Vehicle: mid 90's F-350 regular cab, long bed 4x4

Application: lifted 4x4 with occasional hauling

Engine dilemma: A 460 with the basic bolt-ons vs. a 351 with all the fixin's (cam, heads, intake manifold, plus all the bolt-ons)

I know the 460 is capable of more than 245 hp, so what is holding this engine back in its stock form? I know the biggest limiting factor in the 351 are those notoriously restrictive cylinder heads. I'm trying to figure out which would be the better engine choice, the 460 or the 351. The obvious choice would be the 460 since it makes much more torque than the 351, but on the other hand, there are so many more mods for the 351 than for the fuel injected late model 460, that it seems I could end up with more power out of a thoroughly massaged 351 than a slightly tinkered 460. However, I think the less tinkering the better as I may run into some money and driveability/reliability issues. So I guess the real question is, I know what the late model fuel injected 351 is capable of, but does anyone have any experience with bringing the great 460 to its potential? After all these years, I still have my heart set on a mid 90's F-350 with a good ol' gas V8. But rather than jumping on the first truck I see, I want to make sure every aspect of the truck and every decision is thoroughly thought out. Thanks a bunch!

 

Stroke the 460 out to a 504, with some high flow heads, large valves, headers and a decent compression ratio you can get around 500 reliable, streetable horsepower.

Im going with a 351W because i already have a block lying around. It's being stroked out to 408, bored .030 over, fully race modified 4 valve heads, large tube headers, big cam, 6-71 blower @ 12 Psi boost, 8.5:1 compression, all forged internals, main girdle, the works. It should put out over 850 horsepower, but i'm not sure how reliable it will be, i drive the truck less than 5,000 miles a year, so a rebuild every 10K wouldn't bother me.

-Jon

 

The problem with the EFI 460s is the heads. I think they have a different exhaust and intake pattern than the non EFI.

 

The 460 truck block is nearly indestructable, a well built engine is very potent. The problem with them is that there is very little aftermarket support of them, and the stuff that is avaliable is spendy. There is way more support for the windsor. I would go 460.

 

EFI 460 heads ARE different from the older ones. IMO your decision will come down to wether you want a little more power or a little more gas mileage.
Also 351 perf. parts are cheaper and easier to find. 460 parts are out there, but you will pay a big price for them. For example long tube headers that fit my truck are almost $1000. But there is just something about having a 460 under the hood that puts a smile on your face.

 

If EFI is an absolute must, the 351 is a much better option in my opinion,especially if go with a stroker app. It does not take much money to get one to outrun a 460 throughout the entire powerband. Plus, most of the mustang parts are interchangable too. If you can accept a carburator, I would definately go with a 460 however.

 

Thanks for the replies I've been looking through some classifieds and I think I would be lucky to find any mid-90's F-350, reg. cab SRW with a gas engine in good condition. But after reading the replies and thinking things through, I think I would prefer a 460. I would much rather have the low-end power of a big block. I'm not getting this truck to be a drag racer so high revving power isn't really an issue here. I think what I would do is keep my truck and leave the 302 in it for gas mileage purposes as my daily driver (or say to hell with that and stick a 351 in it) and build up the F-350 to be an off-road/weekend cruising beast I guess the main reason for this thread was to find out if I was missing out on all the EFI aftermarket parts for the 7.5L but I guess I'm not. Building a carbed 460 really isn't an option since I live in the golden state, but if I decide to move out of state, who knows? Once again, your advice really helped!

 

I don't think you can beat cubic inches for power/reliability. The 460 will work less to make the same power. I vote for the 460 mostly cause I've always wanted one

 

You don't need EFI heads. If your willing to spend a little money you can easily put aftermarket TBI on there. Holly and Edelbrock make systems that will support up to an 1000hp engine.

-Jon