Originally Posted by
cardeyak
$1000? Labor? Who pays for Labor! OK explain this, my 3.8 Buick Park runs 2000 rpms at 75 mph at gets 25 mpg. My Mercury Villager with a 3.0 runs 2800 rpm at 75 mph and gets 22 mph. I just have to get usable torque to the back wheels.
Dude, the Park is like a Corvette compared to an E150 being a freakin' barn. It's not just rpm's, it's the vehicle. I have owned a full size van of one kind or another since 1986, and a Ford pickup before them, back to 1978. I have also owned everything from 426 hemi muscle cars to Corvettes to front and rear wheel drive 4 cylinder economy cars to Olds 98's. A 302 in a big van needs to rev. It has a 3" stroke, shorter than the stroke in my 4.6 (which is a 281). If you want low rpm torque, build a 300 inch six or a diesel.
2.73 ain't gonna work. If you know better, do it and report back. We'll put a photo of your van by the definition of "badly lugging engine" in the dictionary.
George