460 Build Info

[franklin2]

If you could afford it, the aluminum heads would transform this engine. First off, Ford never put an adjustable valvetrain in their v8's, so it's always a can of worms when you put a aftermarket camshaft in place. Sometimes it works and the valve lash is ok, sometimes it doesn't work and you have to rig some shims or buy shorter pushrods.

To convert the original heads to make the valves adjustable is a lot of labor which is a lot of money. And then you still have the old cast iron heads. The aluminum heads will already have the guide plates and such to make the lash adjustable. And their combustion chamber design is better, along with the aluminum construction and better quench area. The factory heads are open chamber smog type heads. And the weight savings while minor, can make a difference also. I haven't checked on these particular heads, but the valves are probably larger also.

But this is leading to a fire breather. If you want to stay very mild, then stick with the stock stuff.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

Have you checked out the Fueling alum heads? I am trying to find a link for ya to the 460 build that was on the cover of an old Engine Masters magazine (circa y2k ish). It was a beauty.
I would go roller hydraulic for the valvetrain. Aluminum heads.

 

[ford4wd08]

If you could afford it, the aluminum heads would transform this engine. First off, Ford never put an adjustable valvetrain in their v8's, so it's always a can of worms when you put a aftermarket camshaft in place. Sometimes it works and the valve lash is ok, sometimes it doesn't work and you have to rig some shims or buy shorter pushrods.

To convert the original heads to make the valves adjustable is a lot of labor which is a lot of money. And then you still have the old cast iron heads. The aluminum heads will already have the guide plates and such to make the lash adjustable. And their combustion chamber design is better, along with the aluminum construction and better quench area. The factory heads are open chamber smog type heads. And the weight savings while minor, can make a difference also. I haven't checked on these particular heads, but the valves are probably larger also.

But this is leading to a fire breather. If you want to stay very mild, then stick with the stock stuff.

Have you checked out the Fueling alum heads? I am trying to find a link for ya to the 460 build that was on the cover of an old Engine Masters magazine (circa y2k ish). It was a beauty.
I would go roller hydraulic for the valvetrain. Aluminum heads.

I'm not afraid of a fire breather.

There are actually some Chinese (yes I know...) aluminum heads out there that are corrected by an engine shop out in Washington State. He is one of the go to guys for big block fords.

I got a quote from him for a full top end kit, maybe I should just go with him and be done with it. Then I would just need to get my block machined out locally.

I'm on the fence on how much to drop on this, but if I am actually going to tow with this rig and want the available power, maybe I should just pull the trigger and spend the money.

I can build a heck of a v8 big block for the fraction of a rebuild or purchase of a diesel rig not to mention the fuel and DEF cost.

It is all about perspective at this point I guess.

 

[ford4wd08]

This is the build I'll likely mimic, but with Aluminum heads.

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Here is the machine shop that is one of the authorities on the big block Ford.

Parkland Auto Machine - Home

parklandautomachine.com

I think I'm just going to do it, no one has ever wished they had less power....

 

[19Walt93]

I think your cam choice would work good but I'd make sure to use a zinc additive or oil with zinc in it. My machine shop won't build an engine with a flat tappet cam because he's had too many lifter failures, if you can afford to go with a roller it would add peace of mind along with less parasitic drag. The GT 40 heads on my Mustang still use pedestal rockers and I bought the shim kit from Ford performance to set the lifter preload. If you find you need more preload, pushrods are cheaper than head machining but you'll spend some extra time measuring. If you'd rather spend money than time, adjustable rockers would be easier. The crankshaft imbalance on 460's changed at some point but I don't know what year it happened, it's important to know before buying a flywheel or balancer. Short tube headers work better than manifolds and long tube headers are better still. Unless you're building a high RPM screamer, you don't want huge primary tubes and ceramic coating keeps the heat inside as well as resisting rust. An engine won't care how many exhaust pipes you have, it'll just care how much it flows. A 3" single system is plenty. I recommend a double roller timing chain and a one inch, 4 hole spacer under the carb to increase low end torque.

 

[ford4wd08]

Doing more research, here are the heads I'm looking into.

You can buy Edlebrock aluminum heads for less, but you won't get ported heads for that.

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[Eddo Rogue]

I'm not afraid of a fire breather.

There are actually some Chinese (yes I know...) aluminum heads out there that are corrected by an engine shop out in Washington State. He is one of the go to guys for big block fords.

I got a quote from him for a full top end kit, maybe I should just go with him and be done with it. Then I would just need to get my block machined out locally.

I'm on the fence on how much to drop on this, but if I am actually going to tow with this rig and want the available power, maybe I should just pull the trigger and spend the money.

I can build a heck of a v8 big block for the fraction of a rebuild or purchase of a diesel rig not to mention the fuel and DEF cost.

It is all about perspective at this point I guess.

As skeptical as we all are. I will say Chinese stuff (as with HF) has come a long way, and there is some not so bad stuff out there, especially if you seek it. Also made in Taiwan is not made in china, its more close to made in Japan quality. Taiwan made stuff is the snap on or Rolex of China lol. They don't like cheap crap quite as much as we do.

But my reply was really to say The Fueling heads are actually made for MPG's and torque. I think since most 460's were in the 3/4 and 1 ton work trucks, they steered the build towards that. Probably still breathes fire lol. I love 460's, they have a place in my heart. Many good child memories attached to them.

