Considering pulling a 460 at the junkyard this summer to build up on the side and eventually drop in my truck. I'll probably go to a self serve yard because any engine is like $150. And I'll probably end up doing it myself so getting the engine out by the most efficient means possible is a plus. If I hauled out the engine and trans together it might save me some effort screwing around trying to get to the bellhousing bolts and the starter, just wondering if I can trust that much weight to a lifting plate (for those that don't know a lifting plate bolts to the manifold in place of the carb to support the engine). I know I saw it done once in a picture. Any experiences to share?

 

I might consider this with a cast iron intake, though trying to obtain the angle required to clear the trans might be difficult. Aluminum intake would probably not be a consideration, though I do use a plate for bare 460's with aluminum intakes, no trans though.
You may consider investing in a load leveling device. Heak you might be able to rent one for a few bucks so you dont have to buy one. I think they can be found for a reasonable amount of money, and it gives you an excuse to buy a cool tool.

 

Pulled many 460's. I always used a chain and hooked to the 7/16 bolt on the upper bell housing and one of the 7/16 bolts on the front of the head. Some of the bolts are 3/8's. You can used a good grade 8 bolt in the chain to control the angle. I bought one of the leveling devices 75F350 talked about. Northern tools sells them pretty cheap and they are about 6 miles from me in Mn. Haven't had the chance to use it yet. I have pulled a lot of chevy small bocks with the lifting plate with no problems. But with the big Ford motor I worry about it. Thats a lot more weight and didn't trust the lifting plate. Not worth getting hurt or hurting your motor. Never had one fall and didn't want to get hurt. Maybe with a cast iron intake and no trans it might be ok? My stuff all has aluminun so no way would I do that. Just my ideas.

 

I've pulled 3, 460's with a lifting plate.

But all were cast iron intake, and no transmission.

I did buy an 1,100 lb capacity, engine stand to hang it on though.

I measured the depth of the carb mount stud holes on the intake, then used grade 8 bolts with flat washers, just a little shorter than the holes were deep.

All was well. Phew, that would be a lot of weight with the trans.

 

i would definately recommend the load leveling device, it'll also make it easier to get the engine out of the engine bay. however, if you were planning to pull the front clip, it probably wouldn't be as much of a help. either way, there is no way i'd try to lift it with an aluminum intake

 

Dont the junk yard have people working there that can pull it out for you, they should have & shouldnt cost that much for them to do it.
Neil

 

There are junkyards around that would do it but it wouldn't be cheap. I'm not really looking to spend $500 on an engine that I'm planning to tear down anyway.

 

Cheaper is better, but 500.00 for a 460 & trans if it is a running engine, not a bad price to pay, not if its complete.
Neil

 

I pulled the 460 engine and C-6 trans out of an E-250 using one of those plates on the stock 4bbl manifold. There was a clearance issue from the bottom of the dash but once we got past that it lifted out with no problem. I used the rear most hole for the hook from the cherry picker and it balanced well. If there is no hood or other obstructions you should be able to lift it out easily.

 

pulled and installed many of them with trans with a lifting plate even on aluminum intakes.but thats just me its up to you cast or aluminum make sure bolts are as long as the holes
good luck

 

The four 5/16" bolts and the plate are way more than strong enough to lift a 460 and C6. One grade 5, 5/16" screw has a tensile strength of over 5000 lbs. Steel is amazingly srong stuff.

I would be willing to bet that that lift plate could lift an entire highboy, with a 460. Hell I'd bet a single 5/16" grade 8 screw would lift it. I wouldn't get under it though.

Just make sure you get as much thread into the aluminum as possible, and make sure it's tight, to integrate the strengths and weaknesses of each component into one unit.

To make sure I get the most thread, I thread nuts onto longer then necessary grade 8 hex head screws, tighten the screw as far as possible into the intake and then tighten the nuts onto the lift plate. No worries that there isn't enough thread in the aluminum and no hassle getting it tight.

The cheap engine tilters can be a bear to use. Their thrust bearings and screw and block suck, and you can get a lot of side load on one.

The Chinese can roughly duplicate the look of a product, but so far, they don't know or don't care about the metallurgy. Their steel is junk.

Not fair of me generalising like that for sure, but that's what I think of Chinese tools.