The 302 was never a good pulling motor like the 300's or the 351's, and that 135 horsepower and the torque it's rated at isn't anywhere near where you'd want it to be for a pulling motor.

If I was going to use it as a farm truck, I'd be doing the performance upgrades too.

In fact, to make the 302 a good puller, I'd stroke it to 331, put a set of aluminum heads on it, add in a good torquey RV cam, high rise intake manifold and a 600 CFM 4bbl and a set of long tube headers.

You never know, he could need it to pull stumps, get a tractor out of mud, haul a trailer full of hay, all sorts of stuff.

Besides, if he built the motor and wanted to turn the truck into something nicer, he'd already have a good foundation to work on.

 

I agree with the first part, the fact that the 302 isn't a "pulling" motor, at least as it came from Ford in the '80s. But, I disagree that I would be bolting on "upgrades". For less than you'll spend on building up a 302 for torque you can put a 351W in with a decent cam.

You'll have $600+ in heads, $250ish in cam, and if you go with headers the parts bill will be more than $1000. And you'll still have an engine that performs best at high RPM, which is not what you need in a truck - especially a farm truck. For essentially the same money I built a 351W that included all the machine work, new pistons, gaskets, and a good cam. With the stock 2bbl carb it would turn the tires from a stop and gave lots of low-end torque.

But, for farm work I would think either a used 300 six or a used 351W from a salvage would give the needed torque w/o the expense. The 351W would be the best bet since almost, if not all, the accessories will bolt right on. Either of those engines would bolt to the tranny. I'm seeing used 351W's advertised for $250 to $300 on craigslist, and who knows what they finally sell for.

 

I think that Gary makes a good point. The 302 would make a decent engine for a car but for the truck, not so much. Since you'll have to yank the motor anyway to make the modifications spoken about in the thread you might as well thrown in a 351 which will give you the performance and utility that you will need.

 

Moar text for forum so I can haz post

 

Assuming "moar" should be "more", what is "haz post"? Or, since I assume "haz" is "hazard", what is a "hazard post"? Sorry, but I only know English and I'm not very good at that.

 

I just like the fact the trucks are old and simply and its the only v8 truck I have. Plus im tired of efi and the newer the trucks get more b.s and I like my little 302 ford screwed it with 3.00 gears auto and 4x4

 

3.00 gears in a 4x4? Not from the factory.

You said you had a Holley 2bbl, not EFI.

4x4? Even a 302 will pull anything you can think of in low range.

It makes no sense to put money into this truck for "farm" duty. If you need a bigger truck, start working your way towards on.

 

I think 1983 has been looking at too many posts on the Cheezburger network...as in I can haz cheezburger? Don't worry, Gary, we know you're old so we understand your confusion...

 

The same was said about the Pinto and they're going for over $10K on eBay.

 

It has axle code 14 its 3.00 factory gears and I was saying all my other trucks are efi I like carb engines so I wanna build this up

 

Build it up then. But, if you build up a 302 it'll take more money to get what you could get from other engines. Just be warned. Simple matter of physics on the power part.

And, if that's what you want there are plenty here that have been down that road and can help. One of the chiefest of those is Lariat, who built a strong 302. But, I don't think it was cheap.

 

Geez, guys. Back off a notch.

Just picking of course.

Heck, what else is there to look at on the internet? Ford stuff, news, and a few websites like youtube, cheezburger, DamnLOL and a couple others occupy my free time on the computer.

My F150 is 4x4 and it came with 3.08 gears front and rear from the factory. It's not 3.00, but it's still pretty high. My truck has a granny gear though, so it could get away with high gearing. The previous owner swapped in 4.10's.

From what I've been seeing, most of the heavier geared trucks usually are the bigger motors like the 351's, 400's, and 460's. Kind of makes sense if you think about it.

I'm more or less like you. I think automotive manufacturers should've kept it simple with carburetors even up until now, but you know what happens when emissions laws come out.

Fuel injected vehicles are nice, but when your in something with a carburetor it's just like being thrown back, you know?

Plus, you can do stuff to a carburetor motor (somewhat) cheaper. :P

 

"Chiefest?" I can dig that.

The 302/5.0 is a lightweight, capable, and reliable engine that Ford has used in everything from Lincolns, Ford trucks, and even the high performance Mustang GT. But like all engines in this era, the 1980s were smog years for the 302s, and they were smothered down with smog heads, smog cam, restrictive exhaust, and poor gearing. Add in the heavy weight of a full size truck and the motor feels underpowered in stock form. But all of this can be easily corrected to let the 302 breathe and be a solid, reliable performer! And Yes, it costs more to build a 302 than it would be to start with a 351. Unless, of course, you have to go out and buy a 351 block. But then the argument can be made that it costs more to build up a 351 than to start with a 460.

My truck came with a 302, and I like it, so that is what I built up. It's much more fun and exciting to build up a smaller motor than it is to run a bigger stock motor. Performance parts for the 302/5.0 are plentiful, so you can make the 302 perform as much as your wallet will allow. Besides, its not nearly as much fun to beat a GM 350 or a Dodge 360 with a Ford 351 than it is to beat it with a 302.

Rangergirl94, are you sure you have a Holley 2-barrel carburetor? The stock carburetor for a 1980 truck would have been a Motorcraft 2150, which is a MUCH better carburetor than a Holley.

The single best bang-for-the-buck mod you can make for your truck right now would be to do a gear swap. Those stock 3.00 gears paired with a 302 and heavy 4x4 full size truck is KILLING your performance.

Do you have an overdrive transmission?

If you don't have an overdrive transmission, swap the 3.00 gears for at least a 3.55 and you will gain power everywhere. ESPECIALLY the low end, which is what you want in a heavy truck with a relatively small engine. If you have an overdrive transmission, 4.10 gears would be even better.

 

My last carbed 302 I drove for 287,000 miles till the oil pump quit motor locked up I changed oil pump wd down sparkplug holes she fired up and still didnt smoke! Thats probably why I like 302 lol

 

Wow... now that's just Ford dependability right there.

If a Chevrolet locked up on you the body would fall off!

Just kidding of course.

Hey, the difference between a GMC and a Chevy? Lock washers!

Anyway, I agree with Lariat. If you really want to make the thing a farm truck, yank those 3.00 gears out for a set of 4.10's, and, if it's a 4x4 like you say, put on some 31x10.50x15's. Does the truck have a 4-speed with a granny gear?

If your truck is like mine, add 4.10's, put it in granny gear, and shift it to 4-Lo and it'll pull anything you wanna pull out of a mud hole at a nice steady crawl.

Gearing will REALLY give you the best bang for the buck. You'll think you DID have a 351 in it.