Hello all,

I am considering the purchase of a crate engine for my 1972 Ford pickup and, being largely auto-illiterate, I am not sure what is the best option to pursue.

My truck's engine, an original 360 cu in. V8, auto, 2wd, has been plagued with compression problems. I have had the engine rebuilt once and the piston rings replaced twice, and both times the rings never seated properly, even after babying the truck.

The other problem it has is a pesky "automatic choke" that requires me to warm the truck up for several minutes before I can put it into gear. If I get too hasty, the truck dies and the carb floods (an an electric kit for the carb didn't help much). It's been that way since it was new when my grandfather owned it.

I've had other engine troubles as well... many times the truck sputters and won't accelerate. Sometimes it dies. I've had oil leaks that nobody seems to know how to stop. Long story short I've had many, many problems over the past several years with this truck's engine. I'm tired of dealing with that.

What is killing me is that the overall condition of the truck is good - around 78,000 original miles on it. The body is in stellar shape and the interior has only a few minor blemishes. But, being in a rural area, I have been plagued with horrible mechanics. Some don't seem to know what they are doing, and others come across as crooked.

Anyway, I am seriously considering buying a crate engine for it. But I'm thinking about going with something a little more modern. It would be nice to replace it with something that is fuel injected if possible. But that's my biggest problem - I don't know what is and isn't possible.

I've looked online at various crate engines and I have a mildly good idea on pricing. Ford has some crate engines on their website that I've been looking at, particularly the 302s. I don't know if these would fit in my truck or attach to the transmission, etc, but I'm intrigued by the idea.

If using something more modern isn't possible, would replacing the OEM carburetor with a Holley or Edelbrock fix some of my "choke" issues?

I guess what I'm really after is some general guidance concerning not only what is possible, but what is recommended.

Any advice or guidance you could give me would be most appreciated.

Thank you!