Exactly....If it was such a doggedly performer, that couldn't even get out of it's own way; WHY THE HECK WAS IT ONE OF THE LONGEST RUNNNING ENGINE PLATFORMS?

My point is: They are slow, yeah, we got the freakin' memo....That much is established.

But for a normal day to day driver, where reliability, simplicity, and MPG's are a major concern....IMHO the 300 is a hands down winner....

But if you have ANY intention on modding the truck at all...Get a 302, simply so I don't have to see another god awful "How do I change my stupid straight 6 to a big honkin' v-8" thread....

I mean JEEZ.....Buy a vehicle that SUITS YOUR NEEDS, unless there are other complications, etc...

 

I wonder what would have happened if Ford decided to run the 3.8 V6 instead of the 4.9.

Better yet, the super charged version. Hmmm.....I find myself wanting to find a motorless F150 and a totaled Thunderbird. J/K of course

 

correct me if im wrong but didnt the 300's comee with a more heavy duty tranny than the 302? i heard also the 302 f250s had the m50d rather than the zf? looks like Ford knew the 300 was more of a worker

 

SInce it seems that Ford did things more regionally based....

Around here, I've never seen a F-250 with a 302; It's either a 300, 351w, or a diesel.....

Also, in this area....A granny 4 speed mated up is a general rule of thumb as its mostly farms around here....

Gearing is really sketchy.....Seems they drew them out of a grab bag....Blindfolded...

 

Before I bought the truck I have now I looked at a 88 F250 that had a 302/auto. I'm not sure what gears it was running or if it was from the factory that way though. I know the truck had been repainted and the body was worked pretty good. Not a wave anywhere on it. Somebody had done a good job but it was on a dealer lot and they wanted way too much for it.

 

i know i always thought my f-250 5.0/auto w/4:10s was a bit odd...turns out they did make them though.

i'd say 90% of them i see around here 250/350s have 351s and 460s.

 

Wesley, I'm not sure about your area, but in my area there is one truck configuration that I NEVER come across...

1992-1996 F-150 regular cab, short bed, 4x4, 5 speed, V8. That truck is very, very hard to find around here. LOL. I tried finding one for about a year with no luck. So at that point I just picked up one with a 300 to do the swap. So, I have to agree that if a conversion is not necessary, don't do it. If you want a 302 instead of the 300, find a truck with a 302. If you can't find the truck you want with a 302 after a bit of time, the swap is simple enough, grab one up with a 300, locate a donor truck, and swap everything over.

I just don't think it's right for people to jump in those threads and tell the guy not to do the swap b/c "the 4.9L is better". I think it should be determined what the OP wants, how he drives, and lead them in the right direction. If they will be driving their truck down the road and don't mind swapping to 3.73 or 4.10 gears, I'd say swap to the 302 every time. The 300 won't like 4.10 gears at highway speeds, the 302 will love it. Also, with 4.10 gears the 302 will get up and move off the line better than a 300 that has gears that allow it to roll down the highway fairly well.

 

They did...well, sort of...

The "Essex" 3.8 V6 was offered in the F100 and F150 beginning in the '82 model year but it didn't sell well, so it was dropped completely after the '83 model year. The 4.9 was also available during those years.

In the F150 five speed models, the 302 and the 300 used the same manual transmission- the M5R2 (M5OD).

 

where you not swapping your 4.9 for a 351w not too long ago?

 

Staveys-I backed out because of the cost of the rebuild on the 351, the performance parts, etc....Would have EASILY been 4k....And plus I couldn't find a suitable dd/work vehicle cheap....

Travis-You are correct....When I do jump in on the threads, its usually to try to keep someone from wasting time and hard earned money on a swap that has 0 net gain for usefullness.....

Too bad I didn't know you were looking for that specific truck...they're literally 100's of'em puttin' around here....

 

I know the 300 makes one hell of a good sawmill power plant. It even doubled as an air compressor and generator power plant too.

 

bowtie i was referring to the autos... 300s came with e4od with was paired with 460s and 7.3s and im pretty sure the 302s came with the 4r70w....... i could be wrong

 

The 302's came with E4OD's too....Just don't see quite as many...

 

My truck has an AOD......


V8's are better, the end.

 

I got a little 300 and a chain he he