 

[ford4wd08]

As skeptical as we all are. I will say Chinese stuff (as with HF) has come a long way, and there is some not so bad stuff out there, especially if you seek it. Also made in Taiwan is not made in china, its more close to made in Japan quality. Taiwan made stuff is the snap on or Rolex of China lol. They don't like cheap crap quite as much as we do.

But my reply was really to say The Fueling heads are actually made for MPG's and torque. I think since most 460's were in the 3/4 and 1 ton work trucks, they steered the build towards that. Probably still breathes fire lol. I love 460's, they have a place in my heart. Many good child memories attached to them.

I agree harbor freight quality is up on a lot of tools. I buy a lot of them. Lol.

I think these are raw castings with are final machined here.

 

[19Walt93]

As skeptical as we all are. I will say Chinese stuff (as with HF) has come a long way, and there is some not so bad stuff out there, especially if you seek it. Also made in Taiwan is not made in china, its more close to made in Japan quality. Taiwan made stuff is the snap on or Rolex of China lol. They don't like cheap crap quite as much as we do.

But my reply was really to say The Fueling heads are actually made for MPG's and torque. I think since most 460's were in the 3/4 and 1 ton work trucks, they steered the build towards that. Probably still breathes fire lol. I love 460's, they have a place in my heart. Many good child memories attached to them.

I disagree about the "quality" of Chinese products. I put a Chinese breaker plate into a 70 Mustang 428 SCJ- because that was all I could find. Two weeks later I drove to his house and jury rigged it do the engine would run- the pivot pin had come loose from the base plate. I replaced the wiper transmission on the same car with a CJ Pony parts Chinese repro. After getting it all back together, the wiper arms wouldn't go on. I found the posts were .017" bigger than the hole in the arms. I welded the 1970 Ford wiper transmission and put it back in. I replaced the gas tank and filler neck on a 79 Mustang with Chinese repro parts. The filler neck was 4" longer than the original so I had to drop the tank back out to install it- but it wouldn't slide in because it was .040" bigger than the original. The Ford Performance FEAD bracket I used to adapt Fox Mustang parts to my 351 came from Taiwan. It only took 3 hours of grinding and test fits to make it bolt up. The Napa distributor in my 351 is Chinese, the centrifugal advance works now that I've fixed it. Luckily, I had to replace the distributor gear to be compatible with my roller cam because I found the gear was installed too far down the shaft and would have ground into the block.
ABSOLUTELY NO F'ING WAY WOULD I USE CHINESE CYLINDER HEADS.

 

[ford4wd08]

I disagree about the "quality" of Chinese products. I put a Chinese breaker plate into a 70 Mustang 428 SCJ- because that was all I could find. Two weeks later I drove to his house and jury rigged it do the engine would run- the pivot pin had come loose from the base plate. I replaced the wiper transmission on the same car with a CJ Pony parts Chinese repro. After getting it all back together, the wiper arms wouldn't go on. I found the posts were .017" bigger than the hole in the arms. I welded the 1970 Ford wiper transmission and put it back in. I replaced the gas tank and filler neck on a 79 Mustang with Chinese repro parts. The filler neck was 4" longer than the original so I had to drop the tank back out to install it- but it wouldn't slide in because it was .040" bigger than the original. The Ford Performance FEAD bracket I used to adapt Fox Mustang parts to my 351 came from Taiwan. It only took 3 hours of grinding and test fits to make it bolt up. The Napa distributor in my 351 is Chinese, the centrifugal advance works now that I've fixed it. Luckily, I had to replace the distributor gear to be compatible with my roller cam because I found the gear was installed too far down the shaft and would have ground into the block.
ABSOLUTELY NO F'ING WAY WOULD I USE CHINESE CYLINDER HEADS.

No one disagrees there is a lot of junk coming out of china in the after market.

And there is a lot of junk coming out of the US as well...

I try to make informed decisions about the things I buy with as much research as I can.

If the heads were being sourced from ebay, no way I would trust it, but this is a very respected engine builder I'm speaking with and I'll tend to listen to him.

It is one thing to be cast in china and sent in bare in and be checked and finished by a reputable shop vs the whole assembly completed there.

I think most would be shocked on the supply path of parts on vehicles these days.

It all comes down to the company you're dealing with in my honest opinion.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

Good quality is hard to find anywhere, and its not because of China, its because of money, and nobody wanting to spend any of it. Majority of people I come across have a real hard time spending money on anything. They cry about a hammer costing $10. Well, what if you were in the middle of nowhere and if you wanted a hammer, had to make one...then what would you pay? I love swinging my $100 stiletto 10z titanium finish hammer.
Plus its become a throw away society. We don't repair appliances anymore, we throw them away and get new ones, sometimes not even because its bad, but because there's a new version out that has bluetooth and send you a notification in the app when your laundry is done milk is expired. Gone are the days of have the same stove for 40 years through 2 repairs.

 

[ford4wd08]

Placed my order today for a top end kit which includes, assembled aluminum heads, aluminum intake, custom cam, and recurved duraspark distributor. Bumping compression up to around 9 to 1. Should be a nice upgrade. Dyno proven blueprint of 425 hp