The earlier 460s have more compression but otherwise pretty much the same engines until they added fuel injection. As a fan of most Ford engine families, I have a preference towards FEs and my first question is always how hard is it to put an FE in it. But as much as I love them, it's not always the best choice because of money or smog. You can build any Ford to be a brute, it just depends on how much of a brute you want. Sure you can stick a 460 in there, but because there is already a 400, then you really need to weight how much it really costs to make an engine swap vs. just rebuilding what is already there, because not much more than a rebuild, a 400 will make more power than most really need. When you start adding up motor mounts, oil pan, possible smog regulations, accessory brackets and buying a rebuildable engine, you've already spent a chunk of change and you still have to pay for a rebuild. If it were sitting there without an engine, I would probably go with a 460. If there was no engine or tranny, then for sure it would have FE power......and money no obstacle of course. I had a similar dilema with my 79 F150. Rebuild the 351m or yank the 460 out of my boat and put it in the truck and build another boat engine, since I can't go boating because I don't have a tow vehicle. The boat engine is a 460 with DOVE heads, 280 cam and an Edelbrock StreetMaster intake which would be better on a truck. It has tall thin ports and makes all it's power down low. It would make a great truck engine. I bought an engine off the local internet list for the crank and intake. Bought some TMI pistons to make it a 408. It will make more than enough power. I have already seen what a rebuilt 400 with straight up timing/headers/intake can do and I was impressed, so can't wait to see what mine will do with more compression. Looking back at your original post, I guess you didn't say anything about a rebuild, but when I think swap I always think rebuild because I want to know something is reliable. Just my 2 cents. Have fun with whatever you do.

 

What kind of figures did a rebuilt 400 make that was so impressive?
Im just curious. Was the timing set "magic" or was there something else that made that particular build stand out?

 

I've been snooping through the 335 forum to see if I could find some straight forward answers to that question. I can't say that I found a thread that gave specific results from just a timing kit (although that information would be nice to know). I did find a number of 400 builds that would qualify as "rebuilt" or lightly modified, and the horsepower numbers ranged from the mid 300's to the mid 400's on horsepower. Granted, most of these builds included not only the kit, but cam, carb, intake, and headers. Some of them included different pistons, and I tried to avoid the ones that said they changed the heads, as I'd qualify that as a "build" rather than a rebuild.

I'd have to keep snooping to see if I could find more information that was more definitive based on the addition of specific parts. Maybe Tim Meyer could answer those questions more accurately.

My engine doesn't really fit into your question very well, as I'd not qualify it as a "rebuild". I'd say it was more of a "build" as pretty much everything about the engine was changed (with the help of Tim Meyer). Mine also didn't stay as a 400, and was stroked to a 434 with aluminum aussie heads (CHI). So, the numbers that mine produced wouldn't be a fair representation of a "rebuild" or a lightly modified engine. I'd say mine is a moderately to heavily modified plant, as it could be taken a lot further with better heads different cam profile, etc. I had mine done so it would have good power, good torque, with good street manners and enough vacuum to keep the brakes and vacuum advance happy.

So, the short of that is that I think for a budget rebuild with just the minimum of modifications like the timing kit, cam, carb, intake, headers...the power could possibly jump into the 300's without too much trouble, and the torque would easily be in high 300's to low 400's. That's pretty much a guess, but I do think it's plausible.

 

My motor is a manufacturer I got from "pep boys" auto parts in san fernando, ca back 1996 and I drove it to WA, state in 2004 I have about 2500 miles on this motor. So I am thinking 460 because after I buy intake, cam, carb, headers, exhaust and etc my cost is about $1500 or so? I been looking on craigslist and I can get a running 460 for about $600 or so? then all need is motor mounts and have way more power just stock.. am I thinking this right??

 

Behemoth has a good point. I been running the 400 (408 bored .030) on my Bronco and Pop's F350 for quite of few years now. Only upgrade is an Isky 270 mega cam. All other components are stock but new when rebuilt. These trucks see the highway a lot as well as get dirty on the weekends. The dyno will show the 460 with more HP & torque , but most guys that I wheel with 460's seem to have to stop and let their engines cool down. I'll run my Bronco around 5500 RPM in mud, sand, & snow and keep my temp. under 200 deg. "77F250Camper" sounds like your truck is a dailydriver. Don't know what MPG you are getting now but I'm happy enough to get 12MPG on our rigs running 42" tires with 4.56 gears. You won't find too many upgrades on 400's compared to 460's, but in my experience I've always seen the big tricked out motors blow up compared to a stock one. Here's video of my Bronco & my Pop's 408. Just my $.02 but hope this info helps you decide wich route to go.

