I just bought an 85 F350 with a 460. It has: dump and tailgate salt spreader that run off central hydraulics, 8 1/2' plow, 4 speed manual trans. The exhaust manifolds leak like a b*tch, and it seems to me that it lacks a lot of power for having a 460. I'm just looking for some cheap mods to get a little more bang out of it, if anyone has any suggestions. Also, exhaust manifolds vs. headers, are they worth the extra money?

 

the problem with newer 460's is lack of compression. depending on your elevation and what grade feul you want to run the best thing you can do for that era of engine i thin k is to upgrade to flat top pistons and a good torque cam this is probably more than you want to do but adding all the extras on the outside is not that beneficial without a good compresion ratio.

 

cheapest and simplest things to do are-first is an aftermarket timing chain- set it straight up- the factory timing set was 4 degrees retarded for emissions, but it killed power... if youre having carb issues you may want to rebuild the one you have, or just go get a new edelbrock or holley 600cfm carb... i personally prefer edelbrock because theyre easier to tune and get a little better mileage because the primaries are smaller. headers are a good improvement if you get good long tubes- but theyre expensive. if you have emissions checks there isnt much you can do. if you dont, then by all means ditch the smog pump, gut the cat, and do away with any other emissions crap you find... just ditching the emissions crap should gain you a good 15 horse... timing set should give you another 15-20, maybe throw in a new rv cam and lifters if youre feeling ambitious

 

If you already have leaks I'd ditch the manifolds and go with headers. Summit sells Hedmans for 155.95 for that truck. Manifolds are about 60 each and will likely crack again...

De-smog it if you can

Rebuild the factory Holley or go with an Edlebrock. Again Summit is cheapest there as well. Around 290 new.

The timing set and an RV cam will help a LOT but I don't know if you wanna tear down that far.

-Geoff

 

If it's running right, not missing/bucking/spark knocking etc, there's no need to do anything to the carb yet but increasing air flow into and out of the engine will help alot. Better breather and better exhaust. If it has bad exhaust leaks and it's old you could have a clogged converter or muffler. A good tune up could help but the most gains will come from increased air flow, in and out, and a early model timeing chain and gear set (68, 1969).

 

I was under the impression that in the early '80s the 1 tons were emissions except. At least my 1984 F250 Super duty, rated at 8800 pounds is. No cat either for any truck rated over 8400 pounds.

 

i thought the cutoff for emissions was 1985 and 8550 lbs... i know 1978 was the last year of no cats for anything under 8550 (except california- they had them in 78)

 

i agree with blue leader.but if you dont want to tear into the bottom try heads C8VE or D0ve casting# lower cc,s=higher compression. azone had a reman head C8ve.