iron head capability
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iron head capability
im not really familiar with all the different casting numbers, i believe its the D2VE heads that suck bad so besides them, what kind of power are the DOVE and D3 heads capable of on a stroker motor of 545ci or more, stock, ported and otherwise? I've read that a big stroker even with iron heads can potentially make 600hp or better, so which heads would it take to do that and which heads are normally found on the late 70's 460's in pickups and what could you do with them? Are 460 rockers adjustable or would you have to replace with adjustables to run a solid cam, not roller just solid? basically i hope to build a 545 in the future but probably wont be able to afford aluminum heads and roller valvetrain, so a budget stroker if you can call it that
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From: fargo, nd
except the aforementioned d2ve. that head is hopeless
the d0ve heads are adjustable, as are the c9ve and c8ve- the d3ves are not but can be machined to be. the d3ve heads were used from 1973 to 1987-8 when they went to fuel injection.
the d0ve heads are adjustable, as are the c9ve and c8ve- the d3ves are not but can be machined to be. the d3ve heads were used from 1973 to 1987-8 when they went to fuel injection.
Last edited by darrin1999; May 3, 2007 at 10:19 PM.
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From: iowa
Originally Posted by gulfcrestinc
the c-9ve heads are another good choice. any head can be a good power maker with a little finess
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I was hoping that the d3's were the ones on pickups because like you said they are more easily come by. i'm am surprised however that you cant get away with 10:1 compression or even more. even with a mechanical cam with 250 or 260 degrees of duration and around .600 lift? 10:1 is pretty good but can you get 600hp with that, i guess with 545 inches its still very possible. the biggest motor ive ever had is my 422 FE so i really have no idea what to expect from a 545 built with even better parts. One more question if nobody minds, how much advantage in power will you gain by using a mechanical cam vs. a hydraulic because i have seen some pretty gnarly hydraulic cams too
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From: fargo, nd
theres no power advantage to using a solid cam over a hydraulic of equal specs, but with a solid cam you can use more lift and quicker ramp rates, and they arent rpm limited- hydraulic cams will "pump up" and not go much past 6500-7000 rpm regardless of the cam theyre on. hydraulic rollers are even more rpm limited, they cant go past about 6000 without floating. solid rollers and hydraulic rollers do have a power advantage though because they dont have as much friction.
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so really, since this motor tht i wish to build isnt gonna be a race motor and would rarely if ever see 7000 rpm, a hydraulic cam would work perfectly fine? That would save on cost since i wouldnt have to have the rocker studs machined to accept adjustable rockers
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From: fargo, nd
yep, a hydraulic cam is fine, you just have to make sure your pushrods are exactly the right length with a push rod length checker. if you want roller rockers though you will have to have the heads machined for studs because any full roller rockers are stud mount. if it doesnt matter then just use the stock stamped steel rockers 
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A good Hydraulic camshaft is the Ford Racing M-6250-C460 which has 595/620 Lift, I am using this camshaft with my 557ci rebuild, You can get a bit more lift with a Solid but unless you plan to race it the Hydraulic should do the job...
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thats a nice cam about what i was looking for, what kind of an idle can be expected in a 545? in a 460 it would be pretty lumpy, does the extra 85 cubes make a difference or would it idle fairly smoothly?