I bought a 1971 ford f250 about four months ago for 450 bucks, its been sitting for ever since then, everything runs like a champ. It only has 48k miles on it single owner sat in a barn for quite some time. It is 100% stock with the 2 barrel carburetor, I am going to be pulling a 25 foot fifth wheel camper trailer with it and i would like to do some upgrades to the engine. I ruined my 86 ford with my ignorance with cam size and intakes with carbs and electronic chokes and such and this truck is just to special for me to not get some research and do it right. Basically I would like to upgrade the intake and carb to 4 barrel and if it will get me some more power a bigger cam and exhaust, pretty much a full over haul. I'm a bus boy at a national park so I'm looking to do all this with around 2000 bucks if possible. Thanks for taking the time to read this any help would be awesome, sorry if i missed anything or told too much of anything this is my first post. PS. I would love a loppy cam

 

Welcome to the forums.

There are a few things you can do to pep up the old 390. A mild RV cam, a performer intake and 600 cfm carb. You want to keep the power available down low(grunt), so a big lopey camshaft is not in the mix.

If you want a "race car" sounding cam, then don't plan on pulling a trailer.

You don't mention if it's an automatic, but I'll assume it is. I would also add an external transmission cooler. You don't want to burn it up dragging a trailer up/down the hills.

With some careful planning and some good swap meet finds, you can get off pretty cheap.

 

Long tube headers to keep your torque up then you can run that into an H-pipe to help scavenge even more torque. Call the cam manufacturer and give them as much detail as you can on your setup and tell them what you are wanting to do and they will point you in the right direction.

 

yeah definitely get headers. I have the comp cam 270s in my 390 its a mild street cam and it pulls smooth. you can get an edelbrock performer intake for about 390 bucks brand new and a brand new holley 600 cfm vacuumed secondaries for 285 bucks. i believe the cam was around 300 with valve springs to match it.

 

Awesome thanks for all the help guys, and it has the 4 speed manual transmission and its only 2wd. So long tube headers(check) carb was easiest thing for me i just wanted some extra input, but the intake I'm still having trouble with I'm not sure what the difference between dual plane and single plane and i would have to buy the wrong one for my set up and everything not mesh together smoothly.

 

I have looked into summitracing.com are there any other sites that i could be looking into just to try and get more bang for my buck if possible?

 

try Jegs.com or SpeedwayMotors.com they have a ton of aftermarket parts

 

Thanks for all the help again guys this turned out easier than i thought it was going to be.

 

check local craigslist for used carb and manifold , that will save you alot of $$

 

I checked out Craigslist but I wasn't to satisfied I'm going to keep an eye open tho for a bit cause I don't go home for another month or so. But overall right now the prices aren't to scary. The Performer intake is 299.95 new. The Headers are going to be from 139.95 to 189.95 depending on which ones i go with, either Flotech or Hedman. The carb is going to be the most expensive i think im going to ebay or craigslist it because new they are like 300 to 500 bucks. I haven't even looked into cams, the ratios are just crazy to me ill just have to look up a local machine shop when i get back home.

 

Keep looking at craigslist ,it took weeks but i found a good used performer for $80 and holley 600 & 750 for $25 each .

i have the flotech headers , took a lot of creative exhaust work to get them to clear .

 

I have a 71 f100 4x4 4speed. this is the cam I use. Comp cam 268H It woke my 390 up. I tow a trailer with 2 1000 lbs bikes.I used a edelbrock performer intake, and a 600 edelbrock carb.I got everthing from summit raceing.

 

here are comp cams for the 390 for basic street performance COMP Cams: Magnum

out of those four this one is what i have, i said 270s but i meant 270h. this is what i would recommend.
COMP Cams: Magnum, 270H <BR> Street Machine, Mild Rough Idle


actually i do have the 270s..h is for hydraulic lifters. so here is the link for solid lifter cams, sorry about that. http://www.compperformancegroupstore...y_Code=FEMECHM

 

and here is the kit for the 270s cam. http://www.compperformancegroupstore...Code=K33-244-4


this is probably going to be your best bet, because this is the mildest solid lifter cam for an FE from comp.

 

Awesome thanks so much for all the help, i have a few parts on the way and my truck should be ready to rock in a couple weeks when i get back home. Maybe ill learn how to post a pic or video maybe. Its nothing special but shes a beauty. Im lucky to have picked it up for only 450 bucks.