Im considering two options here. one is to purchase a truck with a efi 351 engine or to go with a 460 efi equipped one. I know there are alot more aftermarket parts available for the 351 but the base power of the 460 is much more impressive. Now as far as the 460 goes which is what im curious about is what aftermarket upgrades for it are out there? I already know that i can find a good set of headers, y pipe and could do a custom exhaust myself as well as a k&n filter or similar. but can the 460 be converted to MAF which would allow for more modifications such as more aggressive cams etc. or did the 460 never come with it, because i dont know how much an improvement can be had with swapping out cams on the speed density computer as ive only found one cam that was compatible and that was the comp cams 34-255-5. How much better than stock would that particular camshaft give? So basically if it cant be converted to Mass air flow how many performance upgrades can you do to the 460 speed density system and no im not talking crazy performance upgrades just to add say 50-100 hp over stock at the most. i know this is alot of writing but i wanted to be clear on my intentions and questions. thanks in advance for any help

 

460 has as many aftermarket parts as any sbf , heads, cams, rockers, intakes, rotating assemblies


im not sure about the MAF vs the speed density , i believe 460 stayed SD , you could always carb it too

 

MAF trucks were sold new in California so the parts are available through Ford as well as the aftermarket.

For a carb: Price Motorsport
P/N CS-460EFI

 

With either motor it doesn't take much to get beyond the limits of the SD computer and fuel system, just providing enough exhaust and cam to let it breath properly will max out the stock injectors. If you have a C6 or manual tranny in that truck you could use a Mustang computer and a tuner to take either motor to whatever power level you want.

 

the one thing i know i want is to stay with fuel injection, im not a huge fan of carbs. ive read some about being able to get a custom chip burned for a speed density computer. Is that true? I was considering having the heads proffesionally ported and polished by a automotive machine shop as well as porting the stock intake manifold possibly could yield some gains. if i was to go the 460 route id be considering the Comp cams 34-255-5, with an Advertised Duration 256/268, Lift .490/.495. How much of an improvement would that be over stock as it seems to be the only computer compatible camshaft i can find for the 460. I think cam, intake, headers, exhaust and the possible porting work is as far as i would go. Down the road if i wanted to add some serious performance it seems i should save up for a supercharger as i see vortech makes one for both the 351 and the 460 and i believe that supercharger kit would come with all necessary components to make it work with the computer and such. Maybe someone who has used the 460 or 351 supercharger on their truck can give me more guidance on how the install was. i dont have the money for a supercharger now but its an option in the future.

 

I had the opportunity to have a go at the innards of my 94 F250 back in 2002. Did .060 overbore, many nights with a diegrinder , de-burring wheel and playdough, several $$ at the machine shop for a Good valve job. Made sure all the gasket matched, added an older style timing gear set and said a few prayers. Decked the block and wound up with about a 9.5 to 1 compression ratio.

Have never dyno'd the truck or anything but there was definitely a major seat of the pants improvement. A K&N filter, no Cat (yes, I know I'm a criminal) Flowmaster, Good plugs and wires where about the only outer add ons. When talking to one of the local speed shops, I was told they could burn a program to go with the modifications when I was done. I still need headers, bigger injectors, bigger fuel pump along with a bigger cam to get the most out of it. All of this was done approximately 50k miles ago and I'm not real easy on my truck. I regularly pull in excess of 9000# and have pulled over 14000# on more than one occasion. I run super unleaded exclusively, and if lower octane is all that's available, I carry around a bottle of 104+.

I'm doing the cam swap this summer, going with Comp cam, bigger springs and pushrods, roller rockers and am debating on girdling the rocker studs.
Benchwrenching with a couple of knowledgable fellas has put the estimated output at approx 500 hp and 600# + torque.

This truck is driven pretty much everyday and I laugh at people who complain about gas mileage. Denial is a wonderful thing when properly applied.

Always remember there is no substitute for Cubic Inches. Size matters.

 

lynnl im assuming your truck is a 460?

 

Yes it is. Not the best for a high revver, but great for brute force.

