A couple of thing have to fall into place first but i have made up my mind to put a 460 in the cat. Now as young as i am i don't know a lot about what i can cannot do to that motor. I'm shooting for about 500 to the ground so around 550-600 at the flywheel. This is just preliminary research but it will happen someday. Anywho can i use some ford heads and just redo them with bigger valves, if so whice ones would be the best choice the budget is pretty tight on this too, the more it costs the longer its gonna take:D. What cam should i use? Does anyone make headers for a BB fox? Can i keep power steering? Can i use a mustang K member? Whew now im pooped too much thinking.
I highly recommend you don't do that.
Unless you're planning to go pretty radical with the big block and make 700+ hp with it, it's cheaper and easier to run a small block.
500 to the wheels can be done with a pretty mild 302ci engine and an S-trim Vortech. And that can be done for about the same money (or less) than acquiring a good 429/460, working the heads, buying the aftermarket parts necessary to make the power, and getting the swap parts to get it in your car. Plus a hood to cover it all up.
My big block car was a poor handling, overheating, hard to work on piece of . My .02.
LMAO that nearly every post here I've been puppiesg my namesake car...
a 460 will eat up your stock rear end, stock tranny, flex the unibody(you'll need subframe connectors), and will require reinforced torque boxes, heavier front springs, better radiator, and other odds and ends. That said, it can be done. I believe the aftermarket mustang K member will fit. However the coolness factor may sway your vote. Being on a budget will sway your vote too, and economically speaking, a built 302 can be had for fairly cheap.... http://www.mustangandfords.com/techarticles/28898/
Well i already have a 460 and plans for a new rear end and trans are in the works. I am toying with the idea of tubbing the rear so i can get some truly big meat under there. Its borderlining on becoming a dragster, I'm leaning a few different directions all at once. I want it all you know. I plan on making around 500 whp and doing that with a 302 or 351 has been done. I want the big block the front would have some air struts or pretty heavy springs i know its a lot of work but i'm not afraid to cut it apart. I'm might be getting in over my head but i learned to swim by jumping in the deep end. Anywho i'm looking for resources on how i can make that kind of power with the 460.
wish i could help you on the info you need, but i realy never got into BBs. i think they suck and their only place is in a truck or on the dragstrip. if thats what you want than cool. if you want a nice all around street car, well i realy hope you arent dissapointed cause that would be sucky. the worst would be to drop all kinsg of kuahn into a car only to hate it. i drove a fox 83 notch with a 429, 350-400 hp-ish. it went good but realy was a pos and id never consider it. rode horribly, handled awefully and just sucked in general. i could smoke the dude with a 325 hp 302 anyday.
their is a reason the supercharged smoll block has been done so often, its the way to go. so what if they are all over the internet, you are still unique building up a cougar, and in the end, youl have a bad ass V8 supercharged cougar.
to build a 460, start with one from a Lincoln in the early 70's. They're better than the truck ones from the 80's/90's.
Also don't worry about the swim thing....I'm using a 400 in my 88 bird.
I'm pretty sure its not going to be a street/strip car. Its going to be a strip/street car. I'm planning on using an air suspension to hopefully keep the ride, handling i dont care about i just want it to launch the front tires off the ground. Like i said its mainly going to be a drag car that i can drive on the street if i want to. If i dont like it i can always turn it into a dedicated race car right.
keep us updated on this, that was my first plan of my TC before I put it back to original. I have an 80k 400 out of a 78 LTD that I was going to use but have since found it another home.
go ahead and build it, you won't be disapointed. i did a 460 in my 85 bird.
EDIT:that was mean of me to say. anyway only people who have done the swap should be posting
FWIW, its gonna take over 600 fwhp to get 500 rwhp. your plans involve a lot of fabrication and money. if that's not a problem, then a good aftermarket H/C/I combo should get the power up. plan on spending a lot more than the motor to get the suspension/rear end/ trans to handle the abuse.
what fab work? no work needed to get it in there. use a c-6 and an 8.8 with good axles. build a good shortblock and you can make good power with a set of ported c8's or dove-c's. 5.0 tbird springs work fine. weld up your torque boxes and get a set of subframes.
to the original poster, if you have any questions, email me. i can tell you everything involved with the swap. it's very easy and well worth it. John
he was talking about back-halfing the car.
I will, but it may be awhile, I'm still using the car as my daily driver. I had planned on starting this winter, but too much other came up, and now I'm looking at next year.
As for the 460 swap....I assume the 302 springs will work, but the 460 is quite a bit heavier.
I was talking about back halfing the car and i know money will be an issue so its going to be a long project. Thanks for the info guys i'll be in touch.
no need to back half it. just mini tub and a good suspension setup would be fine
Yeah i thought a little more about that last night and I dont think it would be worth it as the car would be laid up for a long time to do it i'm might just narrow the rear end and tub it. I want to put some huge rollers on when i'm on the street and some big slicks when i go to the track. But my original questions wre never answered. Are there headers made for this swap, what kind of cam/heads should i use to get to my goal, can i keep power steering?
cool, what kind of times/ET are you going after?
stay away from the hooker swap headers, they suck. me and about 20 others had fitment issues with them. i used a set from probe/pro mustang and they fit perfect. you can have a set of iron heads ported or buy a set of alum cj's. call a cam company and get a recomendation from them . you can keep the ps but it will take up some room. i used a manual rack in mine and it was fine. i had a set of 225-55-16's on the front and it was easy to turn.
