I bought a 40 ford with a blown big block with 600 miles that has sat 11 years being started once in a while, and after fixing alot of little problems we have it running but I cannot get it to idle under 1300, if that. I found some info in the car on the engine, I am a bodyman not a mechanic so I do not know all the lingo. The paper states the engine is a 4 bolt main 461Chevy (461?) magnfluxed, line honed decked, squared, tapped, brass champerred, shop peened journal radpolished,balanced, rods and crank done the same, bushed for full floatingpins,balanced APR rod bolts, Wiesco full floating blower pistons, polished, blended decked squared, Dyers 671 blower3" drive 9% under, ported,this and that bronze guides, stainless valves 2.1880 int.1990 exh. more polishing, decked, 2 750 Holly carbs.Mike Kuhl polished manifold, 8:1 ratio comp blower cam solid lifters, .612 int./605 exh. lift 255/266 dur, @050 112 degr. lobe sep. chrome vanadium push rods 3" inch exaust 400 th, T^ci 2800 stall converter, ford narrowed nine inch with 14 inch wide pro track tires and toyo skinnes on the front Weld wheels. car is all steel with a tilt nose and in great shape. this car is though dated, but what a start. Is there anyway I can find out about how much HP the engine has?
That motor sounds just about exactly the right way to build a blown BB Chevvie. Nicely matched combination. Except you might think about switching to 850 carbs. (yes,really) Blower motors idle oddly compared to naturaly asperated mills. Depends on your tune up, particularly your initial ignition advance. You might not get it to idle much lower. Your best bet is to get it to a reputable shop or someone who has blower experience. An improper tune up can risk piston eating detonation at high engine load and high boost levels. Properly tuned, your combination should make damn near 700 horse. Not 700 bench racing horse power, but a REAL honest to god 700 ponies. Ditch the stupid wheels and the tilt front end and have a good time. Good luck, -Abone. No..wait. Back up. I just re-read your underdriven%. 9% underdriven on a 460 inch Chevvie is only 4lbs of boost. That's PUSSY BOOST. You need to make 8lbs before that motor is even working. That many cubes, you need to spin that blower about 5% OVERdriven to make 10lbs of boost. With your combo, 10lbs would be the limit on the street 93 octane. Slip a few gallons of 110 octane in teh tank at teh race track for some full throttle blasts. At 10 lbs of boost, this motor will make enough power to mess up that whole space/time continum thing. It will be a total monster and be perfectly streetable. -Abone.
"we have it running but I cannot get it to idle under 1300" ".612 int./605 exh. lift 255/266 dur, @050 112 degr. lobe sep." there's why man...oh yeah, it's a .030 over 454 chev if that's the other missing piece.
Thanks for the input guys, I really do appreciate the tips most of you give, but as I said I am a bodyman not a mechanic, if you held a gun to my nuts I could not tell you what the F... a dur or lobe sep is, it is a 454, that much I know, 30 over I don't know, I joined H.A.M.B. to talk to people with a common interest and maybe share some knowledge. I can do without stupid answers from some dickhead looking to make himself feel smart. I am planning to go thru the truck this winter, get rid of all the shit that was cool when mullets were in and wire ties must have been cheap. Mustang front end and brakes!? I might as well have an anchor. When I finish with this truck it will be as good as anything out there. In the mean time if I want to get insulted I will go back to catholic school. Thanks
heh....and they went easy on you! With an engine like that, you probably ought to get some learning about it, or at least find a local, knowledgeable gearhead you can swap bodywork for engine work with. That's a serious motor. As for flamedabone's comments, they're pretty accurate, although I'd approach it a bit differently, by putting a smaller cam in it (maybe 230 @ .050"), that should get the idle down to about 1000 (which is quite livable with a 2800 converter) and maybe up the drive ratio just a bit, perhaps to 1:1, aiming for 7-8 psi boost. Also, don't be surprised if the cam "goes flat" with today's crappy oil, you'd be better off with roller lifters. But then it would be almost identical to the motor in my 55
Chris, the number that stands out for me is the 112 deg lobe separation angle. That tells me it should make adequite vacuum. Given that, it's time to just go to basics. Hook-up a vacuum gauge and see what it does. There's a handy dandy visual aid on the vacuum gauge box it come in. The object being a solid reading and not hopping around. If it was me, and knowing this thing sat awhile, I would just pull the top-end and start over if the vacuum and carbs can't be set to a lower rpm. 255/265 is not a huge duration on a 454, so I wouldn't expect it to be a lopey idle. Just scrape all the gaskets and start over if the vacuum can't be tamed. First check the carb gaskets. Those are pretty big carbs, and you should have no problem throughout a wide RPM range.
I think I found the cam in the Comp Cams catalog. It lists it as 114 deg lobe sep, but all the other numbers are the same: 11-405-5 "Good for street, mild strip, use with 671 or larger blower, stock springs cannot be used" 3500 - 7000 RPM operating range (low gear ratio rear ends).
sounds fun! You are gong to have lots of fun for sure. If you were closer I would say bring it by to I could check it out for you. Be careful with the timing, detonation, and too lean a fuel ratio. This is what could ruin the fun. Get someone with a lot of experience with mechanics and blowers to give you a helping hand. Don't want to grenade that sweet motor figuring it out without a little help. Good luck Wil Sakowski www.sakowskimotors.com
Hi and thank you for the info, thats what I like! I just had the carbs rebuilt, and I did not mention but the heads were done right roller rockers solid lifters etc.etc. but I am seriously leaning towards injection, I just don't know what brand is the best to use. This truck is solid and well worth doing up it was part of a large settlement along with 18 other cars and realestate the guy I know still has a 55 chevy conv. left nise shape, I am working on that., I will submit some pictures. I am doing a frame off this winter but for now so I can drive it I am changing the radiator this weekend to an aluminum with a shroud and two fans, I have documentation that shows only 600 mile since the drive train was done. Now I have to find someone who knows blown engines, they are not common on the cape and LA is a bit of a drive. And to be honest I love a good insult, growing up in the Boston area, Irish catholic with eight brothers and one tough sister it's a matter of survival to to be able to respond to that insult and most times fighting would end a discussion. Dennis Leary is a good example of most members of my family.
"The Irish don't know what the want and are prepared to fight to the death to prove it" Sidney Littlewood
Be careful playing with the timing, I have scattered three different blower motors cause of timing. If you don't already have one I would suggest a good msd box with boost retard in it to be able to play with it on the street,and I would definately bump the boost up. If you don't you wont get to hear that huffer talkin to you, and nothing sounds cooler than blower whine!
I read the specs off a note that came with the truck, and set the timing at 12 so I before I do anything I will make sure what of what I have.
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