ALL: I am new to the 385 series engines, but I am liking more and more of what I see. I am used to working with FE motors for the last 25 years in my '66 F-100, but I have purchased a '77 F-250 donor truck for transplanting a 385(with D3VE heads)/C-6 combo to replace my 352/C-6 setup.
The 460 will require rebuilding; it has at leas 140K on it posibly240K. It has a pretty bad bottom end knock, but it starts and runs OK otherwise. It doesn't smoke. I will put a '69 or '70 timing chain on it to restore the power back to the motor, and balance it out with an RV cam for a mileage booster. Does this sound good?

Would it be worth just putting in a crank kit?
Or should I go on ahead and rebuild it? This will not be a daily driver, but I want it reliable as a backup. I do not have a lot of money to put into it.

Or, should I have it rebuilt? I don't know about the 385 series longevity, so I appreciate your expertise in this.

Thanks in advance.

 

Start here - https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=269758

Brad

 

Thank you Brad, it was a good beginning source.
However, I was hoping to draw on expertise not really discussed there.

 

John

come up to the 385 series engine building competition at Garbz Garage this weekend (i think it will be this weekend) and you can see all the ins and outs of putting one of the puppys together. Breakfast will be served and orange paint supplied. The plus side is i have to get it out of my living room and on to the engine stand.

lots of shiney new parts.

LOL

Brother Garbz

 

Sorry, BG! My Sweet Southern Comfort is calling me home this weekend!
My neighbor and I are going down to get her.
(Unfortunately, I have to come back. For now, anyways!)
Maybe I'll have the 460 out and ready to look at when you get down here the 16th.
(PS: Wanna buy a 360 complete??!!)

 

BP, your going to love the 460/466" motor.. They make alot more HP and TQ than the FE..Not knocking the FE, I have one in my 70 F250...Pics in gallery..

There not that hard to rebuild...easier than the fe..I think..because the Intake is NOT part of the heads!! And your right about useing the early timong set..You have the big chamber heads on that 77..so I would change piston in it to bring up the CR to say around 9-9.5 to 1...

I cant remember if those heads have the thermactor Hump in the exhaust side? If they do...Grind them out even with the floor..It will make the motor happier!!

a Nice after market intake to compliment a good cam..and headers...And you'll be VERY happy with your build!! and as Far as Reliability goes... I have a Cousin with a 460 in his rollback... that runs almost 24/7 it has 170,000+ Miles on it..and the only thing he's done it that time was a timing chain,and a valve job..and change the oil every 3K...

Hope this helps, and good luck on your build!!

Russ

 

I see mentioned here the preference for the earlier timing gear set. What's the difference between the early ones and the later ones? Do the later gears retard the cam?

 

Yes, as is mentioned in the links Brad so kindly posted for me earlier, the cam timing in '72 was retarded to reduce emissions.
Using the earlier set restores proper power and mileage.

Be advised that, according to other sites I have studied, the 385 underwent significant modifications about '79 with external balancing and again in the late '80s with the advent of ECM and various fuel injection setups.
Therefore, using the earlier timing sets on these engines may not help, and may actually be counterproductive.
I may have the dates and exact isssues not correctly listed becauseI am still learning about the 385 engines. Also, I haven't vetted all the information yet, so until I do, it is all hearsay. You'll need to research the specs very carefully.

Since I am using a '77 engine and intend to keep it close to stock, I expect no troubles.

 

When i speced out the master kit i asked for a 68 timing set. All other components are 78 internally balnced components. Pay the extra dollars to have the parts balanced. I had one rod that was over 100 grams off from the other seven rods.

Garbz