whats the best year for 460 and whats the hp on it and would it fit in a 1978 f150 wit a 351m thanks

 

The best engine years to look for are 68-71. In these years the hp rating was 365 and 500 lbs torque. These years had a 10.5:1 compression ratio. You would need to run pemium fuel. You would have to pull the oil pan to get the number off the crankshaft to verify that it is a 460. Casting # for a 460 crank are 2Y,2YA,2YAB and 2YABC. 429's have a 4U or 4UA on the crank. The earlier 429-460 (68-78) are intenally balanced and the later (79-up) are externally balanced. These require a weight on the front and a different flexplate/flywheel. Putting a 429-460 in place of a 351M/400 is a fairly easy swap. [link:www.landlproducts.com|L & L Products] has everything needed to complete the swap. The easiest thing to do is to find a truck (2wd) from 74-78 with a 460 in it for the engine and brackets for all the accessories. You will need the L&L motor mounts to put it in a 4x4 along with a rear sump oil pan/oil pump/pickup tube, truck exhaust manifolds or headers and the correct brackets for the 429/460 in a truck(acquired from the 2wd). To raise the compression of the newer engine (72-78) you can either buy new pistons with out a dish in them or change the heads to the earlier castings (C8VE,C9VE and D0VE) This would raise the compression to around 9.5:1 from 8:1.

 

Kevin,
I agree, the early 429/460s are the most desirable. However,
if you're running a standard trans, be careful of the 68 and 69 429s (I know, you said 460s). First, in both years the tail of the crank shaft is not machined for a pilot bushing. You can either machine one down yourself (I did), or search the arvices of the FTE list someone dug thru a box of pilot bushings and found one that fit the early cranks. Methinks they posted the manufacturer's name and part number to the list). Second, the blocks in 68 and 69 are not machined to accept a bracket to hold the Z-bar (for a clutch linkage). Ford makes/made an adaptor to handle this. Email me for
the PN if you need it. Of course, all of this is moot if you're
running an auto.
Third, beware the early rail-type rocker arms on the early 429/460s.
They're fine if you're running a stock or low-life cam, but anything
beyond .500 inches of lift and a rocker can shift, push the valve
down, pop the retainers, and thus drop the valve into the cylinder.
There are ways to convert these early heads to better valvetrain
without machining them.
Besides that, the early 429/460s are good.

Ohio Bill

 

Yeah, all this & you better check the back side of the damper because a lot of engines get changed & the external balance started before '79

 

>Third, beware the early rail-type rocker arms on the early
>429/460s.
>They're fine if you're running a stock or low-life cam, but
>anything
>beyond .500 inches of lift and a rocker can shift, push the
>valve
>down, pop the retainers, and thus drop the valve into the
>cylinder.
>There are ways to convert these early heads to better
>valvetrain
>without machining them.
>Besides that, the early 429/460s are good.
>
>Ohio Bill

Ohio Bill, thanks for the info. How early are you talking about? I have a set of D0VE-C heads I plan to install on my '75' F350, hopefuly in the not so distant future. I haven't looked at the casting number on the block yet so I don't know the exact year. When I replace the heads I'll put in a new timing set and maybe a new cam. I don't know if I'll go with a better performance cam for low end power or just go with a stock cam set straight up. Where do I find the parts necessary to do the valvetrain conversion if I decide to go with a mild cam? Should I just go ahead and do it anyway? Any other potential problems I should be aware of? Things to look out for? Thanks for any information you can give me.

 

Rod,
Sorry for the delay in replying. Not being rude...I just
forgot to check this thread.
For a stock or mild cam I think the rail rockers are fine.
I think the rail-rockers were only used on the 68 and 69
429s. Most of what I know about the rail rockers comes
from the book "Ford Performance" (it has a yellow cover
w/ pics of four Ford engines). I also have a 1969 429
which I converted from rail rockers to guideplates and
BB Ch*vy rocker arms so I know how to ditch the rail rockers
if need be.
The rail rockers sat on a screw-in stud, and the stud
screwed into a flat mounting "thing" (boss? pedestal?)
on the head. When Ford ditched the rail rockers, they
went to a two-step mounting pedestal "thing." This pedestal
looks like two stairs, and the stair is designed to keep
the rocker arm from twisting side-to-side. I've seen
Lincolns from the mid-70s with this rockerarm set up.
I also recall seeing ads for Crane rocker arms which
would mount to these stepped (stair) type mounting pedestals.

You'll be able to see if your heads are rail-rockers or not
just by eyeballing the rocker arms. If the part which rides
on the pushrod has two little lips (the rails) hanging down (to
keep the pushrod from slipping to one side or the other), you
have rail rockers. As I understand it, these rocker arms are
just fine for stock and mild cams. I wouldn't loose a wink
of sleep about running these (unless I was going over .500
lift).

Check your heads. If they're rail rockers and you want to ditch
them, contact me at kingw@bgnet.bgsu.edu and I'll dig up the
part numbers to convert these to hardened pushrods, guideplates,
and BB Ch*vy rocker arms. This procedure is also detailed in
the above-mentioned Ford Performance book too.

Hope this helps.
Ohio Bill

>Ohio Bill, thanks for the info. How early are you talking
>about? I have a set of D0VE-C heads I plan to install on my
>'75' F350, hopefuly in the not so distant future. I haven't
>looked at the casting number on the block yet so I don't
>know the exact year. When I replace the heads I'll put in a
>new timing set and maybe a new cam. I don't know if I'll go
>with a better performance cam for low end power or just go
>with a stock cam set straight up. Where do I find the parts
>necessary to do the valvetrain conversion if I decide to go
>with a mild cam? Should I just go ahead and do it anyway?
>Any other potential problems I should be aware of? Things to
>look out for? Thanks for any information you can give me.
>

 

I have both BBFs and BBCs. Be cautious using BBC rockers on a BBF as on some the trunion length is different.

Ohio Bill's right, stay under .500 lift and 5500rpm with rail rockers.

 

 

Thanks guys! You have been a big help. :-)