HELLO EVERYBODY, I HAVE A 1996 F150 SHORT BOX REG CAB 4X4 WITH A 302, IM LOOKING TO GET AN EXTRA BIT OF HORSE POWER WITHOUT HAVING TO FULLY REBUILD MY MOTOR, HOPEING FOR SOME SUGGESTIONS, I CAN DO SOME STUFF MYSELF AND IM LOOKING TO SPEND SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 1-2000 ON IT, ITS GOT 186000 MILES ON IT.

 

Welcome to FTE Jamie, I hope you find the site useful and enjoyable. Please lose the CAPS, as it's the equivalent to screaming at the readers and is considered rude.

Regarding the subject at hand, I'll give you 4 of the cheapest mods for the biggest bang for the buck in these trucks, with the best results:

- Doing the Sixlitre tune up, it involves all-new ignition hardware and advancing the timing some.
- Longtube headers with mandrel bent tubing.
- Camshaft replacement (I'm not very informed about this one, but some others here are).
- Replacing the E7 heads with GT40 heads.

You can do at least 2-3 of those mods with $2000.

 

Hey thanks for the reply Encho, ive been looking into putting a cam into it but ive heard that you have to mess around with computers, mass airflow, lower intake etc, im also wondering if its even worth it because my motors got so many miles on it (its just started burning oil), i have a spare 302 kicking around at home and im thinking about rebuilding it and doing a motor swap but i dont know yet

 

If you're looking for a little extra punch, forget the 302 and drop a 351 in there..

 

Yah i thought about it but im in canada and theres pretty strict emissions restrictions and it most likely wouldnt pass

 

Then id have to do a lot of stuff with wiring would i not? And have to swap tranny and transfer case and driveshaft or no?

 

302 to 351 swap is pretty straightforward. Your current trans & t-case are fine, no driveshaft changes either. Do a search for "351 swap" and start reading. It has been extensively covered. The same goes for the 351W though: GT40 heads and long tube headers would be a good idea and you'd likely stay under budget (assuming you do all work yourself) if you start with a healthy bottom end. MAF tolerates more extensive mods than speed density, and your 96 is MAF already.

 

Now doing a 351 windsor swap would that be really difficult, ive thought about doing a carb conversion cuz as soon as i get into carborated i know horse power is a lot easier but i just need to know if its something. That is really super time consuming like a weekend or a week type deal?

 

You are worried about emissions but want to do a Carb conversion??!?!

 

^^^^^^^^^ What he said.

Good, fast, cheap. Pick 2.

 

Yeah my question as well.