I got a 460 a week ago form a 4x4 so it had the reverse pan to go into my 1977 f150. But the people that had it before us broke off a few manifold bolts in the head and i broke some more off. So i stripped the engine down to basically the pistons and pan. So i was think i could put a new cam and lifters in while the heads and intake are at the shop but i don't know what size cam to get and what all needs to be change like the pushrods, rocker arms, and timing chain

 

The heads d3ve positive stop rockers. Don't go much over .500 lift. Possible coil bind once over .510 give or take, need to upgrade to newer valvesprings also beause the factory stuff is weak. Possible rocker bind also.

 

any of the "tork cams" would be a good choice 260 to 272 duration i run 268 in my 460 and 272 in my 501 and am happy with the "driveability" smooth idle,ect pay close attention to the cam makers recomdations for use and rpm too big of a cam will cause all sorts of headaches and needed up grades [rockers,tork converter,intake,exaust ect another thing thats "old school" but works for these motors is useing a timeing chain/gears from a pre 72 429 that puts the timeing straight up instead of 6 degrees? retarded for emisions being there done that and am thinking of doing it again for another 460 i am building hope this helps regurds joe

 

so i found a diffrent thread on here and they said with a stock rocker arm ratio of 1.73 that gives it .438/ .481. and i didn't want to go much bigger cam. What brand did you guys use becasue i don't really know which brand to go with

 

I did a cam change on a 76 460 van. Went with crane 260 series RV cam. That cam was under .500 lift (260 duration advertised) It has pedestal rocker stands and "sled" type rocker arms (you didnt say what year the 4X4 was). If your old engine has very much milage on it at all, the sled fulcrum that is inside the cup of the rocker arm, has worn a pattern that matches the lift of the cam. If you put a cam in with any more lift than what was in it, that will cause the fulcrum to ride past the worn surface into unworn surface of the rocker arm. There is a "ridge" created at that wear spot, the same thing as a "ring ridge" worn in a cylinder. Believe me, it will raise hell!! Thats what happened to me. I fired "ER" up and thought it was 2 skeletons having sex in a pile of empty beer cans. Dont that just create a mental picture .
Thank goodness my brother had a crane rocker arm conversion kit and a set of 1.72 roller tip rockers from comp cams. The 1.72 roller tips were actually listed for a BB chebby. I had no problem with coil bind. I had already done the timing gear change earlier. I think it is more like 8 degrees, no issue!

If you could buy just the rocker arm part and reuse the old pedestal, it might work, but you still would have to go through lifter adjustment and shiming the pedestals. The rocker conversion kit was also adjustable and had a nylon guide for the pushrod.

 

I am running a Lunati Voodoo 61600 in my '79 F250, all stock valvetrain besides upgraded valvesprings to match the cam. The Voodoo specs at .503 intake, .535 exhaust, and I've had no problems at all with valvetrain clearances. This is a very good truck cam, with great low-mid RPM power, tons of torque. Smooth, stock style idle, but really opens up after that. Only revs to about 4500/5000, but that's OK for a truck. It also has shorter duration that a lot of the other cams out there, which helps to build cylinder pressure in the low-compression 460's (72 and later have about 8.0:1 compression).

If you spend any time on a 460-specific website you will find that the general consensus is that the stock stamped rockers will handle up to about .530 lift, above that you should go with roller rockers and screw-in studs.

 

the cam that i was looking at is an Edelbrock preformer plus it says the lift is .460/ .480 heres the link for it http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-2167/ on Edelbrocks website it says nothing else needs to be changed. Ford141 what valve springs did you get to go with that cam and has that Lunati been a good cam?

 

If you buy a cam like a lunati, crane, comp they match valve springs to the cam. Your best bet is to call them(I use comp and love the tech help and the cams), explain your truck to them(they will ask questions) and they will match you a cam, lifters, springs. Get a new timing chain too.

 

I am surprised that some of you guys that did cam swaps didnt run into the problem with wear patterns between the fulcrum and the sled type rocker arm. Maybe you did not have the mileage that mine had on it when I did mine (~125K). It was so bad that mine couldnt be ignored. I verified that it was the rockers by listening to most all of them. Definately coming from the rockers. I put new lifters on the new cam and checked the lifter preload. The lifters were pumped up and I always use the distributor tool to turn the oil pump very well before cranking. It wasnt a case of no oil in the lifters, I have heard what that sounds like. The cam was a very mild crane and really wasnt much more than OEM, certainly less than .500 lift.

I had to pull the covers, take off the pedestals and rockers and put on the crane kit. That kit is adjustable for lifter preload. That cured the problem---immediately.
This really has my curiousity tweeked, and I have no explanation why it happened to me but seemingly not to anyone else

 

i looked at the suggested parts with that cam and it showed new valve springs and timing chain set but it didnt say it needed to be replaced. So would it be safe to put in new cam and lifters with out changing anything else

 

You are going to want new valve springs and timing chain imo.

 

alright thanks the machine shop has the heads and there going to be clean so i can have them put new springs in. I see your from SD im from Watertown, SD

 

Yes, I just went with the recommended springs that Lunati specs for the cam. It is best to match the springs with the cam, although for a Performer plus cam, you really don't have too, unless the stock springs have a ton of miles on them. If the stock springs are good, you should have no problem at all with them.

The performer grind is VERY mild, only a very small step over stock. You will also want to replace the timing chain at the same time, but get a timing chain for a '68-71 460. These will set the cam "straight up" at 0 degrees, which is where the cam is meant to run. The 72 and later carburated 460s have an 8* retarded timing chain setup for emissions reasons. You will get a pretty decent low-midrange power boost even with the stock cam with a simple pre-72 timing chain swap.

As far as the Lunati, I absolutely love it. It is completely drivable, idles dead smooth, and will light the tires from any speed in 1st. Low to midrange torque is awesome. I would recommend this cam to anyone building a truck motor for everyday driving/hauling/towing. It works very well.

As far as wear patterns on the rocker fulcrum, I did not have that problem, but my motor only has 50K on it total. Even though the motor had never been touched before I got it, it still had the crosshatches on the cylinder walls. It is very tight with little wear. Maybe a higher-mileage motor will have issues, but mine didn't.

 

I realize the performer cam is very mild but for the real minor cost of springs to match to the cam you'd be ahead in the long run to replace them. Nice to see another SD guy on here.

 

On a motor that old and no doubt some hours of running, it would be a bad idea to not replace the timing chain ( my .02). For what it probably cost you to buy a Fomoco gear, (you only need the crank gear) you could buy a timing chain set which would give you 3 choices (at least) -4, 0 +4 degrees. I did the gear and somewhere around here have th Part #, but it should be easy to find. I also believe that I went with a HD chain set and not a True roller, they are not quite as expensive.

Seems that I am the only one that had the wear problem with the rocker/fulcrum wear, which may have been due to mileage. Whatever the problem was, on this old of a motor, I sure plan a contingency and would not seal up the valve covers until after cranking. If it does make a racket, it will not go away quickly and will be like running your engine with a cylinder ridge and new rings----and it could get ugly! LOL