 

hey thanks, hey how do post pic,s on here?????/

 

The main problem with the 400 is the fact that they never were given a chance, the 351c stole all of the thunder for the 335 series. I had a 400 and a c6 in my 78 f250, 570cfm 4bbl carb, a good tuneup and dual exhaust. The thing hauled ***. 24mpg on the highway @ 100kmh and 3.54 gears. 460s are gas pigs and aren't much better in terms of power in stock trim over a 400 with a similar sized 4bbl carb. A mild built 400 with a 268duration/ .456int, .462 exhaust ( they are intake efficient ) and a set of 9:1 pistons, headers and a good tuneup will have as much if not more power than a stock 460, get decent fuel economy, and you can tell all your buddies that they just got passed by a damn 400!

 

If running a daily driver and not needing the big torque all the time 400 for is something to consider. www.enginemasters.com. 400 ford all it needs is some compression around 9.5 to 1 or a little more and decent heads with a dual plane intake nice carb or fuel injection. Nice modern camshaft is critical to your application. I run big blocks but don't need big torque all the time. 350 hrspwr and 450ft lb torque isn't hard to do with a upgraded 400 ford on pump gas 89octane. Just figure around 1 horsepower per cube or less (.8 per horsepower)and you have a really nice engine in towing application. Factory ford big block has less stroke than a 400 ford. 400 ford has 4" stroke and 460 3.85 but bigger bore. If getting serious big block is the way to go but what is your real application. Something to consider and more stuff to think about.

 

Granted, like I said, my engine isn't representative of a "rebuild", but with regard to torque, the 400 is plenty capable....mine ended up with 544 ft/lbs of torque, so I'd say that even if you needed torque a lot, the 400 isn't a bad way to go.

What I would warn, though, is that you'd have to get the machine work done to put 4-bolt caps on the bottom end, unless as Tim Meyer put it to me, "Yeah, I'd advise it unless you like having the crank resting in your oil pan". Increasing the stroke of an engine that already has the longest stroke of any Ford engine built, is going to really increase the torque factor. The stroker kit increased stroke to 4.250" from the stock 4.000". That long stroke will really push hard on two bolt caps, and will eventually twist the crank into your pan if you don't beef the caps up (as per Tim).

Again, the numbers mine had (504 hp/544 tq) are NOT representative of a 400 "rebuild", so they should not be taken as a possibility of potential numbers of such. I'm just pointing out that the potential in the 400 can hang with the 460 just fine (but your wallet will hurt afterwards...trust me).

 

Being a fan of both engines, I'd do a mild build on the 400 as Behemoth stated in an earlier post. I think the 400 can hang with the 460, and the 400 won't chew a hole in your gas budget. A 460 is a thirsty beast!!

 

Starting a thread Hijack but may result in useful info for the original poster if he stays with the 400,

So here at work (I work in a european parts store/service center) I can order direct from a local warehouse but there look up sucks on my end.

If I was to look up a 71 351 clevland timing set would that work for my 400 as a straight up timing set??

 

A running 460 needing a complete rebuild more than likely.

 

I must say I thought I was convince on the 460 for me and my use of my truck, but you 400 guys heaved turned my head back the 400 will say in my truck. I think I start by getting 4 bl intake and carb headers exhaust, for now it well have to do.

 

I am in the same boat right now, I found a used 4bbl intake and carb for 150, and a set of headers as well, look in the used market and you can keep your cost way down.

I am going to do the intake and carb first, I am going to record the trucks 0-60 time stock then with the intake and carb, then with the headers and then with the timing set.

 

Hey 400 guys, check out this Ford 400M Engine Rebuild - Classic Trucks Magazine To summarize, this is a stock rebuild, including cam, with flat top pistons to boost compression. They added a 4V intake and 750 (I believe) carb. Power was 301HP and 429 TQ. This is close to stock rebuild with a carb upgrade. The "stock" baseline was 265/412. Those numbers show how important C/R is to these engines. Just more fuel for the fire. LOL