As the title states.

1988 F-150
117" WB (Short Bed Single Cab)
5.0L, Speed Density, stock (Possibly ~42,000 miles?)
AOD Trans
Dual Gas tanks
3.55 Diff. non-locking

Thats all I could think of... any further info can be given.

Thank you guys beforehand!

 

AOD trans is electronic, so means trans controller (IIRC~$600 plus you wiring it all together) and some of the sensors too. [<< This Is Wrong]
Will not pass emissions if carbed (If it needs to). Mpg's will drop (If your sd system was working, anyways). Bottom line, not worth it. Carb will not clean up the bay much, and you could buy an off the shelf MAF kit for that money, but unless you are planning to make serious power, SD will do fine. Why are you considering a carb swap?
-Mike

 

The issue with the AOD alone is not worth the trouble.
Just a thought.
So what are the Pros/Cons to going Mass Air over Speed Density?
I do know that SD is bank fired, so its definitely less efficient that the M-A independently fired injectors... anything else?

 

No it isn't.

Cons of going to a carb.. you need to spend about a Grand just to get the motor back to a running state and this change alone won't make any more power, the motor will no longer have the cold start and driveability manners of the EFI system either.
Pros of a carb.. nearly unlimited power upgrade potential though... any given carb/intake combo will still only support up to a certain HP level.

Cons of keeping the SD EFI system.. it's limited to about 300hp naturally aspirated and won't tolerate radical cams.
Pros of keeping SD... If you choose wisely every dollar you spend from here on can add power without sacrificing the EFI systems drivability traits, and all you got to do is add/change these parts.. no tuning necessary.

 

Whoops I was thinking AODE from another thread. Edited for future searchers.

 

Not to mention all the parts to go from a high pressure fuel system to a low pressure

 

What are these parts? Cheapest first.

Thanks!

I'd seen that as well - been reading!

 

Well, what are your intended goals so the board can get you pointed in the right direction.

A tune up can help. There is an old thread about a 6liter tune up that is a good read. On that note, there is a lot of good information on here, doing a search and doing a little reading will help. There are also a few people on here who have already done this buy are not always on here.

 

I believe they make a pressure regulator for that. It only lets 7-10 psi go to the carb, and the rest just recirculates back to the tank.

Something like this:Holley 12-803BP Holley 2-Port Bypass Style Regulator

Also if you put the carb in front of the AOD you will need to get a cable from Lokar. Holley 12-803BP Holley 2-Port Bypass Style Regulator Parts #'s KD-2AODHT, KD-2AODU.

They work for a holley carb, with the holley kickdown. They are like $60-80

 

@ terpford: over the past few months I've read a lot... I've gotten lost in everything I've seen. All I've seen so far (performance wise) is all carb setup, with little to nothing on the efi side besides stock parts, and if it is performance its wallet-violate pricey.

@SC:
What would happen to my injectors/computer?

 

A cam and headers wake it up. Conanski can recommend a cam, and he has many times (try a search). Mustangs had these engines too, try looking there for performance (check stang forums, but I'm not sure if they ever came SD). And is this a daily driver or a race car? You don't need ( or want) loads of power in a DD, but a little more is often desired. Start with headers, then a cam and even head swap if you're still not satisfied. Even if you go carb, the manifolds and cam won't let it produce much more power, so unless you are changing those and (really) heads too, SD will work great.

The regulator is for a carb swap, so no more injectors.
-Mike

 

This is a DD - I've read that more radical cams play hell on the SD EFI? I've read through Jegs and Summit catalogs, both saying "performance" rocker arms will give me more performance, is this true? First thing will definitely be a cold air intake. I've also read that a less restrictive exhaust (w/ new headers) can improve mpg? That is what I am aiming for, but any increase in power is wanted.

 

Im thinking the 88 may be a roller ready block , if it is i would use the 302 HO mustang roller cam ,, you could use the 1.7 ratio RR to ( will work with SD ), long tube headers with a good exhaust system , i would add a shift kit to the AOD and think about using the wide ratio gear sets from a 4R70W , the 3.55 with stock tires should be ok for a DD....Lew

 

Sounds like a lot of work, and it doesn't exactly sound like it will be light on the pocketbook either - what does the roller cam achieve?

 

The advantages of a roller cam include: no need to break-in the cam on initial startup, the lifters can be reused if you change cams, the open and close ramps of the lobes are faster, giving you more torque and horsepower for any given grind, roller cams wear at a fraction of the rate of standard cams.

I would keep the EFI for purposes of mileage and easy-starting.

Everyone rags on speed density EFI systems and the thing is you can tune them, and they can tolerate "big" cams just fine.

It depends on what cam parameters are going "big" - overlap, no. The more cam overlap you have the more confused the speed density EFI will be because there will be less vacuum for the speed density to monitor. Unless you're building a high RPM purpose built vehicle (race car), then you don't want a silly amount of overlap anyway.

What you do want is big lift - open the valves quickly, keep them open as long as possible, and drop them closed quickly. That's far more useful in a heavy pickup and will give you the torque where you need it and will use it - at lower rpms. And speed density tolerates that just fine.

Years ago a friend of mine converted an old pickup (Chevy) to EFI using a transam MAF system, and he went completely nuts with the cam overlap, the engine parts as a whole ($$$), and built an insanely high RPM fire breathing monster. It barely idles, it's miserable to drive around town, and it doesn't really wake up until about 3000 RPM. If this truck was a "toy" I'd say great, cool project. But it's his daily driver, and because of what he does for a living he spends about three hours a day commuting in barely moving bumper to bumper traffic. Certainly not high RPM driving, and because it's street manners are miserable at best, it's a miserable daily commute because of it.

My advice is to roll things back in your mind and start over and think about, what you want to use the truck for. Cruising? Weekend toy? Work truck? Daily commuter vehicle? Highway? Local town driving?

What your building for and how much you have available to throw into it should really dictate what direction you want to go.

Of course for many of us, sometimes myself included, "wanting" to go in a direction is sometimes a fun decision that opens the door to a fun project, even if it's not a practical one.