Ford 460 V8

The Ford 460 V8 engine was part of the “Ford 385” series of V8 engines which included the Ford 429 V8 that was used by Lincoln. These two engines proved to be the last of Ford’s V8 big block engines but are still quite popular today among engine enthusiasts.

Beginning in 1968, the Ford 460 was manufactured at Ford’s plant in Lima, Ohio. A stock 460 cylinder bore was measured at 4.36 inches and had a 3.85 inch stroke with a rod length of 6.605 inches which would create a nice rod length to stroke ratio of 1.71:1. If you are looking to over-bore a 460 then it can easily handle a 0.060 increase which would make it a 472.

The OEM heads on a 460 are a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to performance. The intake side of the head provides a cross-sectional oval port which helped give the engine the high torque ratings that it was known for. This design, combined with a valve sizing of 2.19 to 1.76 for the early years of production also allowed for a greater amount of horsepower.

On the bad side, however, the 460 head exhaust ports are extremely narrow and do not let the engine “exhale” to its full potential. The flow on the exhaust ports is so bad that adding a larger cam will completely choke out the engine and provide very poor performance at any RPM range. If you are looking for a stock OEM cast iron head for your 460 then the best you will find will be from a 1969 “C9VE” cast or a 1970 “DOVE” cast.

The worst year for the factory heads of the 460 was 1972 due to a poor design of the quench area which is the area distance between the piston at top dead center and the flat surface of the cylinder head. Essentially the 1972 model heads had little to no quench area and were known to explode on the inside. Ford redesigned the heads for 1973 and after but still suffered from the poor exhaust port issue.

The engine was featured in the Ford Torino, Thunderbirds, and Econoline models among many others. The 460 also had a “Police Interceptor” version in the 1970s. The 460, although discontinued in the late 1990s, remains a popular big block engine that is widely used in motor homes, boats, and industrial vehicles.

Engine Specifications