If your budget is $2k, then you can dump all of that into the motor and then some and still not get half the perceived power that you get from a gear swap.

What's the problem with lower gears in a daily driver?

What about a 460 swap?

 

I've owned a 351 powered 3/4 ton, with 410 gears... I'd take my 460 with 355s any day over that pos.
Even as a daily driver, 410s won't hurt you any at all in my opinion. My 351 got same mpg as my 460 with the same gears. Even with more power, you need to get the cruise rpm a little higher.

Start with a few simple mods like a good tuneup. Gather the parts for engine.
Ask questions.
You can always do gears later if after increasing power still doesn't make the difference you're looking for.

 

At the risk of asking the obvious, you're not pulling an 8600# camper with an F-150, right?

 

He said it's in a f250 and the camper only weights 6800

 

As you can see the topic is highly debated. Some basic bolt ons are guaranteed more power. 3.55s and stock tires are reasonable to start with. Do the suggested motor upgrades then go to lower gears (bigger numbers) if you need more.

In all honesty I doubt you will see much gain by going from 3.55 to 4.10 with the HP/TQ the stock 5.8L engine has. Yes, it will be a little better but not enough to justify the cost. A swap from 3.55 to 4.56 or 4.88 would be a night and day difference but then 1st gear use is pretty much useless. I vote for more motor with your $2k budget.

 

Thank you guys for your help. I'm not a great mechanic and you've been a big help.Just found intake for 5.0 truck motor. Is this the intake I need.

 

The truck i have right now has a 460 with 3.55's. I tow 6500lbs and am going to switch to 4.10's in it. Right now it is just adequate. I had a 351 and 3.55's years ago towing a 5000lbs and it was a chore with any hills.

 

If you're going to port the 351 lower like I had suggested, all you need is the upper from the 5.0 intake. If you're at a junkyard, I suggest taking the upper from the 5liter, and then get an extra 351 lower to port. Especially if they are charging you for everything.

 

It's been a while since I've had the pieces in front of me, but I'm pretty sure you can't mate a 5.0 upper to a 5.8 lower....the ports dont line up. As in the ports of the 5.0 would protrude into the adjacent port of the 5.8 intake.

Gearing is an attempt to solve a problem by masking the problems roots. The engines of this era, particularly the sbf 351, suffer from terrible and embarrassing power production. Giving the engine a healthy upgrade is a good thing, it's severely underpowered from the factory...modern power levels are achievable with very little money.

 

Nope, not that I remember. I can take a pic tomorrow of one I hogged out with my milling machine. (If I go to the garage)
351 intake is symmetrical ovals. The 302 intake has some weirdness, but being that the bolt pattern is the same, it's easy to match the ports with the correct tools. $20 carbide burr for aluminum, and a $10 harbor freight die grinder.

 

Oh I have the tools, I just remember laying a 5.0 gasket onto the lower ad determining it wouldn't work because one or two ports wouldn't line up properly. I could be wrong, I could have easily said "f it, I'll get an intake later"...interested to see what you come up with.

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...0-intakes.html

 

Pic of 351 gasket
Mostly ported lower
Vortech igloo lower half showing how much more it can go. The 302 gasket isn't quite that big.
I couldn't find my truck intake that I cut the plenum off of.

 

Found it

The ports on my 351 lower are to size of stock 302 upper
The funky front port of upper can get blended to be less dumb looking.

 

So, you chopped off a 5.0 upper & used its (mounting flange?) as a grinding template on a 5.8 lower?