I just picked up a supper sweet 86 f150 Stepside. 4x4, great body, lift kit, yada yada yada but the 5.0 leaks oil all over the place and doesn't sound to healthy.
My question is what all years 302 can I put in my truck and have the stock 86 fuel injection work right? I was hoping to but a 94 to 96 roller came f150 5.0 in there. Or is that asking to much of 86 speed density. Any help would be great

 

By using some combination of the parts from your truck and any FI 5.0L engine built from 1986-1997 can be used as a donor. Your engine is not a roller so you won't be able to use the dist. if the engine you choose to use is a roller cam engine. The truck intakes will bolt onto an 5.0 so you can look at any pass. 5.0L, not just truck engines. One from a Mustang GT if in good shaft is not a bad choice.


The only time the SD FI system can become an issue is if you start modifying the engine with a big lift cam, aftermarket cyl. heads, etc. A stock FI cam with any set of headers will not be an issue for SD.

 

Any year 5.0 will go in there but yes get a '94+ for the better roller cam and all you need to do is put a steel drive gear on your old distributor and plug it into the new motor. And be sure to follow the #1 rule of engine swaps.. do not try to use any wiring that comes with the donor motor.

 

OK I wasn't sure. I spend a lot of time on forums and Google I've seen where others have swapped mustang 5.0s into 87s and up and everything worked great. I just wasn't sure about 85-86. I didn't know how sensitive the system was to change being its the first years of fuel injection

 

The '86 truck EFI system is a bit unique in how it is put together but it's still robust enough to handle a later truck engine without throwing a fit.. probably a good idea not to push you luck too far though.

 

That or any '85 or newer Mustang version.

 

The '86 Mustang 5.0L is a unique engine and could give problems if used with parts from other 5.0L engines. It used a "high swirl" head that along with flat top pistons give good performance with good fuel economy. The problem are the flat top pistons. They will cause piston to valve problems if used with different heads and anything other then stock cams. Many of the passenger car engines from '86 on also used this head so stick to Mustang V8's after 1987 and any truck engine for a short block donor. The Mustang blocks are best as the pistons were forged up to 1992. To find a short block that won't need a rebuild the newest block with the least number of miles is what you want. That means Explorer.