Exactly...Just as me and Bill (6cylbill) were discussion on the phone the other night....Give me a 300 with a cam, headers, some timing and a lower gear ratio @ 145/150hp...Thats RELIABLE, simply because of my previous statement.....I'll be satisfied......

IMHO, better than having 3/400hp v8 that is more prone to lateral stresses, etc and can easily prove unreliable...

As once said-Beauty is in the eye of the beholder/beerholder.....

 

The 4.3 is a 350 with two cylinders cut off. Dodge did it with the 3.9 V6...just cut two cylinders off of a 318. IMO this is the second cheapest way of making an "intermediate" engine. The cheapest way is to use the same engine and de-bore or de-stroke it to make a lower power "filler" option in between a six and a decent V8. Ford did not do either to make the 300.

The 300 was designed from the beginning as a truck motor, a WORK motor, plain and simple. Trucks were designed to WORK, not win 0-60 contests. If you had to downshift going uphill with a bed full of whatever, so be it. The point was that a truck could do it and a car couldn't. So what if you couldn't floor it and pass someone like you would in a sports car. It wasn't a sports car, it was a TRUCK!!!!!!

Ever wonder why they never put the 300 in cars? Because it was built to be a truck motor and only a truck motor. Sure, it wouldn't win any drag races, but it was rugged and had good low end torque so it could do the job IT WAS INTENDED TO DO.

I will not express my true opinion of 302s in trucks because 1.) I would offend many good people who have done nothing to me and 2.) I will not sink to the same level as those who bash something just to bash it. I know that the 300 is not a drag motor. I know that it isn't a diesel. I know that it may be a little slower on the road. All of that is old news. So is this- it does the job it was made to do, and it does it in the vehicles that were intended to do that same job.

However, I will say that personally it is very gratifying to take a six cylinder and do the same work as someone who has two more cylinders and thus supposedly "a lot more motor."

 

very good post bowtie schmowtie!! i couldnt agree more... i can tell you many times where me or my brother hauled a load and someone unaware of the motor says" wow that hauls pretty dang well" whats under the hood? you just look and say a straight 6!!

 

I love the 302. Never had a 300.

That being said the specs speak for themselves as which engine has more power, and at what kind of rpm. Both motors are generally known to last a long time. Pick which motor suits ya best and drive it.

Real work motors burn diesel, and real fast vehicles are meant to be in car form. The f150 shortbox 302 is about as car like as your gonna get and they arent going to beat a mustang. The f250 300 is about as truck like as your going to get and its not going to come anywhere near out working a diesel truck.

Pick with engine suits your needs, love it, drive it, and dont be mad if I blow by you with my 302 empty, and I wont be mad that you outlug me with your 300 loaded!

 

i think a big part of a 300 owners pride goes along with the nostalgia of having a very unique motor that works superb for what it was designed to do..plus when you get your exhaust tuned right it sounds like an old ford tractor..maybe its just me but i thik thats cool!

 

If you've read all my posts, I've clearly said multiple times that I have nothing against the 300 other than it's power shortage. I've said they are tremendous in terms of reliability. I simply can't stand driving one b/c i MUST have power at my disposal. I've personally put a 300 through hell and it kept kicking, but really that's only part of the battle in my book.

The 300 just doesn't have the ability to give me what I want IMO. I wanted an engine that I could mod and make good power. I could've modded the 300, but would I get the horsepower from it that I can from the 302 and still be reliable? I don't think so. I'm going to end up pounding my 302 on the street, in the mud, and on the rocks. I will probably even make some passes down the drag strip and run a little nitrous through it and I have no doubt that it'll take this abuse and ask for more.

As said, the 300 is a good engine, but I STILL don't believe it to be a better engine. They are both great and if your looking for something you can make power from, the 302 would be the better choice IMO.

 

This thread has devolved into something like asking "what's the best boat?"

 

Easy question. Mine!

1975 Wellcraft Airslot 165 Trihull(restored) with a Johnson 120hp VRO on the back.

 

THANK YOU......

 

If you want to pull stuff and aren't worried about passing people on the highway the 6 gets the job done.

If you want to pass people on the highway with some authority the 302 gets the job done.

If you want the best of it all, man up and buy a bronco with a 351w!

 

....Well the part about the shot bed 150 isn't going to beat a mustang is not true , i do it all the time , thats what makes it fun !!....Lew

 

I'm sure he meant stock....lol

 

I've owned both, and loved both for what they do. The 300 is tougher than I am stupid, and that truck getting 20-21 MPG with 500+ mile range on the factory 2 tanks has saved me thousands of dollars in the 130,000 miles I've put on it. It's sitting at 288,000 and it still runs beautifully.

My 302 was fun because I built it for amazing power and it ran very fast in my old '77. A stock 302 is nothing special at all. My '95 with the 300 keeps up in the craziest traffic coast-to-coast and that's all I need from it.

My vote is to keep your 302-powered truck in the garage for weekend cruises in an old F-100 and drive your 300 mule to work every day. -TK

 

I love the reliability of my 4.9 and being able to just do basic maintenance and not worry about a thing but.. I'd probably still rather the 5.0 with a 5 speed. Hard to say since my 5.0 bronco is just as slow but its an automatic and probably heavier than my little 2wd truck.

I do know with a 5.0 I'd have some fun with a few performance parts on the motor, but if I ever put another motor in my '94 it'll probably be another 4.9 just to keep it simple. I think either motor is just as capable of hauling heavy loads, my truck didn't enjoy it one bit but ive crossed a scale with the truck loaded down at 7k lbs. The last thing I was worried about was the 4.9 giving up though.

 

On the highway, and city driving...I will definantly give the 302 it's due, and hand the ball over....My truck squeaked in at 16mpg highway...Then again, that was running 70+ mph too.....So not really a precise mpg test.....

Will have to recheck everything at 55mph....

But after a long trip.....I will sadly have to yield to the 302 for the highway, general driving tip.....My dads '92 with the 302/5 speed/3.55 gears isn't NEARLY as stressed on the highway as my 300/5speed/3.08 was....

So my consensus is: THe 302 is a better engine to do daily driving, grocery getting, etc. with....But I like the 300 for lugging around an farm work....