I just found an 87 F250 Lariat, like the title says. It has the 5.8L engine, carbeurated. I was wondering on things like Horsepower and Torque. Right now I drive an 87 F150 Lariat with a 302. The little engine does a good job, but it has alot of problems. One of which is the crack in the passenger side exhaust manifold. Would switching to this new truck give me a bit more pep, even with it being an extended cab F250 versus a regular cab F150? Can I modify this engine a bit and make it nice? I don't care about the difference in MPG from the EFI to carb, it makes no difference ot me because I'm 17 and don't drive alot.

Before I forget my original question, The truck is not running right now. It turns over, but won't fire. My dad and I know the problem is with the carb, and we have one here at the house we could swap onto it. We aren't sure if there are any other problems, but for 250 bucks I don't think it's a bad deal. Anyways, are there common things that go bad on a vehicle like this. It does look like it was taken care of not abused. It has 170K on it I believe he said. The exterior is good and the interior is immaculate. So, is it worth it?

(Sorry for the long post, but it's late...err...early and I'm thinking way too fast. :-) Thanks for any help.)

 

Welcome to FTE!

There's a lot that can be done to it.

The first thing I would do is check the compression. this will tell you if you have good combustion pressures. It can tell you if you have a head gasket, valvetrain or a ring/piston problem (general engine health). Post the results and we can tell you what they mean if the test reveals an abnormality.

After the compression test pull the codes. A Haynes manual is the best for computer system diagnostics.

Check the fuel pressure at the carb, you could just have a plugged filter. Is it getting spark and fuel? Pull the distributor cap and have someone turn it over. If the rotor doesn't turn the timing chain is broken.

$250 for a decent body and interior is a great buy even if you have to rebuild the motor!

Do these test's and let us know what the results are.

Good luck!

 

Well, I'm not sure how I'd do this stuff, but I'll talk to my father. The carb is definately messed because the throttle is stuck wide open and won't budge. It does crank fine and turn over, so it is trying to start, but because it's not getting fuel from the carb it can't fire. Like I said, the day it gets here, I'm pulling that carb off and putting the one we have in the backyard on. The one in the back yard is comming off a slightly earlier 351, I think an 82? It is a winsdor, like this one should be from what I have read on this forum. I can safely assume it will fit, right? Anyways, as soon as I start doing it up, I'll let everyone know my progress.

 

Is the '82's carb a 4bbl? If it's not, it might not be worth the swap. The first year for the windsor in the F-Series was 1983, and it is the ONLY year Ford ran a 2bbl on 351s. 1984-1987 351's were HO's with Holley 4180 4bbls.

 

Well, thanks for pointing that out to me. I just went out back and checked the motor and it is in fact a 2-barell carb. I'll just rebuild the one I have because I don't feel like down grading anything on the truck. I did go and buy it today and it'll hopefully be here tonight.

 

All right, time to dig up my old thread.

Anyways, I did a compression test, all good. We have a 4 barrel carb on it's way, and I am checking into the intake manifold for foreign objects as when we took off the carb, the bottom discs or metal in the barrels had no screws. That was what was causing the problems. So, after I get that done and the carb shows up, hopefully it'll run all right. I am still wondering on how it will stack up to my '87 302 EFI? The engine bigger, but the truck is an extended cab, compared to a standard cab. Will it be as peppy, and what can I expect as far as gas milage. I do have a heavy foot most of the time, and usually spend about 35 or 40 bucks a week on gas. Although one week I worked everyday, so I went 6 days on 1/2 a tank, then used 1/4 of a tank in one night. Such as life, I'm 17 and haven't anything else to spend my measly paychecks on.

To ask the question again, will the extended cab 351 be able to keep up with the standard cab 302, and what about gas milage? Thanks for the help guys.

 

the 351 is going to have a bit more off the line than the 302, BUT
that depends alot on the diff ratio, and tire size . . i would think you are going to get some snap off the stopsign, but its not gonna toss your neck back

 

Pastmaster I don't think that is entirely accurate. '82 was the LAST year for the 351m, but certainly not the first year for the 351w. We had both an '82 and a an '83 van with 2bbl 351ws, both vans were 1 ton 15 pass. My dad also worked on a bunch of 2bbl 351w in the trucks.

 

If you don't want it, I'll buy it for $250.00! lol. A F250 with extended cab. You stole it, even if it didn't have a motor(engine) at all.