hello thar. ive got a few questions about a ford motor i own. i love ford motors, but have only been on this planet for 17 years; whereas some of you have been working with these motors for twice as long. so i figured id turn here for any helpful advise. so here it goes.

it's a 460 police interceptor pulled from a 1978 police car. it's been sitting on a pallet for about 12 years, and need a complete rebuild. good news is that i can turn it over by hand, so it isnt ceased up. first of all, does anyone know the specs on this motor (specifically hp/ torque)? ive heard that in the 1978 era, emissions control really cut back on hp to improve the fuel efficiency by lowering the compression. is this true? if so, how do i get the compression back up? what parts should i keep stock, and what should be replaced with aftermarket parts? if i rebuild the motor to run, and get the compression back, what kind of hp can i expect? also, what makes a 460 P.I. different form a regular 460?
the motor will be going into my 77' 1 ton 4x4 crewcab. (alas, my user name)
thanks much for the help!
-karl

 

not sure if there is a difference in 78 for a PI engine, I don't have the specs on them. (actually I didn't even realize they made a police interceptor version of the 460 in 78). plus if there ever was a difference most of that will be gone when you rebuild it cause it would be in compression, and cam plus maybe carb so that is all stuff you would or could change easily enough.
But I can help on the compression issue, there is several ways to get it back up. One would be to switch to DOVE heads (this is the most common recommendation but I don't like caue everyone thinks it's the best thing since sliced bread, and they cost wayy to much for very little gain plus they actually push your compression too high real easy), easiest, and cheapest way is since you said it needs a rebuild anyway put flat top pistons in instead of domes, and/or deck the block to get the pistons within .010 of the deck surface. this alone will get you into the 9.5-9.7:1 range which is pretty good place to have it, and will provide decent power and still run on pump gas just fine. If you decide you want a little more you can mill the heads some to get even more easily enough.
another thing to do to get more power is use the earlier model timing chain, this will take out the factory cam retard on the cam (do a search there is lots of threads on this subject.) that was one of the other things done for emissions purposes that reduced power also.

 

i would get a good timing set to advance the cam up where it should be, get some long tube headers, a good aluminum intake w/ 750 holley and run it. you could cam it mild, but the stock cam would work for a heavy application like yours.

 

You should post the casting numbers for the heads I am curious if they D3 or the earlier PI heads

 

hey, thanks for the info everyone. um, ill try to get those casting numbers up here as soon as i can.