I have a 1980 f100 4.9. I'm looking to add a little more power without breaking the bank. Any suggestions?

 

Welcome to FTE How well is it running now? Do you have it all tuned up? Are you an attention to detail oriented person? There are a few things that can be done inexpensively but oftentimes people have other "issues" when complaints arise, like under inflated tires, sticking brakes and stuff like that. No offense mind you, it's just that with a single post there's no way to know your background.

 

Welcome to the forum.
You may also want to give a look over in the In Line Six area
Ford Inline Six, 200, 250, 4.9L / 300 - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums


I would say if the motor is in good shape - read not needing a rebuild - and only doing bolt on's then F.I. manifolds with a little biger exh pipe to the rear.
A after market intake manifold for a small v4 carb but think my pick would be a v2 carb (Holley 2300/350 cfm).
If I was to go crazy then a cam change with the above upgrades and maybe a little port clean up.


But you need to know the in line six is not a high revving motor in is a work motor and makes it's power at lower RPM.
Dave ----

 

Thanks! Im relatively inexperienced when it comes to vehicles. Anyways, other than the fuel pump (it went out about two weeks ago) it seems to running fine. The idle seems kinda low. I tuned it up not too long ago. The truck has 52,xxx miles. Before I got it, it's done quiet a bit of sitting before I got it. Previous owners would start it once a week and let it run for a little, other than that, it did nothing. I try to be very detail oriented. I check everything routinely. Just from what I've heard about this motor, it should be a beast. It feels like all the sitting it's done reduced its power a bit.

 

Thanks! I'll take a look at those. I know the motor is more for pulling and a work horse, it just doesn't have the power that everyone talks about.

 

Many of the trucks that came with the six were geared for economy. Some so much so they were dogs to drive and couldn't pull much at all. So, what gearing and transmission do you have? You can determine that by using the certification label decoder here: Certification Label - Gary's Garagemahal

Then, once you figure out what you have and let us know, also tell us what you plan to do with the truck. If it is a daily driver w/o towing it should be set up one way, but if it is required to tow heavy and frequently it should be set up differently.

 

offenhauser intake
edelbrock 500 cfm carb
hedman headers...
all available on ebay most of the time

 

Do not be tempted to add go-fast goodies to it until you figure out what you have in gearing and whether that is going to work for your purposes. All of the go-fast goodies in the world won't make an over-geared engine perform well.