Heres what I got. I have a 78 F-250 SuperCab 4x4 auto with 4.10 gears and a 400 that will be replaced by one of three engines. My main concern is towing/hauling. It will be kept at stock height and Im looking for approx. 500 lb-ft of torque (I want to out tow my buddies Cummins). I have at my disposal a 73 429 (car), a 77 460 (truck) and a 79 460 (truck) engines. All good candidates for a rebuild and all have D3VE heads. I do not do machine work my self but I use a good machine shop and will do the assembly myself. Right now Im thinkin of getting the heads done first. This would include, the usual reworking of the heads to get back to spec plus porting, decked and larger exhaust valves.
I plan on running flat top pistons and Eddlebrock performer intake but what I havent decided on yet is to use the 429, 460 or get a stroker crank, cam and carb. I want good dependable power int the 1800-2500 rpm range.
Any suggestions would be appreciated and if someone can set this up on a desktop dyno that would be great.
Thanks

 

This is personal opinion only. I would use one of hte 2 460s (unless of coarse you go stroker than it doesn't matter) just for the pure fact of you are looking for a torque monster and there ain't no replacement for displacement, that added 31 cid is just that much more benifit. the 73 and 77 engines will have hte same block as well as same heads. My next preference would probably be the 79 (this is based on all the blocks bieng the same condition) just for the longer cyl walls adding piston stability and if your going stroker I would definatly opt for that 79 block
From there I would recommend going with a 4.3" stroker crank, 6.8" rods and if it will clean up going .030 overbore for a 521cid. The pistons are a shelf item from several manufactors, and with the lower rpms you could easily use eagle Hbeam rods, and a cast crank for a pretty cheap build that will make plenty of torque.
But I would watch my piston choice, if you leave the piston down in the bore .010 (max you want it down for best quench distance) and run a flat top piston with 12cc valve reliefs you are going to be at 9.95:1 compression which is pretty high. Personally on that stroker I would opt for a 22cc dish piston which would put you at 9.25:1.

 

Good point about using the 79 block for a stroker. Perhaps I will save that for a car project I have in mind.
Im leaning towards the 77 460 right now. How about cam selection?

 

for a shelf grind cam something like comp cams xtreme 4x4 cam grind number x4256H-11 part number 34-231-4. RPM range 1000 to 5000, lift is .514 on both lobes duration at .050 is 210/218.
That is for 460 only stroker is a different choice totally.

 

Just for S&G's I checked ebay for stroker cranks. There is one listed for $259. Its an Eagle 555 4.5" stroke. Anyone know if this is a decent crank?

 

I went with the Xtreme 4X4 cam that is one notch bigger than the one listed above. It's specs were 218/226 with .514/.524 and it was just about right in a 460. Plenty of low end torque. My build would smoke the tires from a standstill starting in 2nd gear with a 3.25 locker rear end.

 

Anyone ever use a roller cam? I was lookin at the Comp Cams list and it seems like all the roller cams are huge. I was thinkin a roller would be nice for less friction but I started thinkin maybe it wouldnt make much difference. If anyone has an opinion on a roller cam let me know.

 

Resist the urge to overcam your engine. It's the single easiest way to kill and otherwise good build. First decide what kind of power you want and what your budget will be. Everything else keys off that.

Brad

 

Roller cams are nice..............for big HP and big RPMs, I run a solid roller cam but I also have a 5200rpm stall and shift at 7400 rpm, not exactly your normal daily driver. Like Brad said resist the urge to overcam, that and over carbbing (expecially on small blocks) are the 2 biggest mistakes made.

 

Comp just released hydraulic roller lifters and cams for old 460's. Look into those. The hydraulic rollers versions are milder than solid roller but still offer gains over regular hydraulic cams.

 

How big of a cam would be too much for a tow only rig? Types of towing include 30 ft gooseneck flatbed with 8000 lbs load. Mostly highway towing.
This roller cam from Comp Cams caught my eye - XR274R-10 236/242 duration .650/.657 lift.
Im not in a big hurry to build this motor so my budget is flexible and if its too much motor for the truck I have a car that could put it to good use.

 

I'm running a Comp Xtreme 4X4 cam hyd lifter cam and have plenty of TQ and hp. I decided to go with this cam to keep it streetable and have plenty of get up and go. I can't remember the grind number off the top of my head but it is in my gallery info. With the dyno, I'm making 537 TQ and 483 HP at the flywheel. The engine has a nice blup... blup.... blup, as my son puts it. Once you bring the rpm's around 900 it smooths out like glass. Just my two cents of input.