recently i purchases a big bus (nearly 40' long with tandem axles) its powered by a 318 with a 2 barrel and a 727 tranny needless to say its way underpowered, when i got the bus home and started cleaning out the back i find a big block ford with tranny, beefiest engine and tranny ive ever seen, the oil pan is pretty much flat (no sump) and the tranny has all kinds of extra stuff on it and what looks like a drum brake on the yoke, ive been able to detremine its a 74 by the code on the block (d4) but what do i have to look for to identify it as a 534 or 477 or 401? ive been a round ford engines most of my life and this thing makes a 460 look like a 302, i want to replace the 318 with something bigger, i was planin on going with a caddy 500 and a th400 or 480le if i came across one cheap, but i really wanted to save the caddy for a muscle car (68-9 torino gt fast back) and now that i have come across this sd motor with this giant heavy duty tranny i think it would work well in the bus, but i was hopin to get 10 mpg outta the rig, do you think you could update a 534 enough to get 10mpg? shave the heads, port polish, bigger valves, reground cam shaft and headers....??

 

Not sure about the 401, but 477 and 534 both have the D4HE casting. You'll probably have to check the stroke. 477 is 3.75, 534 is 4.2.

As for 10 mpg? Maybe down a ten mile mountain with the engine shut off. With a low rear end, you probably won't get half that. My advice is to go diesel, especially with gas predicted to go $4 a gallon this summer.

There are no speed parts for the 477-534. The heads are pathetic and the rpm tops out at about 3200. Plus replacement parts are about as pricey as a diesel.

With my advice you get what you pay for. So..........keep the Caddy in the Caddy. Put a Ford in your Torino. Your buddies and your Torino will be forever thankful.

However, it's your money (and sweat) so do what you gotta.

 

10mpg? if you manage that, please let me know. I'm a diesel mechanic working at the local bus company (krapf's bus company) and with the powerstrokes we usually get between 7-9 mpg depending on the run. our new thomas builts with the mercedes straight 6 diesel get about 6-7 so 10 isnt a big possibility, and with a 534 gas motor, i'd asssume about 3-4. for a bus, go diesel, you wont get better gas mileage with gas.

as for shaving the heads, that would bump up compression, and having the cam reground will change lift and duration, which both will end up most likely worsening the allready horrific gas mileage situation

i'd say put a used dt466 or t444e into it and call it a day (466 straigght 6 international turbo diesel, or 7.3l(444) international powerstroke turbo diesel)

 

My dad had ford trucks ( car haulers ) with what I thought were 532 gassers and the same engine in the diesel version called a 225 cat.
Neither engine did very well slowing to a crawl on mountain grades, while guzzling gas & or diesel like theres no tomorrow. Somewhere around 2 or 3 mpg when loaded. Not much better when empty at less then 5 mpg

 

h, cat engines :ukes a little:: not a BIG fan, our one newer fuel truck (98 i believe) is a freighliner with a cat motor. it has more problems than our 86 fuel truck that has the dt466 in it. as for fuel consumption, it depends on the gvrw our busses are something like 20k+ (i wanna say 26k?) a heavier vehicle will do worse. it also depends on the rear axel ratio, where a hauler would need a bit steeper than a bus, plus the mountain grades wouldnt be to great.

if you dont mind dropping some $, put the 6.0 in it w/ the updated software..it will pull that thing allot quicker than the gassers, but it'll costy ya. an 01 uop 7.3 is my personal favorite. they got ***** and they are very reliable.

drop that massive motor of yours into a ranger now that would be fun

as for a 225 cat? im pretty sure that 225 isnt the engine size? im pretty sure that isnt cause if a big motor like that is comparable to a 225... why do most busses get the 7.3 and 6.0 (a 225 is about 3.4 litres i think?) or a 6.9l? same thing with the larger trucks, getting a 466 (7.5 i think?) or bigger in non international setups ( i personally wanna wedge a 466 with a bigger turbo into an f series...just to see what it could do)

 

The 225 cat referred to the engines horsepower rating which was about the same horsepower rating as the gasoline version. The car haulers were early 1960's when truck engines were not very strong. Later versions of the same trucks ( late 1960's ) came equipped with 425 hp cats & 350 hp cummins engines which ran much better.

 

ok. wow, i didnt realize the car haulers were that old. that woukd explain the mileage

 

i figured you all might be curious on whats happenin with the 534 (yes it was a 534) i decided to put it in my 78 lincoln continental, just for the hell of it, the car is the biggest p.o.s you will ever see goin down the road, its bent in the middle (still tryin to bend it back) its all in peices now im welding 2x3'' steel tubing under the original frame and boxing the original frame in hopes to make it more rigid and bend resistant, i got a 1 ton dually rear end for free, and amd gonna put it under the back with 35'' mudders im gonna try and mount the front suspention to 2x3 tubing raising the front 3'' want 33x12.50's under it and i want to twin turbo the 534 then use it for towing and truck pulls at the county fair lol

 

Post some pics! This I GOTTA see!

 

No performance parts for the 534? Nonsense! SeaMaster was putting twin turbos and intercoolers on these things back in the 1960s & '70s. Of course, they were only used in boats. Anyway, I've listed two of them in the classified section. Need spare parts? Want all of the turbo plenums and intercooler housings you could ever ask for? Go check out the engine section!

Cheers,
Q

 

to identify a 401, 477, 534, look for a stamped metal tag attached by of 1 the inlet manifold bolts over cylinder 8...looking at the engine from inside the vehicle it's the left bank on the rear of the engine

 

Thinkin about buying a 1973 ford 900 witha gasser 477. Single axle daycab. What kind of mileage could I expect bobtailing down the highway, no load? This thing has overdrive.

 

5 to 7 empty, with OD, light throttle, everything working correctly.

This a hobby truck? Certainly there are better choices if you're trying to make a living with it.....

 

yes, hobby truck. Unlikely I will hook up to anything, unless I come across a vintage 45' single axle trailer. The truck is a 1975 900 but the engline has a manufactur date of 1973. Is this common or is the truck likely a '73?