Low compression pistons are easy to get and cheap.

Compression ration depends, what grade fuel do you want to buy and what cam are you planning to run ?

 

I’m okay with running 92 I’d like to make a little power so I’m not sure what can to run either I’m coming from a 351m so I’m still unfamiliar with what would make a 460 happy?

 

In that case I'd try to stay around 9 or 9.5 to 1. 10 to 1 would work if your cam bleeds enough . and of course there are lots of factors at play which could help or hurt these figures.

now we're not talking stock smogger pistons anymore. so you need to decide just how much power you want and what you want to spend. you don't need forged pistons for your application most likely, good cast ones or hyperutectics would do just fine. just start looking around you should find plenty of options for a 460.

If you don't mind a few extra bucks for a roller cam I highly recommend it. I can give you the contact info on the guy I use if you'd like who custom specs me a grind for only a couple bucks more than an off the shelf grind. he can do flat tappet cams too if you'd rather. it would be done by Comp or Voodoo.

Then what intake? carb ? headers ? you have lots of decisions to make but it all starts with your compression ratio.

 

I’ve heard lots of mixed opinions on intakes. Either a preformer intake non rpm or a victor jr. I’ve got a fresh 600cfm edelbrock that runs anazing, I know that’s the stock size for this motor, I have a guy who said he would give me his 650avs ones he gets his new avs2, prolly no headers yet, I know I’m gonna kick myself cause I’ll loose power but for the price I can afford manifolds are gonna last longer and bolt up the the brand new exhaust the truck currently has on it. What cam would you suggest for manifolds? Cause that’s gonna be my choking point

 

And I think that 9 to 1 sounds like a safe bet to me. Don’t wanna go to far and end up having to mix gas

 

Stock manifolds are fine. stock intake is fine too if you're not looking for high RPM performance.

The cam you need depends on many factors, find the pistons you want and determine the exact compression ratio, what heads, your gearing and such then chose a cam.

A roller cam will have a different profile than a flat tappet so that's another factor. but if you're going with a flat tappet off the shelf cam I'd be looking at something like a Comp 258 from the sounds of what you want.

 

 

pistons are over rated.

 

how would you recomend lowering compression then? without throwing these heads away

 

Don't throw them away they're worth decent money. early closed chamber heads for 385 series engines are harder to find than you think.

If you've done some looking and can't find what you need you may be in a situation with limited options. buy a set of custom pistons or have a set of forged pistons dished. or sell or trade your heads and get some later larger CC ones.

I've run into this often. since originality isn't an issue I might opt for some later open chamber heads and keep it simple.