I recently completed a cam change, etc. on my truck and wanted to thank Scott Johnston AKA “The Mad Porter” at RHP for all of his help. He dialed in my combo and his customer service skills exceeded my expectations. A custom cam from him wasn’t much more than an off the shelf grind and Scott answered every “newb” question that I had every step of the way. His answers were encouraging and helpful and were NEVER condescending. <o>

</o> My truck is a 1997 F-350 Crew Cab - Long Bed - 460 CA model w/ mass air - E4OD - 4x4 w/ 4.10 gears and 33 x 12.50 tires. It is mostly used for towing a 10k pound fifth wheel toyhauler from sea level, over a 4k’ mountain pass and back again. The engine/truck has 100k miles on it and my goals were to increase the torque without having to remove the heads and to keep it CA smog legal.<o>

</o> Mods to date (no cylinder head work/chip):<o>

</o> John Wood built E4OD<o>

</o> Banks headers and big single exhaust (previous mod)<o>

</o> K&N air filter in stock air box (previous mod)<o>

</o> Cut air horns (previous mod)<o>

</o> BBK 61mm throttle body (previous mod)<o>

</o> Ported intake manifold by RHP<o>

</o> Kirban adjustable fuel pressure regulator at 44psi WOT (46psi w/ vacuum unplugged)<o>

</o> Custom Voodoo 61600 cam with 114 LSA by RHP<o></o>

• Advertised Duration (Int/Exh): 250/256<o></o>
• Duration @ .050 (Int/Exh): 207/213<o></o>
• Gross Valve Lift (Int/Exh): .503/.535<o></o>
• RPM Range: idle-5000<o></o>

Upgraded drop in valve springs with +.050 locks on exhaust supplied by RHP<o>

</o> 12 degrees initial timing<o>

</o> I drove the truck a few hundred miles to make sure that it was solid and then had the truck dyno'd at 229 HP/331 TQ at the rear wheels. Not bad for a smog legal engine with 100K miles on it and 33" tires, etc. that was rated by Ford at 245 HP/400 TQ at the flywheel. <o>

</o> I recently had my truck smogged and was pleased with how easily it passed CA’s strict emission requirements. CA does not check timing for my year, so I did not have to adjust that, nor did I adjust the fuel pressure regulator back to stock psi. <o>

</o> The truck has been running great (under 3k miles since completion) and getting 11.5 mpg highway and about 7 mpg highway towing 10k+ lb fifth wheel! (before mods was 10.5 - 11 mpg highway and 5 mpg towing…) The real test for me was pulling mountain grades (up to 6%.) Before the cam, etc. change, 35 MPH was the norm (with Banks headers, etc.) My truck/trailer combo will now pull the same grades at 45+ MPH (cruising speed-not floored.) <o>

</o> Am I happy with the results? Yes, very, considering the upgrades were mild and my expectations were realistic. I am the original owner of my truck and I wanted to stretch out its use for a few more years. In some ways, I wish that I would have purchased the diesel engine over the 460, but for my limited use it did not make sense. Maybe a built stroker engine in the future?<o>

</o> I am often amazed how people glean information from the pros on the forums and then turn around and purchase the recommended parts from someone else. You may or may not be able to purchase your parts cheaper from Summit or some guy on eBay, but they are not going to be there for you when you need help and have questions. For me, that pro was Scott Johnston at RHP, phone 253-988-6648, http://reincarnation-automotive.com.

Dez
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Thanks for sharing. I'm jealous of the mass air, I've a 97 but with the ROW 460 speed density. I pull about the same load with my 5th wheel, but with a little better mileage. I've 4:10 gears with a ZF 5 speed. At freeway speeds I usually get around 12 or so fully loaded, and 15 or 16 mpg empty. I did average 18mpg on a trip to Colorado last summer. Best, all time, get really excited, mileage. I, too, have a Banks complete exhaust system, synthetics all around, electric cooling fan plus a few other putzy things.

 

Not trying to jack the thread but I just bought a 96 f250 hd 460 with a 5 speed I'm getting 8 city and 10 highway what's the best way to improve it

 

Here's what I've done, a bunch of little things, but boy do they ad up! All 4 corners have their wheel bearings cleaned and repacked with synthetic grease. Flushed the rear axle and trans twice with synthetic (changed it, ran it for 500 miles or so then rechanged it) engine cooling fan replaced with an electric fan. I just use one off a Ford Taurus. Relayed it with a manual switch on the dash. I live rural and unless I get into traffic in a large city never have to turn it on. It also gets rid of a tremendous amt of fan noise. Fresh O2 sensor, they become lazy and don't switch as often as they should. 50,000 miles max on the O2. Don't let plugs go over 20,000 miles. Higer voltages required for firing, less efficient combustion. Banks complete exhaust system, w/o a cat. This also includes a cleanup for the inlet system. New airbox cover, cleanable filter etc.Air pump system has been removed, EGR off. I was getting 16 to 17 but then switched from 3:7 rear to 4:10 for towing. Mileage dropped off a bit due to increased rpm. This isn't used as a car, I've aVW Jetta diesel that gets 50 mpg as normal off farm transport so I figured the gear swap was a good deal. The very common 351 w/the C6 trans comes with the 4:10 so it was a piece of cake to find an old plow truck with a busted engine to get the axles. Running empty the ex system really doesn't help much, high vacuum, no load condtion. However pulling a loaded goose neck is where the headers shine, throttle response and full throttle is quite a bit improved

 

I thought of that thanks for the reasurrence I got my 250 for a 1986 f150 with a 302 the guy that had the 250 wanted an 80's model and better mpgs so we traded title for title ps I only paid 300 for the 86

 

I so gotta do this to mine. Cruising up the Conejo grade, i'm lucky to do 25 mph. I practically have same truck.