I have a 88 Bronco XLT, Auto, born with 5.0 EFI

Now , that 302 is on he's last miles .

My question is ...

Can a carburated 460 ( from a old ford motorhome ) can be a good
idea for a low budget engine swap ?
what are the things to look for !
Issues with tranny ?
with transfer case ?
Drive shaft ?
Harness ?

I can have that motorhome for free ..
Is that .. a cool project ... or a worst nightmare !

Thanks for the advices !

 

Maybe.. depends upon your level of expertise. This is a powertrain swap not an engine swap because that big block will not bolt up to a small block trans, and you will have to make changes to the trucks fuel and ignition systems because none of the EFI stuff will work with a carbed motor.

 

And throw in 2 new driveshafts, motor mount towers, trans cross member and I dont know what else off the top of my head

 

460 might be carbed as well if it is from an old motor home. Still a pretty big undertaking. Would be a awesome rig once completed though.

Jim

 

Well , ...

Thank you for the advices . I will think about it ...

it seems to require much more than my knowledge of mechanics
and all this on tight budget ... ? not sure !

I thought a 460 would have been a really cool project .
But ... the rebuild of the 302 seems to be the obvious choice.
( or finding a cheap 351 !!! )

Thanks again !

 

If I were you I would still get the big block. Maybe a lil down the road you can undertake the swap. It would be a worthwhile project. And the parts to do so are readily available. It is such a popular project places like Jeffs Bronco Graveyard have EVERYTHING to do the swap.

 

I would NEVER rebuild a 302. The massive amount of cheap low mileage ones in my local salvage yards is ridiculous. You can get a good Explorer/Mountaineer engine for like 500 bucks. Like 96-01, those had GT40 or GT40P heads on them (depending on year) and a GT40 headed 302 in a Bronco is pretty fun, trust me. The Explorers and Mountaineer motors have the same cams as the trucks of those years, so everything will work with your fuel injection. Try to buy a whole motor, that way you can sell the intake and throttle body off of it to a Mustang guy because they like those intakes.

Also, the Exploder engines have the HO firing order, you'd just have to wire the distributor 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8. I'm pretty sure that's what I did with my Bronco. One last thing, GT40P heads have a revised plug angle, so that may have some clearance issues with your exhaust. I would imagine stock manifolds should work fine, but I don't know what you have. If you don't want to have to worry about the exhaust, just get like a 96-98, I think that was the GT40 years

 

that's interesting mister 88LX , please tell me more ..

so ... two possibilities ... a Big carb 460
or the little Fuel injected one ! ...

I'll think about this .

But ... Thanks again !

I will let you know !

 

The 460 motor home tranny is 2WD so you will need to find a 4WD tranny to put your t-case on. Good time to slip in a ZF5.

 

grab a 5.8 from an 88-91 bronco, f150,250,350 and drop it in. its a direct swap for your tired 5.8 except for a 5.8/AOD specific flexplate that you can get new at most auto parts stores for $60.

your stock 5.0 wiring harness will hook up to everything on the efi 5.8. I have done this swap on the same year bronco you have. once i had all the parts, did the swap by myself and this site in a weekend.

 

I have a similar question regarding my 96 Bronco. When the 5.0 in it dies, should I switch to the nasty 460 I have sitting in my pole barn?

My answer is no. Built 351W is the way to go for me. SO much easier, for the reasons mentioned above.

The built 460 can wait to be in a drag racer.

 

...my heart telling me , : " no replacement for displacement !!!! "

and ... my head saying : " avoid headache, ... 5.8 is plug and play ! "

well I let it sit .. for a while ...
talking to the financial minister ...

Thank you so much for all the tips , advices and suggestions !
my Bronk is sitting for more than a year now .
I have to do something .

 

Besides a healthy 351 will make plenty of power.

And stroker kits are CHEAP now days, for an easy 400 cubes.

A big plus for the 351 swap too, is being able to have EFI on the cheap . Sure you could get an EFI big block, but they're performance limited without spending a LOT of money, significantly more than a stroker kit for a 351.

Carbs don't like hills and weird angles. Makes no difference on a fuelie.

 

You made a point .

 

<table border="0" cellSpacing="0" cellPadding="6" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="border: 1px inset currentColor;" class="alt2"> Originally Posted by peganit2
Carbs don't like hills and weird angles. Makes no difference on a fuelie.
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I dont know how many times I have heard this said. I have been wheelin since 1975, and I cant recall a single time that climbin a hill made any of my carbs stumble. Not sayin it dont happen but we do have some good sand hills here in Fla.