Nicknamed the Ford 385 because of its crankshaft stroke, the 460-cubic inch Ford V8 was first to introduced to consumers in 1968. This engine design was shared between the 370 and 429-cubic inch crates and would be the last big block design that Ford would develop. Just like any other motor, the maintenance schedule of the 460 should reflect the amount of stress placed on the powerhouse, such as miles driven and how it is driven. If you start to notice a decrease in power or leaks near the engine block, the exhaust manifolds might be the culprit.
Park your car in a flat location and set the parking brake. Jack the front end of your vehicle off of the ground to access the undercarriage. Place jack stands behind each front wheel, making sure that they are in the center of the frame. Lower the vehicle onto the jack stands to stabilize.
Disconnect the negative terminal of the 460's battery. Set this cable aside so that it does not ground itself to the battery or any other metal surface during the installation process.
Crawl underneath the vehicle to access the exhaust manifold of the engine. Unscrew the heat shield bolts and remove it from the manifold. Loosen the nuts and bolts that hold the factory exhaust manifolds to the engine block, but do not remove the manifold just yet. Because the 460 is a V8, it has two exhaust manifolds with four interlacing pipes for exhaust flow.
Unscrew the bolts that hold the exhaust manifold to the exhaust pipes. Slide the manifold out from the exhaust pipe. Now, continue removing the bolts that hold the exhaust manifolds to the engine block. Pull the manifolds off of the engine block and set aside.
Remove the exhaust manifold gaskets that separate the manifolds from the engine block. If necessary, scrape any build up of materials that has formed on the engine block surface over the years.
Install the new gaskets onto the cylinder heads, ensuring that the raised surface of the new gaskets face the direction that the new manifolds will be installed. These gaskets should fit very easily over the stud bolts of the cylinder heads.
Slide each of the new exhaust manifolds into place, ensuring that each one fits directly over the newly-installed gaskets. Hand-screw each of the nuts and bolts into place so that the new manifolds hold into place before you torque these bolts. Bolt the bottom of each new exhaust manifold to the exhaust pipes. Now, finish torquing each of the manifold bolts to 30 foot-pounds.
Connect the negative terminal back to the engine's battery and lower the car off of the jack stands. Start the 460 engine and monitor the areas around the new exhaust manifolds for leaks.
