460 horsepower ????
 

I recently traded a windsor out of an old junker bronco i bought for 250 bucks for a 460 a friend of a friend had sitting in his barn. The casting #s on the block are d1ve-6015-a2b and the heads are d3ve-a2a. Do you guys think this could be a good motor to drop in my 79 f-150. Can anyone tell me what it came out of or the factory horsepower and torque? The guy told me the only thing he knew done to it was the cylinders were bored 30 over. any help or advise on what ive got here?

Pre 73 the horsepower was 365. After it ranged from 205-275 depending on year and model it went into.

that engine is a 73-79 engine. larger chamber heads. Very street friendly though. factory would be around 210-225 range but they have a lot more potential in them.

I was told that the fastest way to tell was to look at the intake. Two D shaped planes and it was the 2++ horse, or 2 small round planes and 2 larger round planes and it was the pre 73 with 365 horse. Does this have any truth to it. The guy who told me this used to race 4x4's and has built alot of race engines. I've known him for 15 years and trust his word but has anyone else ever heard of this?

What is the intended use? You could get around 700 HP from those heads with a lot of port work. It would be an easy street build in the 400-425 HP range. What is it going in? Intended use? Budget?

Its goin in a 4x4 79 f-150. Im not really looking for an all out beast. Dont have a whole lot of money to put in to it. 400 to 450 hp would be plenty. This truck is just a toy for off road and hunting. I got the motor because the 351m in the truck now is getting pretty tired and was looking for an upgrade. The 351m is the only motor ive ever built and its straight by the book stock so I could really use a walk through. I plan on putting a stealth alum. intake on it but other than that i dont know what to do.

Stealth is probably overkill at that power level and for your intended use. What budget do you have? I spent $2500 to build a mild 400+ HP 460 for my '86. It's my daily driver, does everything I need including spanking Cobra Jet Torinos and off road duty. Very mild mannered and in my 6000 lbs truck pulls a 4500 lbs trailer just fine.

One more note. The guy i got it from pulled it because it was way to powerfull for the 2 wheel drive shortbed truck it was in and it scared him to drive it on dry pavement. It sounds like im making him out to be a sissy but ive known him to handle some pretty dog gone powerfull motors before. He said he got it from a guy who has a machine shop and builds alot of motors. Just a minute ago i noticed their are places where someone has partially drilled wholes in the flywheel. Are they factory or do you think the previouse builder may have done some seriouse work to it. I asked when i got it but nobody knew. How can i tell whats factory and whats been modified?

Im looking to go pretty cheap. Dont want to put alot of money in to something I only drive 15 or 20 times a year. id like it to have as much as possible just like everyone else, but i dont have the money for machine work and expensive parts. Intake and cam kit will prob be all I can afford but would like to hear every idea i can. im in no hurry to to build it and drop it in. That 351m gets the job done for now. but i could use some guidance on what part i could use and what is overkill for my application.

Bottom line here is you can cheap out and maybe wind up blowing the engine and having no toy, or you can do it right. At the very least you should be looking at a full gasket set. Pull this thing apart, check main and rod bearings and crank surfaces, measure taper in the bores. If all checks out I would throw new rings and bearings at it and reassemble the bottom end. Expect around $75 for gaskets, $100 in bearings and $75 for rings. These are ballpark figures off the top of my head. So $250 for the bottom end if the taper is acceptable and the crank is not scored.

I would recommend an overbore with some flat top pistons if you have factory dished pistons. That's $300 for pistons + maybe $20/hole to bore and maybe $50 to hot tank the whole shebang, and maybe $64 to put the new pistons on the rods. $574

For the top end the heads should be ported on the exhaust side at least. You said you're poor, and porting heads is free. All it takes is your time. What cam depends on your goals and the rest of your build. Compression ratio is quite important here. This motor is likely a stock anemic smogger Lincoln engine with 7.5:1 compression. If it has those grand chasm pistons you may as well stick with the factory cam as much more duration will only make it soft down low and run like crap. If it has flat tops or you buy flat tops, you can run a more suitable cam that'll get you some real power and take advantage of those heads. Aside from that, lap valves by hand and so long as nothing is out of whack, severely worn/damaged seats you should be alright for a budget build. Figure $190 for cam and lifters, $100 for springs/retainers/locks, and $50 for a decent double roller timing chain. Depending on your desired power level and RPM the factory intake may do just fine if you want to save a couple bucks there. So for this stage we're talking anywhere from $50 to $340.

Not sure what carb you're running now on the 351m, but I'd recommend a Holley 750 vacuum secondary as a good all around carb for most mild 460 builds. You can find one and rebuild for a total under $100.

$874 - $1164 for a dirt cheap budget build... Assuming the engine is in good condition now. The difference between thsoe prices is between a stock freshening up, and freshening up with maybe 100-150 HP over stock depending on your choices.

before doing anything I would find out what is in it.

buy a gasket set and plan on putting it back together

You said it had been bored .030 overbore already? That means it's been rebuilt so find out how recent. And you said your buddy claimed it had too much power. Well it may be recently rebuilt and not need anything but you won't know that until you get into it. pull the heads off and look at the pistons, if flat tops you have enough compression for a decent running motor, check the bores for wear, find out what cam it has in it etc.

I personally wouldn't spend a dime other then gaskets on it unless you NEED to.

thanks for your help guys. I plan on pulling it apart today and taking a gander at whats been done and what shape its really in. I've already pulled the valve covers and timing cover. Valves are gummed up and the chain is a little loose so Iknow its gonna need freshining up. Thanks for the ideas.

I am doing a similar build, I been lucky though I got buddies who like to trade, so I got a few extra's a buddy had a hot built 460, that cracked a piston, I was able to salvage a lot from it, intake, carb, ignition, the heads were already taken, so I am gonna have to do my own, and to be honest, I need some pointers, some of this might as well be magic to me, any posts here you would recommend checking out?!?