I have a small block 302 5.0l v8 in my 74 f100

When I'm driving it does not want to go above 45mph
I heard this may be due to bad plug wires so I was going to attempt to change them out

What's the best plug wires out there for a cheap price ?

 

Imagine depends on the type of ignition system, I have not purchased point ignition wire kits since upgrading from points to DS ll electronic ignition on both of my 65's many-many years ago. Over these many years I have tried Davis, Accel, and Taylor; IMO, with both the 302 and 390 I have gone to Ford Performance Racing wire Kits and found them 2nd to none as for quality and performance. Not sure if in the 'cheap price' category, the kit runs around $50?

 

Stock plug wires aren't too spendy but it only makes sense to be sure they actually need replacing in the first place. They do get old and particularly the insulation breaks down but if I were to bet, your plug wires are most likely not the problem. Measure resistance to be certain, several thousand ohms is OK for modern carbon core or spiral wound wires.

If you've got a crimper there are some "roll yer own" wire sets that are pretty inexpensive, maybe $25 or $30.

 

More'n likely the points are bad and/or the vacuum pod on the front of the distributor has a leak in it preventing the advance from working properly. Best plug wires for the money are Ford Racing's 9mm sets for the 302/351W (about $40 from Summit Racing), use these with the early 80's cap and rotor and cap adapter on your points distributor.

 

Curious!! As mentioned in earlier comment, sold on the 9 mm Ford Racing ignition wires for my 302 but when I spoke with Summit Racing salesperson they insisted Ford Racing does not offer ignition wires for the 352/390, ended up purchasing an inferior set. Later notice Ford racing does offer a set for the 429/460 seem to recall cylinder location to firing order are same as the 390??

 

Well first off you were talking to someone who either is a Chevy guy, or was flipping burgers last week. Back when I had a 390 (and 427) they didn't make sets specifically for the big blocks, they had a universal (cut to fit) set, but yes the FE's and 460's are wired the same (same order, same cylinder location)