i have a 77 f100 with a hopped up 302 but its just to get me by. i have a 83' ford 460 engine i want to build. i would like round 450-500 hp. i have a c6 for it already. i am just wanting to build a cheap 460 thats tough an reliable. i dont need forged i wont run any kinda giggle gas, turbo etc. i would like 9:1 or higher compression. also are the pro comp heads decent heads for the price?

 

Pro Comp heads are junk. Ported D3VE heads will be as good or better.

I did a low buck 460 build for my truck a while back that I am quite happy with. KB137 pistons, ported E6TE (D3VE) heads (exhaust only), Edelbrock Performer intake, Holley 750 DP carb., Comp CL34-235-4. This build is in the ballpark of 400 HP and was quite affordable.

A similar build with more cam duration, ported intake side of heads, Performer RPM or Weiand Stealth should get in the 450+ HP range.

 

On "Hot Rod" the television show they did a build up of a 454 and a 460 with a "budget" . On the 460 they got 407 HP and about 365 Ft lbs torque with a mild investment of $2300. New intake, new Holley 750, double roller timing set, running 10:1 compression and I think some mild head work, headers, MSD ignition. Maybe some more stuff.

 

If that was the two episode thing on a 460 build with dyno and such it was a crappy build. They used grand chasm 22cc dish pistons and just didn't do a very good job. It was an expensive engine slapped together with random parts.

 

I got a 429 with a 460 crank offset ground with 440 rods and custom Weisco pistons, 500 ci. It's got a PortOSonic intake, with a Holly 950HP carb. An Erson hydraulic roller 588 lift and 250 duration @ 50 thousandths, and ProComp heads. The machine shop sold me the heads.
It is in a 71 Mustang with a C6 and a 9in.,and I'll tell you what, that puppy flat out screams. It has CalTrac suspension in the rear, but no locker, and it's got a serious lack of traction problem. The "tire" will bust loose at 65 MPH. No joke.

 

Hate to tell you but those ProComps are basically an a slightly modified D3VE head. A well ported D3VE or D0VE head would get you a lot more power. Trick Flow Streets would be far superior and a great choice for a potent street build, though a bit more spendy.

 

This is very general info, and has been criticized here in the past for various reasons. But, it will get you into the neighborhood of what to expect if you are looking for 450-500 horse.

460 Horsepower Chart (revised 1/24/09) - 460 Ford Forum

 

Hot rod tv did two 460 builds, the first was a budget build under 2500. It used d3ve heads, no porting, stock crank, stock rods, .03 over dished pistons, about 9:1, crane hydro cam and crane valve springs, Al. intake and 750 cfm carb. it used a stock timing gear and chain. It also had a stock distributor with an electronic gadget to replace the points.

On the dyno, with dyno headers, it made about 370 hp and 490 foot- pounds of torque. I think it was 2300 bucks. 1500 was machining. And they didnt include the headers.

On the second build, they went with trickflow heads, bigger cam, trickflow intake and 850 carb and msd ignition and made 600+ hp.

with the sam mods, 454 made about 30 more hp, but they had to replace the stock crank, rods. In stock form, the chevy in-ards, they said, couldn't handle the extra power.

 

The Hot Rod TV 460 build was crap. No intelligent thought put into the build, just a piece of junk rebuilder style motor. The second go around was pretty decent and only happened due to a lot of negative feedback from the folks on the 460 forum. Jon Kaase actually put some pressure on them to do a respectable build.

 

You need to define what other vehicle parameters are acceptable to you. Is it a daily driver, what gears do you want/have, stall converter, what idle characteristics and vacuum levels are expected ? If you intend to use it as a functional truck, the goal of 400 is about the threshold of trade- offs for me. I had a mild 429 in my truck and then built a more serious 460. The 429 actually served better for all around towing and daily driver vehicle. The 460 does scream, but you have to drive it that way.

 

well its going in my 77 f100. my truck has a 8.8 with 3.55 gears i have a spool just have had it put in. i will drive it daily to work (6miles) but mostly other than just to to take kids /wife out to cruise an go to midnight drags once a month. i would like it to thump alittle an have a noticeable idle my 302 really popped (284 dur/.488 lift 110 lobe), i want to be able to run a c6 without having to have it massively beefed up, a stall an shift kit is feesable. i want to have like 3500 in the engine an tranny combined in truck running. 400 hp is good probably i will pull a boat (18 foot ranger) and a 16ft flatbed every great once in awhile

 

If I were building another 460, I would base it around the Comp Cams Big ***** Thumper. I wish that was the cam I had used, ( I didn't know...just like the heads... ) The guys on 460Ford are recommending aftermarket rods once you hit the 450 hp. mark, and you will definitely be beyond that. I would use the Edelbrock Victor manifold, because that is what Jon Kaase recommends, and eventually plan on getting a set of his heads. But that's just me.

 

For that price just get a 5.4 and do a swap better gas mileage and power.

 

I have those episodes on my dvr. A couple times a month, late at night after the g/f goes to bed, I turn the lights out and watch them...g/f calls it truck ****.. Oh and I did think why the heck use a stock timing chain? Don't you guys know anything?? lol

 

Look for a used set of alluminum heads or a set of doves. I just sold a good set of ported dove heads for $325. They would support 450+ hp. The bad thing with D3 heads is IMHO that the rockers are pedestal mount things, they need machined to accept guide plates and studs. Dove heads will bolt on your regular old 460 and be real close to 10:1 with a regular dish piston and already have stud mount rockers. I think a 10:1 460 with a good cam, maybe a 270ish advertised and a performer rpm, or even a better a weiand stealth, and some 1 3/4 headers at least bigger if you can, you should have a pretty solid engine.

there is a set of doves right now on 460 forum for $100. Shipping on mine was $150 so you have a $300 set of heads, now $500 on port work, a complete cam kit with springs and all is about $800 I think. New valves, new pushrods, and there you have it. it should be really easily 400hp.

The old lincoln 460s at 10.5:1 say in the chilton book that they were 500 ft/lbs torque and 365 hp. I bet you could get 400 out of one with a intake improvement, exhaust improvement, and some good tuning. Throw a cam and some port work at them and there is your engine.