Valve lift?

Hey ya'll, I plan on building my own engine ( just starting to get into racing ) I inherited a set of A460 TFS heads, specifically the PowerPort 360's. 87cc. Being new to all this I would like to know what steps I need to go through to have bigger valve lift. They're capable of up to .850 but how do you get lift? I believe it's in length of pushrods? and etc? I know this is something big to just jump into but it's been my dream to build my OWN motor. Thanks to anyone who can help.

Increasing valve lift is simple just get a cam that has more lift than the one your using. Changing push rods will only screw up the valve train geometry. You also have to factor in piston to valve clearance when going for more lift. Adding different ratio rocker arms will increase lift also. Of course the rest of the engine has to be set up to use the increased lift. Basically a lot of factors have to go into adding more lift to an engine.

It's just a matter of lobe lift X the rocker ratio. The .850" is the net lift.....if one has an advertised lift of .870" and a lash of .022" the net is .848"...so you are good to go.

Most applications will not require more than the .850" net lift.

Also,race engines are built in various sizes,comp ratio's,cubic in. etc. The head that you have inherited is a great head,and will make big HP.You will need to decide what type/octane fuel you want to run and how fast you want to go and we can get you where you need to be.

What cam would you guys recommend?

A cam should be the last item on your list.
First and foremost what do you expect to have in the engine?
What is the purpose of your build? Drag race, Street use, Boat, ect.????????
What cubic inch motor do u plan to run?
Do you have flow sheets for the heads?
What compression ratio/ fuel do u want to run?
What pistons? what manufacturer?
What intake?
What induction?

Push rod length will depend on head and block heights lifters used. rocker arms used. They will need measured after you have an assembled short block and cam.
Search on here about valvetrain Geometry.

Look in the proven builds sections and do lots of searches.

Just need alot more info before a cam can be suggested. Randy,Lem, And a bunch of others on here can set you up from parts/info to complete top of the line engines.

Just my thoughts on this.

Here are a few examples of builds.

557 cubic inch Aheaded Pump Gas Build

https://www.429-460.com/t14610-dyno-results-a-headed-557-on-91-octane-pump-gas?highlight=a+headed+pump+gas

Wild A460 headed 618 cubic inch motor build

https://www.429-460.com/t16558-keith-fulp-s-618-a-head-interceptor?highlight=keith+fulp

Mud truck build

https://www.429-460.com/t14886-starting-a-488ci-a-headed-deal

580ci a460 head & a 460 block

https://www.429-460.com/t14247-580ci-a460-head-a-460-block

A-Headed 528" pump gas: 843 hp 700 lbs ft

https://www.429-460.com/t17982-a-headed-528-pump-gas-843-hp-700-lbs-ft

just some examples

I'm gonna be running in a bog truck. Will probably run the Eagle 557 stroker kit with everything included, TFS tunnel ram with mechanical injection. Gonna turn 7-8k rpm's. Looking to make around 900-1000 horsepower.

http://www.competitionproducts.com/Howards-Mechanical-Roller-Camshaft-Ford-BB-429-460/productinfo/241723%2D10/

Would this cam get me to the .850" lift I am looking for?

NastyNotchBack wrote:http://www.competitionproducts.com/Howards-Mechanical-Roller-Camshaft-Ford-BB-429-460/productinfo/241723%2D10/

Would this cam get me to the .850" lift I am looking for?

SO,you are building a engine based on Max 850 lift:!:  

I think you are hung up on trick flow stating the supplied springs on those heads are good up to .850 lift. The heads can handle more lift than that but you would need to set up the springs/valve lengths accordingly. There is a lot more to a cam than just the lift. I'd call a dealer that can hook you up with a custom cam to suit your needs.

what is your rocker ratio?

I'm not gonna base my build on the valve lift, I would just like to get high cfm numbers without having to have an extensive amount of work done or any at all. Basically just looking for the best bang for my buck.

Rocker ratio is I believe 1.73. They are Trick Flow roller rocker arms. I'm not trying to be difficult with questions and such I would just like my heads to flow in the high 400's maybe even hit the 500 cfm mark. I'd really like to get as close to a 1000 horsepower the cheapest and easiest way I can. I'll be first to admit I know barely anything about building a motor and this forum will be my go to source. I have no phone at the time so contact is limited to here for now but anyone who can help explain needed information to hit my goals would be much appreciated. At this time all I have is the TFS heads and from there I'm gonna gather info on here to get to where I need to be. Thanks guys for sticking through all the stupid questions of this rookie.  

For what you are wanting to do I hope you think 10-20000 is cheap and if it stops at that. A block is going to run you 2300-4000
The heads will need to be ported then flowed to spec the right cam for you. along with knowing the compression ratio and a bunch of other info.

I will make a suggestion here. Step back and take a deep breath. Read and study all you can in this forum,and elsewhere, berore you do anything. Then set a HP and fuel goal and go from there with the components that you have. If you are going to have the engine built by someone else, seek a known Ford, (and I stress a BBF builder), Ford  builder with a good reputation, and heed their advice. Just a suggestion. PS: went back and reread the posts, and I see you mentioned mechanical injection, I would really recomend you seek proffesional help, if you are not familular with BBF or injection.

supervel45 wrote:I will make a suggestion here. Step back and take a deep breath. Read and study all you can in this forum,and elsewhere, berore you do anything. Then set a HP and fuel goal and go from there with the components that you have. If you are going to have the engine built by someone else, seek a known Ford, (and I stress a BBF builder), Ford  builder with a good reputation, and heed their advice. Just a suggestion.

Very good advice

Id like to point out that my pumpgas 557 was referenced earlier in this thread and I can tell you that you wont duplicate it for less than $15k. I know it cost more than that but I quit tracking it once it reached $15,000 so I can't say exactly what it really cost me.
I used a stock block and MANY used parts too.
Cheap is a relative term....your goals are VERY achievable but not by my definition of "cheap"

I will sit back and gather up what I can for information before I make any big moves that I might regret, and by no means is $20,000 dollars cheap but then again nothin is cheap these days. But I've heard many people say my goals are very easily achievable guess it just depends how deep your wallet is
haha.

I will sit back and gather up what I can for information before I make any big moves that I might regret, and by no means is $20,000 dollars cheap but then again nothin is cheap these days. But I've heard many people say my goals are very easily achievable guess it just depends how deep your wallet is
haha.

With a 1.73 rocker I can get you to .860" gross lift....which is close enough.

And that would still keep me well into my goal range of flowing in the high 400 cfm range cause of where they're rated at 453 cfm at .800" which means I will be making even higher then that mark.

Lem Evans wrote:With a 1.73 rocker I can get you to .860" gross lift....which is close enough.

I don't know if he is really ready for such things however, with that 1.73 rocker ratio you can get well over an inch of lift with a Ford journal roller cam and still be in the 270's @.050" if you wish to pay for it.