??460/514??

[BILL WARREN]

IS THE 514 A GOOD STREET MOTOR WITH LOW-END POWER?? WHAT TYPE OF CAM SHOULD BE USED??

[bnewell]

Bill,

I'm in the same boat as you. I am leaning toward the 460 although still thinking about the 514. I have an appointment with Eric @ Competition this week to finalize the engine deal. I have decided on a custom built motor in lieu of the crate motor though. From what I have researched and been told, the components used in the custom builds are much better than used in the crate. Eric is also providing a warranty with his motor which is a big peace of mind for me since I'm not a "motor-head". Reliability and driveability is my #1 concern and Eric knows that. Although the HP bragging rights is also a fun issue!! Reality is that I will probably never use that kind of HP in the type of driving I plan on. It just kind of neat to know its there!!!

[Tom Wells]

Hello BILL,

I bought a 514 crate motor. Looking at the specs, it is intended to be a drag strip piece, not a primarily street item. Certainly not if it is going to be driven as a (pretty much) daily driver.

The 9.8 nominal compression ratio means I can keep the reciprocating assembly as-is for street use.



Having observed that, here's what I did:

Intake: remove Dominator-flange single-plane intake, install Holley-flange Edelbrock Performer RPM 460

Cam: Remove solid roller unit and triple valve springs, install Crane hydraulic roller unit, double valve springs

Pan: remove pan, install Canton road race pan with correct pickup

Sell removed parts.

Anyway, those are the highlights. I'm also adding an 850 Demon carb with vacuum secondaries. I paid to have the engine totally torn down, inspected, some porting on the heads, cleanup of the block, rebalancing etc., etc.

I have posted my experience with the rods elsewhere on this board - since Ford Racing has supposedly gone to the Eagle-like rods, that should not be an issue any more.

Having said all that, I've never heard any of the above run! The engine is now ready; the rest of the car is a couple months away - I'll post the results when they are available.

Bottom line: build your engine to suit yourself

One way of looking at things!

Tom

PS: If the hood scoop won't fit, even if I make it an inch taller, I may have to get a Torker II intake.

[cwmcobra]

Tom,

You and I think alike. Except I took a little different route. I bought the 514 short block and CJ heads from Ford Racing and speced and assembled the rest myself. Crane roller hydraulic cam set up for street use, Crane roller rockers, Crane dual valve springs, Manley valves, Crane double roller billet steel timing set, Canton road race pan with high volume pump. Started with the Performer RPM intake, but found it was too tall. So, changed to a Performer intake. Not especially happy with that and will probably determine the difficulties in raising the hood scoop before I settle on one or the other. Can't seem to get enough air filter area in the way it is. I have an Edelbrock 750 CFM carb with vacuum secondaries and electric choke. Going for a street performer all the way.

Now, just how similar are we? I haven't heard mine either. I'm probably a month away from firing it in the rolling chassis. Of course, I'm not nervous just because I built all these expensive parts myself. I have ultimate confidence

I'll post my experience when I get to the big day.

Chuck

[Dior55]

I was in that dilemma when I was about to purchase my crate BB. "Gee, for another $1000 I can get 600 hp instead of 535!" I ended up going with the 460 to save $$, and I guess I'm glad I didn't go for the bigger engine. The 460 is a monster, has more low end power than I'll ever use in a 2300 lb. car. Plus, I can only imagine that a hotter setup, with bigger cubes and 65 additional horseys will only make more heat. And heat is a major problem in these little cars with big engines. I would just consider all this, especially if you are planning on cruising in your baby.

[craigayl]

I just put a Ford Racing 514 crate motor in my Superformance. I too had concerns like those raised in this thread. So far my experience is very limited, but I now believe that if I had it all to do over, I'd stay with the 514. The roller cam, in my opinion, is not too radical for the street. I'm idling about 850-900 and it runs great! I did swap out the stock Dominator single plane manifold for a dual plane Performer RPM. I was advised the Dominator would not operate very good for street use. And, I’m running a Holley 850cfm.

A couple of other notes... So far I have only used Blue Turbo, but the minimum recommended octane from Ford is 92, so later on I will try pump gas. Too, this motor has a compression ratio of 9.8:1. The 460 is 10.5:1, so the 514 should be a little more octane friendly than the 460.

As far as performance? Like I said, my experience is very limited, but I can say "Don't get in this car with a nervous foot"! The slightest quick movement on the accelerator will light up the tires. It's assume!!

[Tom Wells]

Hi craigayl,

The reason I changed the cam, lifters and valve springs was on the advice of engine building folks.

Presumably the high lift of the 514's cam at .647" was giving them heartburn in a street engine. More than one told me I'd need to expect to change the valve springs every 3 to 5 thousand miles, not to mention setting the valves at least that often.

Since mine's going to get some street use above those mileage figures (I hope a lot more!), I thought I'd try for "maintenance reduction" by going hydraulic.

The highest performance hydraulic cam turned out to be a hydraulic roller setup. Since a lot of production engines have used this, I'm hoping I made the correct decision!

Fingers crossed, and fire-up a month or so away,

Tom

[craigayl]

Hi Tom, I hadn't heard about the high maintenance issues, but concerned that I may want to swap out the cam at some time, I did dake some measurments. I'm pretty sure I can get the cam out without pulling the engine, so if maintenance is an issue down the road, changing cam's should not be too hard. Going to a hydraulic roller setup sounds like a good way to go.

[trudellt]

Hi Bill,

Competition built my 514. I've got SPF #505 (a '99).

It started life as the crate motor. About the only change was a dual-plane intake. A speed demon carb (which is sweet I might add) sits on top. The single carb setup is great - and highly suggested by Eric at Competition. I have a (very) slight lope - and you know what? I'd be ashamed to have a performance car that didn't "shake and shimmey" just a little bit. For crying out loud - ITS A COBRA!! It's plenty "streetable", but has enough power to scare you if you're not careful. I'm aware of at least two people who have busted the tires loose going 60mph+ with these beasts. I also have more low-end torque than the 275-60-15's can take. The 514 is an animal. Enjoy!

[scootter]

I have the 514 crate with 13.5k on it. The motor is now out of the car for repairs. New cam, cam bearing, push rods, lifters, valve springs, rocker arms. Mine is pretty bad. All of the above has to be replaced. I am going with the hydraulic cam, lifters, push rods, dual springs, ect. I am also running the 1050 cfm Holley idleing at about 1050 rpm. Love the power, but I am gonig to loose about 40 to 50 hp with new parts. Not a big deal when you have that much. I run the F-1 Super Car 315/40 ZR17 on the rear. Great tire, except they do not produce them anymore.

[Fitz]

I went with a 460 instead of the 514 for most of all your reasons. I had Levy Racing in Tempe, AZ do everything and they pretty much said everything you guys are talking about. Check out my gallery and spec sheet created for me. Should be in the car soon. Engine is being broken in on dyno and HP pulls soon.