302 vs 300 for pulling
Lead Driver
Joined: Mar 2008
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From: Near Los Angeles
i have seen some super impressive 300's out there ..... cousin had a super built 4bbl 300 that would wrap like a small block and outrun chebby 350's every day in a 69 f250.... i know of a couple built for the world of drag racing that used 351c heads minus 1 cylinder on each head that were turbo'd....that is just insane but if they have enough money right?
Lead Driver
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From: San Jose, CA
Just to add my thoughts to an old thread, the first thing I thought of when reading all the early posts was, what rear end gear ratio was in the I6-equipped trucks, vs the V8-equipped trucks? Lots of sixes come with lower gearing in the diff, don't they?
I'm guessing that with options they can all be similar, but going just by some (Early Broncos for example) Ford installed 3.50's with the V8's and 4.11's with the small sixes (the 300 was never an option for them). With optional 4.11's for the 8's and 4.56's for the 6's.
And carburetion? The V8's had modest sized 2bbls, but what did a 300 come with for number of venturii and CFM? A smaller carb might not have any top end, but will usually pull super strong off the line.
Someone mentioned the "massive flywheel" of the six, which would make a difference. But were they really that different? If so, that would account for some off-idle feel as well.
Just some random thoughts thrown into the mix.
Paul
I'm guessing that with options they can all be similar, but going just by some (Early Broncos for example) Ford installed 3.50's with the V8's and 4.11's with the small sixes (the 300 was never an option for them). With optional 4.11's for the 8's and 4.56's for the 6's.
And carburetion? The V8's had modest sized 2bbls, but what did a 300 come with for number of venturii and CFM? A smaller carb might not have any top end, but will usually pull super strong off the line.
Someone mentioned the "massive flywheel" of the six, which would make a difference. But were they really that different? If so, that would account for some off-idle feel as well.
Just some random thoughts thrown into the mix.
Paul
Tuned
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 323
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My first truck was a 1978 F100, 300 six , 3 speed on the tree. It was a bare bones custom, 2 wheel drive. I wish I still had that old truck, it would haul any load I threw at it . Dad needed hay for the horses that summer, we put 52 bales on . On the way home the road dipped into a gully. I wasn’t driving fast, maybe 30 mph. The truck went down into the gully and back out in high gear. Dad says “ there is no way a six cylinder could do that”. When we got home first thing he made me do is open the hood, just to prove it was a 6. That old truck wasn’t fast, and always got 17 mpg, loaded or empty.
Lead Driver
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 7,182
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From: Near Los Angeles
I don't want to say that any engine is 'better' than another, because each has +'s and -'s. Each is good when used according to those traits. I loved the 390 I had. With it I towed a trailer from LA to Portland, OR and back. It also took my son and I 700 miles down Baja with a boat and camper, and loaded with enough c...p for an army, and it never batted an eye. Now that I no longer tow, I have a 300 that is fun and peppy, but also highly modified. I have no fantasies about it being faster that a v8. It is a tractor engine that supplies power at low rpm's, and, with the mods I've done, it supplies the hp of a stock 360 with a 2v carb. But for anyone wanting about 250 hp, I'd say to go with a v8. Because to get a I6 up to that level takes a bit of money, whereas you just drop a stock 360 in and bingo, you have 250 hp.
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83f150b
1980 - 1986 Bullnose F100, F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks
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Jun 12, 2016 08:53 PM
