I have a 1996 F-250 with the 460.. I'm looking into picking up another 460 for purpose of rebuilding and storage for eventual swap. My question is this.. How old of a block can I use that will still accept the EFI Heads/Intake and be able to place right into the truck?

 

for a direct bolt in swap using your efi heads 79 and later blocks cranks and rods are the same as yours

 

Any year 429/460 block will accept the FI top end and bolt directly into your F250.

Paul

 

almost Paul and that was what I started to write until it dawned on me he might have a manual trans and would want to swap the flywheel on and that wouldn't be a direct swap if he used the entire short block from an earlier year.

 

How old of a block can he use, or how old of and engine can he use? I now see the ambiguity in the original post/inquiry.

Still, any year 429/460 block or engine will accept the FI top end and bolt directly into a 1990's F250 no problem...are you referring to internal/external balance differences in regards to the (possible) flywheel and placing it onto an early engine? If so, couldn't that just be zero balanced?

 

yes I am and yes it could, but it is not a drop in you have to do machine work before you could use the older engines. Basically he could use any short block from 79 on as a drop in replacement setup. Yes you can physically bolt the FI heads and intake onto any year but the balance issue have caused more problems then I care to think about when people think you can just swap at will which is why I don't tend to make those types of statements. Now if someone asks what would it take to put a early short block in place of a later model thats another issue and just tell them about the balance and go on. But when a simple question is asked as to what is a drop in replacement then you need to stay with the same balance etc so it is a direct bolt in deal to avoid confusion.

 

A slight oversight on my part, something I can correct right now It has an E4OD, which I intend to keep (I drive Tractor Trailer for a living I like getting into an automatic at the end of the day for the drive home.) I was aware of the Internal/External balance issue (due to reading through the previous posts in this forum) and I know that older 460 Heads won't work with the EFI (Port differences IIRC?) However the flywheel was something I had not considered. I'm also assuming I'd need to use pistons for the EFI application? I'm intending on building the engine a little better than stock.. slightly better cam.. opening up the ports on the EFI heads for a little better breathing.. I've no intentions of boring/stroking the engine. (I believe that Ford put that metal in there for a reason) Thank you guys for the advice and please feel free to chip in your advice on anything else you feel relevant.