I’m looking for input as to the effectiveness of a 300 with a 4spd in a late'70s f250 crew cab / 2wd short bed. I am not looking for speed and do not towmuch these days, but on occasion I do tow a 28' travel trailer or my dumptrailer with approx 2-3k pounds.

Truck will mostly be used to just run to the store and back and forth towork (5 miles), just really like the idea of the 300 but don't want to becompletely disappointed.

I have also read a lot about the offy intake and efi upgrades that have beendone to a lot of the trucks here. I currently live in CA and this truck wouldhave to be able to pass smog testing / inspection. Will the offy upgrades meetthe requirements for the visual / sniffer smog tests?

Thanks in advance for any input and advice that you might like to offer.

 

"Will the offy upgrades meet the requirements for the visual / sniffer smog tests?"

Probably not even close...... but, your best information on that is going to be from a CA smog technician.

 

I too have my doubts that it would pass the CA requirements. The current owner stated that they only have to pass the sniffer test and it passes that, but my concern would be the visual inspection. I will stop by and ask one of the inspection stations to verify, was just thinking that someone may have already gone through this and I could learn from thier prior knowledge.

Powerwise, I would think the drivetrain would do what I would hope of it, but I'm still unsure of how it would be as a daily driver.

Thanks for you input.

 

The 300 is a tq monster and the 4 speed has a very low 1st gear......15 mph would be just about max......depending on the diff gears, 2nd would be a potentially very viable start gear and if so, would really be great IMHO...but, Hwy mileage will of course really suffer because of the higher rpms you will be running...but, an alternative (and pricey) would be a gear-vendors overdrive.

IMHO, you will not be disappointed with the performance, but it can't be driven like a V8 or V6.....driven like a flathead so to speak....shift it fast and soon will really perform flawlessly (similar to a SBF V8)

 

Offy will not pass smog. Efi manifolds might but you must leave cat in place.

 

Thank you for the information. I will have to pass on this truck since it already has the offy intake and I would not want to try and get it back to factory correct.

My search will continue for a pre-smog truck. Thanks for all the help and input.

 

If I remember correctly, the smog cut-off date is 1976 or older vehicles don't have to be smogged.

 

1975 and older.

1976 and newer must be tested.

Smog Certificate Requirements