Hi, I am planning on picking up a 55'ish F250 soon and would like to hear everyone's engine swap stories, good and bad, on what worked, what didn't and everything in between. I am planning on swapping in more modern fuel injected motor for better fuel economy and reliability. I also plan on using this setup for towing a class 2 trailer. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

I can't help with that because I haven't done it, but I will say WELCOME!

 

Any Ford fuel injected motor = GOOD!
Any Chevy Motor = BAD!

Aaahahaa...I am not a purist, just messing with everyone!!

I still have the old Y-Block in mine, so I can't say but Welcome anyway!!

I am sure you will get lot's of opinions on this one.

 

I put a 5.0 EFI out of an 86 F150 into a '50 Ford years ago. It worked fine after I spent hours and hours and hours and a bunch of money on a special wiring harness. If you are an electronic whiz then it might be easy for you, but it drove me nuts. I did finally get it running but I sold it before I got the cruise working. Of course this was before I was a member here, I could have gotten help.
My current truck had a Chevy 350 when I got it. It is still there and runs good so I am leaving it. It doesn't bother me, the truck is still a Ford.

 

While I understand the allure of the modern convenience of a fully electronically controlled engine, after seeing wiring harnesses pushing $1K and still having headaches, I will stick with a carb. While some have the skill, knowledge, and patience to do it, I do not fit in that category.

I always figured knowing your limitations (and accepting them) was half the battle.

 

I'm going the 5L EFI / Aod route. I have a low miler donor car, and don't forsee any problems with the engine wiring. Cab and chassis wiring is just the basic's, with a few mod's. I will probably see 25mpg on aveage and have the reliability of a modern system. EFI has been around a while now and most bug's have been worked out. It's the same when electronic ignition came out, everyone was scared of it and apprehensive when it came down to using or repairing it. It's your truck make it your own weather it be EFI or carburated. Good luck and keep on truckin, this site has a lot of usefull information.

 

We put a 351W with an Edelbrock top end kit into our 1950 F1 - pushing 400HP. I'd stay closer to stock if I were to do it again - just more finicky than a regular engine. Had to replace the push rods with fully hardened
ones after 2000 miles. I'd also really like a 5 speed manual vs the AOD automatic with overdrive.

Good luck over there. Anything in the 289/302/351W family fits nicely into our old trucks.

Ben in Austin

 

When you get down to it, that is what counts.

 

Thanks for the welcome guys, and for the advice. I am currently still looking for a truck to get started on; hopefully I can find one soon as I am anxious to get started.