spending a lot of cash (now, I'll bet that's a new idea), and continuing to burn regular unleaded. After all, poor folks have poor ways.

Here are the decisions I've made so far:

1. Replace the cracked head with a similar head, or replace both with heads that will improve performance, if there is such a thing. Any advice here will be much appreciated.
2. Replace the cam gears and chain with a set that will allow 0-degree timing. A recommendation for a good set will be appreciated.
3. Replace the cam with the Summit SUM-K3500 cam/lifter kit. Any advice on this selection, or a recommendation for a better choice, will be appreciated.
4. Replace the carb with a 600 cfm Edelbrock, Carter, or Holley with vacuum secondaries. Advice on which is the best choice will be appreciated. Also, the existing carb has an EGR valve plate under it - should I leave it there, toss it, or replace it with a blank of some kind?
5. Replace the stock exhaust system with L&L headers and Flowmasters. It's currently plumbed for dual exhaust, but the pipes are small. Any advice for the rest of the exhaust system will be appreciated.
6. Replace the stock distributor with ?, since it was frozen in the block and I broke it while trying to remove it. Any advice here will be appreciated. BTW, the ignition appears to be the stock set that would have come in the '86 F350 that was the 460's original home.

Thank you for spending your time reading this. I promise to not be so windy next time.

 

I recommend the 800 edlebrock carb instead, lets it breath a little easier. If you already have the 600 then thats fine too. The COMP Xtreme series cams are great for towing. For pump gas, a good set of aluminum heads will reduce the chance of ping.
You can ditch the EGR plate if you get a new edelbrock carb, they have the EGR fitting built in. On dual exhaust, 2.5" pipes are just fine, flowmasters are great mufflers too. I recommend switching to an MSD ignition system, all told a new Digital 6, billet distributor, and coil will run about $600 and some change.

 

Keeping a reasonable budget in mind......

1. A good set of D0VE heads should run you about $300-$500 eady to use. They will outflow what you have and will boost the compression on an otherwise stock 460 to around 9.5:1

2. Many people like Cloyes. I used the all steel Ford Racing set in my truck. Get a pre-72 double roller set from a reptable compnay like Cloyes or Ford and you will be fine.

3. I'm not familiar with that Summit cam off-hand but for your app you will want something in the 200-210 on the intake and 205-215 on the exhaust. You could go up to 220/230 but you likely wouldn't use the upper end of that cam anyway. I prefer Comp but they are more pricey than some.

4. 600 is big enough for what you are wanting, but a 750 would be a bit better with likely no change in mileage. I would toss all the smog stuff, but it depends on where you live. You HAVE to have it in some states/cities.

5. Headers and flowmasters are good. If you have the money an X-pipe would be worht it. You should gain around 15 ft. bs of torque across the powerband. Not a bad mod for roughly $200. 2.5" duals are large enough for your application.

6. I would use a stock Ford duraspark. You might want to change the module to MSD or some other aftermarket, along with the coil. Until someone can show me a solid gain from a different dizzy, I'll keep using the Ford. The are super cheap, electronic with magnetic pickup. They will provide accurate and reliable ignition well beyond 5000 RPMs. You might want to use the later model larger cap and rotor. Any of the old style distributors can be converted.

 

Thanks, guys, for your responses (so far). I'm looking forward to hearing more from the experts! In the mean time, I've located a pair of heads at the local salvage and I'd like to ask about them - casting number is D3VE-A2A. Isn't this the first year they had hardened valve seats, and isn't that the way to go? Will these also increase compression/flow? The price seems right at $80 for the pair. Of course, they'll need rebuilding/resurfacing. Will I be able to use the valves from my original heads if they're good? What should I watch out for?

Bigsnag - you mentioned that the D0VE heads would increase compression to around 9.5 - would that be true even with the stock pistons with fairly deep dishes in them? Also, are the cam specs you mentioned (200-210 on intake and 205-215 on exhaust) total durations, or at .050? Is .5 inch lift what I should look for?

Again, thanks much for the advice and info!