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1978 F150


Rinny650

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2009
Messages
206
City
Andrews, SC
Vehicle Year
1984
Transmission
Automatic
Im getting one that has a 351M and personally I hate those motors. I have a 460 in my shop thats bored and stroked to i believe a 545? Its 540 somethin. Anyway has anyone on here done that? What do I need to do as far as motor mounts to fit the 460 block? IIRC the trans has the wrong bellhousing bolt pattern doesnt it? Or would the trans bolt right up?
 
you are correct about the transmission. the bell is wrong. 460 motor mounts from an f-250 should do
 
you are correct about the transmission. the bell is wrong. 460 motor mounts from an f-250 should do

351M/400 use a big block bolt pattern, same as the 460.

There are some oddballs in cars that use the smallblock boltpattern, but 97% don't.
 
I knew the FE family used the wierd bolt pattern but best I remembered the Modified motors used the 385 family bolt pattern.

What would have to be done to mount the 460? I want to have everything ready before I pull the 351. Where could i get some mounts that would allow it to bolt in?
 
hmm you hate a 351M, funny john kasse just won jegs engine masters with 2 so far

For most mortal humans they are boat anchors, they really suffer from the half an inch of stroke Ford took away from the 400 to make them.
 
Trans will bolt up. You will need to get new motor mounts, and either van/car manifolds or headers. Check out L&L Products, they will have anything you will need.
 
you can use off the shelf parts. I had a 78 F150 that had a factory 460 in it. If you have a fully built motor, you should have headers on it anyway, so exhaust is solved...Any parts house that is worth their salt will be able to get you motor mounts that will work for you, if not, some wrecking yard pieces will work from any 73-79 F100/150-350. If your motor is built as big as you say, then i would suggest adding a high stall converter, something in a 2000ish rpm range to keep the motor in its power band, but its up to you depending on the trucks usages.

The common misconception is the need for specialty parts or "swap kits". Neither of these are needed, factory type parts are available through Dennis Carpenter, LMC Truck, and other sources. To be quite honest, a stock 460 is more than enough power for an F150, i drove one for two years, and never had problems with a lack of power...
 
Will any kind of longtube headers bolt up inside the framerails? Any kind i should specifically look for?

So I can get off the shelf OEM parts from like napa or something to swap the motor in? What would I ask for? 1968 F150 motor mounts for a 460?
 
As to what was said about the 351m, I have had no problems with the power output. Its the longevity of them I have problems with. I have been told that near the back of the block is a oil passage that isnt drilled all the way through on most motors and lets pistons 5 and 8 run dry
 
First off, Ford NEVER put a 460 in a 4x4 truck untill 82. They also never put it in a stick vehicle untill 82.

You can make the swap work using mostly factory parts though.

1. Trans- If the truck is an auto, then the trans will bolt right up and you can use your starter. It's a stick, you must be 100% sure of the year of your motor. 82-up motors are external balance pre 81 motors are internal. If you have an older motor, use a flywheel from a 360-390 motor but you must check the tooth count cause there are two different ones. If external balance you need to use a post 82 flywheel and then space the motor away from the bell because the flywheel is thicker due to the balance and hydro clutch. Another PITA is the pilot bushing, not all 460 cranks are drilled for a pilot because they were not used in a stick shift vehicle untill 82(external). It is a toss up if you got a drilled crank, most 73-81 motors seem to be drilled. Alot of pre 73 motors are not drilled. If so you must shorten the input on the trans and use a pilot busing from a 360-390 motor.

2. The exhaust-has to come from either a 79-older Ford truck that is 2wd with a factory 460, or a Ford van with a 460. It also could come from a 80-up truck with a 460. The driver manifold from a car will work but the pass requires notching the frame. L&L makes some very nice headers also but they run around $500 and up.

3. Oil pan- Unless this truck is skyhigh and has and aftermarket trac bar, you have to use and oil pan from a 80-up Ford truck or any van with 460. A 79-older 2wd pan and car pan will not work. The front sump pan rubs the track bar on a 1/2 ton and if the truck is not lifted, the front diff will smash the pan being there is only about 2" clearance.

4. Accessories- For a 1/2 ton your best bet would be to locate brakets for the steering and alt from either a 2wd 79 older truck or a 80-up truck. Some car brackets place the pump in the middle of the steering box and the van stuff usually uses a different style pump than most trucks did which may require new lines.

5. Mounts- This is never fun, there are no factory mounts from any thing that molts this motor into that truck with out modifcations. You can use mounts from some mid 70s fullsize cars if you drill out a rivet and weld a 1/2 bolt in its place and let it stick through and use it as a stud. Edlebrock makes swap mounts for this, but the best bet would be L&L mounts they work best and are around $175 and very worth it.

6. Cooling- if your motor is warmed over like yours is, you will also want to swap in a factory 4 core rad from a 73-79 that had the "heavy duty cooling" package. This thing is huge and hold almose 5gal of coolant it will deffinatly help out. Try to find a good used one, being a new one is over $600.

You could always take the easy way out and buy the whole L&L kit and just bolt everything in instead of spending hours hunting parts.

I've done this swap a few times. LOL Hope this helps
Here is what mine looks like. Sorry no motor pics but I could get some if needed.
79 F250. 79 truck 460, np435, 351 Bellhousing, 390 Flywheel, L&L mounts, L&L fenderwell headers. 4 core rad. I've still got the front sump pan but its not a problem with all the lift.
 
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The engine has a deep sump custom oil pan on it. The truck has about 4"s of lift so maybe the pan on the engine will work, I doubt it tho from the way you talk. Im planning on making headers at work and run them over the framerails and under the cab to in front the tires. If that doesnt go how I want then I will buy a set. Also you say that 80 and up manifolds will work I may have a line on some of those.

As for the Rad it will probably get moved to the back since I found that for this engine a Rad out of a Ford 5000 tractor cools it very nicely.

Oh yeah please post any pics you have of trucks you swapped the 460 into
 
I will try and get some pics when the weather is better here. Is your truck an auto or a stick?
 
I havent bought the truck yet. I totally forgot to ask what trans is in it. No idea. I will probably go for the 460 and a c6 I have in my shop with a 2800rpm stall. I think that will do better for me than a stick. I have an NP435 in my shop too so if its a stick i can make that work
 

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