Mine was built with torque in mind. The only time is sees over 4000 is in the mud or on ice if I'm not careful. I did go through and got the pieces of the rotating assembly balanced out pretty good. Digital scale and a diegrinder and very judicious carving.

It will pull 10k lbs from a standing start to 60 mph in about 12 to 15 seconds (depends on traffic). Some of the beefed up Powerstrokes will out pull it, but it will hold it's own.

 

i had the oppurtunity to test drive a 460 equipped f350 from our shop the other day after changing a trans seal which i was impressed with it, the 460 seems to respond pretty well to basic mods and im sure your truck is a hell of a work horse if you actually got it near 500hp and 600 torque. i dont care about gas mileage, after all trucks just arent made for gas mileage. just out of curiosity how much did it cost you on your build? this truck is mostly going to be for towing a single car trailer occasionally as well as some offroading and to survive the winters here lol. Just a fun multipurpose truck.

 

I've got close to $3500 in it. That includes all the machine work, gaskets, rods and pistons. I could have saved a lot of money by just getting a re-man short block. There is also about $550+ in Head repair.

The first machine shop put a helicoil in to fix an exhaust bolt that had broken off and they cracked the head. (I saw it after putting everything together and was bolting on the exhaust manifolds.) Had to break everything back down and pull the heads again. I spent the money on new gaskets so basically I paid for 2 gasket sets.

Repair on the head was done right the second time, re-welded and drilled and I paid for a better valve job at the same time. After seeing what the first machine shop had done, I had the second guy re-check everything.

That also included machining the exhaust manifolds and milling the intake. I went and port-matched the intake afterwards as much as I could. I'm not counting the time I spent on it. Close to 50 hours when it was all said and done. The head porting that I did would have been done faster by someone who had done it before. I had a lot of trial and error thrown in.

 

im really leaning towards the 460 especially due to its baseline hp and tq numbers being similar to that of a lightning except the 460 is better in the tq department. The 460 seems to be alot better bang for the buck in adding power as well. ive never wanted to get into having a chip burned but it seems for serious power ill need it if i go far enough with the engine. How did or does your truck run without a custom chip with the higher compression and porting work and valves? some people say it wont run right and some people say its fine.

 

There is no way you are making 500 hp and 600 lb. ft. out of a 460 with a stock cam and exhaust manifolds.

 

I drive it everyday basically. With the addition of bigger (higher flow) injectors, the cam and headers, I will need to get the chip burned. It doesn't necessarily like the timing advance, that's why I have to keep higher octane in it. It doesn't like ethanol fuels currently, either. I lose about 1 to 2 mpg.

All I've really done is give it more air as well as move the spark a little sooner. The hard parts (pistons, crank, rods) are not necessarily "high performance". The current cam is just a step above stock. It idles smooth and I have no vacuum issues. When I change the cam this summer, it's going to lope a bit. That and the timing gear swap will really make it sound good.

I will have to do something with the exhaust afterwards, as my experience has shown that the big fords like a little exhaust restriction, it seems to help bottom end power.

I don't feel my reliability has been affected at all. I've put over 50K miles on it since the rebuild. That is mixed in town and highway miles. Several thousand of those while loaded down with either a trailer or just loaded down in the bed.

I was using the truck in my business (mobile auto repair, I've got a shop also.) and for the most part carried around about 800lbs in tools and other miscellaneous stuff. Usually more when you throw in tow chains, booms, and stuff. At that point I was putting around 100 to 200 in town miles on it a day.

 

have you consider a 393 stroker?? a high revving beast!

 

My personal opinion is if you are going to tow or move anything heavy, your better off with a big block, you make more power with fewer modifications.

I don't have anything against small blocks, they just don't seem to hold up as well when under load constantly. They have to work harder to make the same power.

If I was building just a street truck, I'd be ok with a small block.

You just need to decide what your main purpose for the truck is going to be. Mostly unloaded and cruising around, and a beefed up small block will probably be the way to go. If your going to haul anything on a regular basis, go with the big block. That and the cool factor of the big block is nice, especially when they're built up some.