I don't really know i just want to see what it can do when I get there. You think 10's are possible? LOL probibly have to add a blower for that. That would definatly take down most of the ricers in town:shakeass:
with the right suspension anythings possible...you'r going to need at least 500hp to the ground / 600 fw-hp and get your weight down to like 3200 lbs to crack 10s. probably some clean underware too...
As Chuck W would say *meh* :grinno:
You'd be plenty happy with a modded 302 or 351 and it would be much easier and cheaper to do. Don't get me wrong I like big blocks but they are better off in a late 60's early 70's Mustang or Torino.
If you're going to do a big block might as well go for broke :grinno:
where do you guys come up with this stuff? people make this out to be such a hard swap and it's not. everything fits great and the plugs are even easy to change. you get a torque curve that starts at idle and never stops. it's a great swap. i think i may do another in my fairmont. i have access to a 68 429.
bottom line- if you want to do it, just do it. most of the people who will tell you not to have probably never done the swap let alone taken a ride in a bb fox.
I'm not saying it can't be done easily and made to work well. Big blocks just don't "fit" these cars. The era they're from makes an EFI small block seem like a logical fit. Big blocks just seem to belong in a '70 Torino more than a 80's fox body.
don't know, it "fit" fine in my car :giggle:
I know it'll "fit". I mean the cars just seem too modern to me for a carbed big block.
Is it easier to change plugs than the small block?? I know on an 3rd gen f body you can actualy see the plugs on a big block in one of those cars... I don't know if you ever changed the plugs on a 3rd gen f body with a small block but its about the same as finger banging a dead fat woman.
i understand its been done, its a simple swap, and they fit fine. im not good at buttstuffogies but its kind of like typeing a letter on a typewriter when you have a PC right there. its much more primative. the small blocks are heavy enough but the big blocks are monsters. not too many of those cars that came with a BB were known for their ability to stop or handle well are they?
its much more of a non issue with this guy ad he wants a stip car that he can drive on the street. me, id probably build a tough sbf short block and buy a decent NOS kit if i wanted a car like that. im not a big fan of nos but it realy is the big equalizer out there.
imho, BB dont realy belong in these fox bodies. my opinion is the same for carbs as well. lots of guys go with those. to each his own realy. im not going to say a high HP BB isnt going to be any fun. HP is HP and sure as hell its going to be fun. if you were only going to be building like 300 hp or so i think you would realy be nuts do dicker with a BB though. its too easy to do it with a 302.
True but i want 500 to the ground. I dont care about handling or stopping. Heres the nuts and bolts of it
1. I don't have the money to buy and old car worth building up.
2. I already have a 460 that was given to me by my grandfather along with a 70's merc marquis.
3. I want to keep a budget to shove under those ricers noses when they say they got their honda in the 12's for $X
4. I want it to be carbed i actually met someone, he modifies cars for a living btw, who looked at a carb and asked what it was:eek:
Guys i know im younger than most of the people on here i'm only 23 but there are a lot of guys my age who have no idea how much history there is in hot rodding. In order to show that it can and should be done this way, and rub their noses in it, i need to build this car. Plus I think have a 460 CI sticker on the cat would be friggin sweet:D.
Then go for it, man.
Add up the total cost of building it first. Then triple that amount, and wait until you REALLY have that much sitting in the bank to devote to the project. Because that is what it will cost.
But that goes for ANY hot rod build. Sometimes you get lucky and it comes in under that amount. But it's never cheap or easy to get it done right.
I used to get a lot of comments on my car. It did look cool. It sure was a pain in the ass to drive though. Good luck.
You should...especially stopping....
where did you get that hood? :D
Ditto, the hood rocks!
im all for it
460 bluemax even?
badass... my buddy is swapping a 429 (believed to be CJ) into his 78 bird.. guess who gets to drive that beast :D
good luck... i wouldnt take any shiznit on it.. its your car and your individual freedom to do what you want with it... believe me i come from a family of chevyheads... i still tell my uncle i'd rather push my ford than drive his chevy anyday
dooooooo it!
MP MOTORSPORTS made the hood. they made the first one for my car :) . if you get one now, the company name is the same but Mike and Pam sold it.
It's a lot cheaper than it used to be. I think I gave around $300 for it, but mine had a place you could bolt the stock hinges too.
Too bad they ripped out immediately. :rolleyes:
My car used to be in their ad. Here is the new page. http://www.motorsportspartsusa.com/partGeneral.cfm?part=H0024
$177.50 is unbelievably cheap...
i guess that's why they dont make the "bolt-on" style anymore. :grinno:
I didnt mean i dont car if it stops i'll upgrade the brakes i dont car if it stops on a dime, it doesnt now. i havent bothered adding things up yet i'm just going to tackle one thing at a time as i have the cash for it. Look for it to hit the streets in 2010 lol.
This place has complete swap kits.
http://www.mspmall.com/ddautospec/swapkits.html
They say up to 1986 (guessing due to the difference in K-members for 87-88)
Here's a basic HOW TO: http://www.jason.fletcher.net/tech/460/460.htm
Personally, if I were to swap in a 460 I'd go fuel injected. You could find the components (injectors, manifold, throttlebody, computer, wiring harness, etc...) in a junkyard that has some mid to late '90's F-250's and F-350's
I wouldn't run the OEM EFI setup unless you want 500 ft-lbs at 1000 rpm and nothing over 2500...
Carbs are pretty easy! And they let you do anything you want to the heads and cam. ;)
and you would need a 2ft cowl hood to fit it in there!
if you wanted it to be EFI, a spyder intake and a FAST system is what you want.
LOL I know i have a big pro stock scoop that i might put on. meh maybe not. MAybe i should just have it sticking out of the hood like sleeper tbird.