Hey all, I an owner of a 72 ford f100 step side with the original v8 360 with 66500 original miles. My original thought was to keep this truck original but have since changed my mind. The truck has been completely repainted inside and out, new wood bed, custom wheels and interior. The only thing that isn't new looking is the engine bay. I live in the north Atlanta suburbs and have business that has 95 Mustang cobra 302 engine (5.0 L – 302 cid, OHV V8, EFI, 240 hp and the overdrive transmission that came with it that they can install for $3895. The mustang engine had 28,000 miles on it and would be repainted new along with the engine bay. They added a 4 barrel carburetor so this would not be fuel injected and they would change the cam out to help give my dual exhaust the sound I want. Good deal???? My goal is to get better gas mileage (currently 8.9 gal) and an engine that matches the near show quality of the rest of my truck. I can do basic maintenance on this truck but an engine swap is way beyond my capability. Questions??? Thoughts on the mustang 302 engine as a good swap choice. Thoughts on the price given? Any Atlanta residents on here that could recommend someone local who does engine swaps? I don't know the company that I am dealing with but their reviews seem to be pretty good. Sorry for the long post, way to much coffee this morning I need to keep this budget under 5k. Thanks in advance for any suggestion

 

Unless it's a shortbed, 302s are typically underpowered for these heavy rigs.

At least go 351W cuz the extra cubes will help.

As far as wrenching, there is usually one way to do it and that's to dig in. There is not substitute for "doing".

 

I think that the price will be double the $3895 quoted as there are many technical issues that need to be resolved. I don't think that this shop knows anything about old Fords. First is that new perches are needed from a 302-equipped 68-79 or 77-79 351M/400 equipped truck. Second, I'm guessing that the tranny will be a T-5 or a Tremec. Since in Mustangs, they had a cable operated or hydraulic clutch, one will need to be adapted to the old mechanical clutch system. Basically something to be resolved with alot of $$$$. Better to do it on your own time a piece at a time. And on the mileage, unless you absolutely know the personal history of the vehicle, don't believe the mileage at 66,500 as the odometer flips over at 99,999.

 

Go for it. We have a '99 Explorer with the 5.0 and it pulls that around great. We get between 15 and 20 mpg. It'll pull an 18' heavy bass boat with ease.

 

My O, it's over priced by 2 grand. I suspect with a little searching & tire kicking you can find several 95 engines with tranny for $2000.00 installed.

Show them $2000.00 cash and see if they are interested. I think they might be. That setup is not worth that kind of money today.


John

 

You will find that the 302 will use more gas then the 360, because it will have to work harder to pull the same amount of weight. Your best solution is to put overdrive in your truck.

That 72 weighs as much if not more then the 99 explorer + Bass boat. That 360 will pull the explorer, bass boat AND your next door neighbor's house.

 

Why does everyone assume that these trucks are so heavy? From a little quick search, it looks like the curb weight of that F-100 is very comparable to the Explorer that was mentioned and only about 400 pounds more than the Mustang that the 302 is coming out of. Swapping the 302 and overdrive transmission should get you some decent mileage, especially if you put some overdrive-friendly rearend gears in it. And it should run pretty good. At that point the big disadvantage that you have is the brick-like aerodynamics of the body.

If your big concern is mpg's, you should be looking at keeping the efi. There are several places to buy wiring harnesses for that engine fairly inexpensively that make it just about a plug-and-play deal. They can be had for just about the same money as what you are going to spend on a new 4 barrel and intake manifold.

Just like anything else though, I wouldn't take that price estimate as gospel. I too have a feeling that they are missing some of the unseen challenges that they are going to run into with the clutch, shifter, driveshaft, engine stands, tranny mount, etc. I could be wrong, but that just seems like the shop isn't allowing much labor time for anything other than just r&r'ing an engine and tranny.

 

What made a Cobra motor back then was heads,cam,1:7 roller rockers,and Computor. Sounds to me like they are charging you big bucks for the "cobra" stuff but taking half of it back. Plus forgetting things as mentioned above. I do think it could haul your truck but it won't be up to the standards you probably have in your head. Keeping it EFI would help in this.

 

A F100 will weigh in the 3600-3900 lbs range, no idea on Explorer or others. The 302 is no truck engine but most guys today aren't using them for trucks.

All I was commenting on $4000.00 is way out of line for a engine/tranny upgrade. IMHO



John

 

hey everyone new to the forum, just reading along thought i'd put in my thoughts. My 72' highboy had a 390 in it and was getting 4-5 mpg, first thought was 460 get all the extra power and maybe 2mpg. What i ended up doing was puting in a 6.9l diesel out of a 85 f250 was hoping for 10-11 mpg ended up with a solid 15 mpg with 4.10 rearend gears and my stock np-435 4-speed and plenty of torque to pull down a house.

Granted wasn't the easiest swap and took some fabricating but definitely happy with it.

 

The OP don't sound like the fabricating type and would be over his head real quick. Hence, the request for a local shop to do the work.

Atlanta? Step up with your wallet and contact Fuller Hot Rods