ive got a 1987 460, bone stock. i raced my friends '94 chevy yesterday, bone stock with a 350 in it, and he almost won me. so, i was wondering why i was lacking so much power, ive got a C6 tranny, so i have a great transmission, can anybody help me?!

 

It's not about power, it's about physics (power to weight). Need more info.

Which truck do you have? Which truck does he have? What is each truck geared? Are they 2wd or 4wd. How much fuel did you have in the tank? Were you hauling a bunch of stuff in the bed? What kind of wheels/tire do you have?

Brad

 

A Chevy 350 is a decent all-around motor. It'll wind up quicker because it is a smaller motor (less reciprocating mass) Put that in a lighter vehicle and hang on! But when it comes to heavy towing, a 454 is better because the larger the motor, the more torque it has!
A stock 460 isn't a quick motor, it wasn't designed to be! It was designed to haul accessory laden land yachts (Lincolns) around. Ford later put them into trucks because of their strength and durability.
One of the neat things about 460's is you can drive them empty or full of passengers, A/C on towing a heavy trailer and they run the same. They just don't seem to care what you couple to them!
Pretty impressive!!! That's what 460's are about!
Steve G.

 

put a 750 vacuum secondary holley on it, set the timing to 14 degrees, and change the plugs, then see if that chebby keeps up, ive only had two bowties beat me, one was a LT1 Vette, and one was a chevelle with a blown 350 and hella gears.......

 

Still waiting for some specifics on your truck. Then we can help with some suggestions that will help rather than generic potshots at what might help.

Brad

 

If your in a 1-ton or 3/4 ton truck with a ext cab and 4x4 and he is in a reg cab 1/2 ton he should get your lunch. He is about 600 lb less and not that far off from you in HP. Now, as was said above put a 8,000 lb trailer behind each truck and do it again...you should get his lunch :]

A 460 as Ford put it together is not much of a race engine, but just to clear up what 8-Lugs said....a 460 is one the best race engines known to mankind once its been rubbed and loved and stuffed full of shiny stuff. I tend to think stock blocks that hold nearly 1000 HP is a good candidate for a race engine.....want to race mine?

 

ive got a 3/4 ton, ext cab, 4wd, long bed, 3.55 gears, carbureted, 1/2 tank of gas, and stock size tires and 28,000 miles. He's got a 3/4 ton, dont know his gears, long bed, standard cab, 4wd, EFI, 3/4 tank of gas, and stock size tires and 235,000 miles. He had a big toolbox in his bed, i had nothing, by the way, its a 1990, i goofed.. that should sum it up! thanx guys

 

Need to know rear axle ratios to see whats really happening. All the power in the world thru a 3:1 axle ain't gonna accerate like 250 hp thru a 4.11:1 axle ratio. The 3 to 1 will go real fast sometime in the future, but the drag race will be over by then.

 

i have bulid up 460 in my 93 e350 and it smokes most of newer piuckups im talking about stock ones my 460 has only about 320 to 350 hp and 400 torque (is to big to fit on my friend dyno) check it out at http://exposystems.us i still belive that there is nothing better than ford 460 TORQUE IS WHAT MOVE IT HORSEPOWER WHAT SELLS IT

 

My brother has a 92 3/4 ton 4wd EFI 350 Chevy, and it runs liked a striped ape. The little bowtie engine sings along making gobs of midrange power. Your late 80's 460 is carbed and hamstrung by poor exhaust flow. You should feel lucky that you won. Chances are the high miles and extra fuel weight were the determining factors.

Let's face it, Ford set up the 460 powered trucks to be pullers, not racers. Lots of low end for hauling around trailers and service beds, but not much in the way of mid- to high-rpm power. I'd bet dollars to dog bisuits that if your buddy had a fresh motor in his rig he would have smoked you.

Your first change should be a set of good headers - tri-Y's if you can afford 'em - and a good 2.5" min dual exhaust system with a crossover pipe and good mufflers. That single change, along with a good tuneup and possibly some light recurve work on the distributor, should return you exceptional gains in power. I'd bet that your carb is stock, which means that a swap to an aftermarket 750 carb (vac secondaries, not mechanical) and a good tune on the carb to set jetting, will help even more. If nothing else it will probably noticeably improve driveability and throttle response.

Aside from a good, solid tuneup, the headers and exhaust are the single most effective change you can make for your carbed 87. That change alone will net you significant power gains and will pave the way for more upgrades later.

Brad