A460 block shelf life?

Kicking the idea around on this a460 block.are some better than others?where there production issues I need to look for based on production dates?

get it sonic cked ...... just for some peace of mind

If he is getting a new one from the factory I believe they come with their own sonic sheet

Mine didn't but we cut most of it out and let fall on the floor anyhow.

Shelf life..... Its Iron, slather it in an oil based coating (cosmoline) and it can sit there forever. Some of the best race blocks in the world came out of junk yards with years of hot cold cycles... and lots of rust... High end shops have a huge HEATED drum they through the things in and tumble them clean. When they come out the parts look like virgin cast iron.

You have to figure up until the very last stock block rolled off the assembly line... 1979 is the last mold date and 1983 the last casting date for stock 460 blocks.

bruno wrote:get it sonic cked ......  just for some peace of mind

yeah i was more concerned with like core shift or early production issues with certain blocks.you never know how long these things sit on a shelf.

The early blocks were fine, and modern blocks were fine. There was an issue with 3rd year or so, where there were a bunch of blocks hitting porosity issues in the cylinder. Stock bore would be fine, but when going out to max bore, some had water leaks. Not something someone coughing up 2500 for a raw block wants to deal with.

Not the end of the world either though, jam a sleeve in the hole with the water leak, and viola.. no problem.

The casting # in the lifter valley and the ser. # will indicate the age of the block.

My block was a brand new in-the-box 1988 casting. I built it in 2001.

Is this an A460 race block like your title says? or just a production block?

Yes it is 18 bolts and all. At this point it doesn't matter. Already got the thing.i was just curious if there where machining or core shift with certain blocks.kinda like a rpm crank vs a scat crank. The rpm crank will get the job done but you have to put a lot of money in it to be right.

The A460 (out of crate) will need to be taken th Machine shop for sure. If you have serial #,Ford can probably get you the sonic sheet.

bbf-falcon wrote:The A460 (out of crate) will need to be taken th Machine shop for sure. If you have serial #,Ford can probably get you the sonic sheet.

"The casting # in the lifter valley and the ser. # will indicate the age of the block"
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If I had that info I'd see if there is still a sonic sheet on at FRPP.

bbf-falcon wrote:The A460 (out of crate) will need to be taken th Machine shop for sure. If you have serial #,Ford can probably get you the sonic sheet.

so every a460 block had a sonic sheet ?

Every A460 block is sonic checked but, FRPP does not keep them forever.

so if I get the #'s you can ck it...?

Yes.

0H30 in the valley, 11K4916 stamped on a machined spot on the block. the 4916 does match the crate cover though....
I guess these are the #'s.....

Looks to be cast Aug. 30 2010......machined in Oct. of 2011 #4916.
 
I'll send a request for the sheet to FRPP.
 
what was the ser. #on the cover box?

wow that pretty cool.thanks lem. the # on the box was 4916

I've got it....fax number?

ck your pm's lem. thank you so much...

It's sent.

got it. thank you again.

It's a nice block.

now that ive got it now what do i do with it....?