gentlemen i'm in search of opinions here... basically a friend/coworker has a 90 4door long bed 4x4 f350 with a 351 e4od trans in it and stockish (33) tires,355 gears.
its a dog, no surprise, his debate is to pull and build up that motor or to find a 460. he's looking for the best bang for the buck to get some power out of it.
he will be stepping to 35s so ive been saying 411-456 gears should be first on his list.. if he somehow finds a 12v cheap then that would be an obvious choice but thats jsut not realistic. its a cheap but solid truck he's just tooling around with for now.
he doesnt currently haul with it but the truck will likely be doing a cross country hauling his home goods/family **** and then may end up a farm truck. thanks for any input, were about to deploy so the mental truck builds are starting so he can start ordering parts

 

tell him to gear it up, around 4.10's will make it feel new again

 

Is the current 351 mechanically worn out?

It's not going to make a lot of power, but if it is mechanically sound, ya'll may want to look into pulling codes, checking the timing, and doing a complete tune up including fuel filter.

 

Thank you for your service to our Country and welcome to FTE.

Keep us informed of the ideas you to mentally build into this truck. There may be some ideas that others have tried with no success and some that we have tried with success. And some of the ideas might just get some of us (such as myself) scratching our heads wondering how it would turn out and go try it out for you.

Myself, I love the 460 in my '96. It was my cousins truck before I traded him for it when he got his '01 F250. It had 316,000 miles on it when the original engine finally gave up the ghost. This truck has literally pulled a house down the road. Next time I am going to have someone video it pulling a house. I have the 3:55 gears in mine. I have done a few mods to the intake and exhaust including Mustang Cobra parts. One thing that will need to be done is a computer swap. But that would be a really good time to upgrade from the SD computer to the MAF computer.

Please keep us updated on ideas and plans. And most important, keep safe so that you can return home.

SPC. Jeff Greening 1457 Engineers

 

thanks for the good wishes/words of wisdom thus far...
the engine currently seems mechanically fine (just weak) and gearing is a given for it regarldless of the future engine plans.
he's thinking of a stock/mild 460 to keep it cheap(ish) or pulling the current 351, boring,cam type build...but conservative... priorities are price to performance balance and max effect for it... needs an eng capable of picking that heavy truck and hauliing *** a bit..and can tow/haul when needed but reliably do so... a big block is the likly canidate but if there a magic touch for the 351 it may be an option...like ive said before the 12 cummins and a manual trans would be the bes tbest! but not in the budget unless a good stroke of luck passes by

 

the 351 and 460 have different bellhousing patterns, so you'll need a transmission that fits behind a 460 - if you go the 460 route.

 

Ok, here are your options

1. Build the small block. Stroker time! If you're going to build a small block, stroking it doesn't cost much more than a good performance rebuild. The longer stroke will help with the torque curve and make more power by default. Top this short block with a set of EBay gt40 heads and you'll be good to go. You could reuse your factory EFI with an Edelbrock EFI intake, BBK throttle body, and off the shelf long tube headers. The problem is with the factory Speed Density you have to use a very tame cam with a wide lobe separation to keep the Computer happy. You can fix that by swapping to a MAF system, using aftermarket EFI, or stripping it down for a carb. But with that you may run into emissions issues according on where you live and you'll also have to find an aftermarket stand alone controller for the trans. But you can reuse all your accessories, mounts, trans and T-case, everything fits, and it will be the fastest way to more power. Also, this will be a much lighter package. And if this isn't enough, you have a great basis for a supercharged motor.

2. Swap a big block. Stroker time! Yeah, if I was going through the trouble of swapping a 460 into my truck, I'd stroke the crap out of it. First things first though. Figure out if you can legally do this in your state. Engine swaps are a very touchy subject when it comes to emissions. And from experience I wouldn't think of messing with any factory EFI 460 stuff. It has some potential, but is limited, expensive, and a PITA to get right. Now, to the stroker. The 460 doesn't have a long stroke to start with and if it was ever allowed to breathe from the factory it would have revved to the moon. So, to give it more punch down below, drop a stroker crank in, and hope that you U-joints hold. Top it with aftermarket heads. OEM performance castings are well over priced, don't perform as well, and cost about the same after they have been ported and rebuilt. You'll be running a carb or aftermarket EFI with this setup and headers will come, again, off the shelf. The price that you have to pay for 550+ FT/lbs though will be an complete accessory set, new motor and possible frame mounts, and new trans as your E4OD has a different bell housing, and stand alone trans controller if you go back with a OD trans or a new T-case if you go with a C6 and about 200-300 more pounds hanging over your axle (this takes away from your gross vehicle weight). Oh and I hope you like gas stations because you won't pass by very many.

3. Swap in your diesel. I'm not going to touch this one much because I hate small diesels and would never think about swapping one into a light duty truck. And yes a F350 is a light duty truck when you compare them to dump trucks and tractor trailers that I live with. If you don't mind having all the issues listed with the big block, plus adding 500+ lbs to the front of your truck, completely rearranging your fuel system and exhaust, and plumbing in an intercooler then go for it. It has been done many times before and is well documented on the web. But after you do all that to get it in and running, you still have to wait on the turbo to spool before you go anywhere or move anything.

4. Something, anything different. I'm just adding this because this is a bench racing session, so hell, anything is possible. Stroked small block, stroked big block, Diesel swaps, they're all child's play. Find yourself an old 534 SD motor (look at the bottom of the engine section), 3V V10 mod, Lincoln Flathead V12, or a Sherman Tank motor (they were Power by Ford look them up). 390s were always great truck motors and if built right 400Ms would perform well. Both would be interesting with a blower or EFI set-up. If you have to have an oil burner start looking in small dump trucks, bull dozers, large generators, tractors, or any piece of equipment that has to move under its own power. You'd be surprised what you'll find. The point is dream big when you're dreaming. I've spent over 3 years of my life setting on FOBs and thinking about what I'm going to do when I get home. It kept me focused though some very bad times in my life. Y'all have a good tour. Keep your head down and your eyes open.