The rear axle and suspension will need substantial upgrades for you planned uses, actually the whole truck is too light for a slide in camper so you would be much better off starting with an F250 which already has the bigger axles, brakes, and suspension you need.

 

merry christmas and happy new year

 

I have a light weight slide-in camper that I carried in an F-150. It weighs a LOT more than 300 lbs, closer to 1200. With about 4500 lbs of truck empty weight that brings the gross up to about 5700. With a GVWR of 6000 lbs, that gives you 300 lbs for people and gear. You're going to be overloaded (like I was, I switched to an F-250). That's where your problem is.

Otherwise the truck will be able to handle the 427, although the rear axle may well be a weak link. And a Detroit will make that link weaker. An open diff shares the available torque between the two sides, an automatic locker can send all of the torque to one side. So you need stronger axle shafts or a lighter foot with a big engine in front of a small axle with a Detroit.

And yes, an automatic locker is certainly twitchier than an open diff when you have your foot in it. But it's not hard to learn how to drive it. I've had one in three different vehicles ranging from a CJ5 to an F-150 SCSB, all driven at least some in Minnesota winters. I wouldn't hesitate to have one in a daily driver.

 

merry christmas and happy new year

 

The main thing I can think of with the suspension is that you might get axle wrap with that much torque and soft leaf springs. Stiffer springs from a 3/4 or 1 ton would be better, but the best solution for spring wrap is traction bars. That would go with your rear springs just fine.

I suppose with a heavier engine you might have trouble bottoming the front suspension, but unless I'm not rememberng correctly you're talking about a small block stroker, not a big block. So that wouldn't be an issue (and even a big block on 1/2 ton front suspension is doable).

Of course the biggest suspension issue is your idea for a slide-in camper. I did that for about 8 years with my F-150. I added air bag helper springs and it handled it OK, I never felt unsafe driving it. But I was over the legal limit, and I was always sweating when I came up on weigh stations, wondering if I'd need to stop or not (I never did). So I will never recommend that you do it, keep it under the legal limit.

But with your plans for a tent you'll be fine. Or even get a small pop-up tent trailer. You won't be able to take it everywhere you go, but you can tow it to a base camp and leave it there. I've done most forms of camping. The tent out of the vehicle was the best when I was young. I loved being able to stop wherever I wanted and keep going the next morning. The slide in camper was a better choice for me as I got older, had kids, and it was nicer to have a base camp to come back to and relax in the evenings. And now that I'm an empty-nester we just bought a motorhome (we'll tow the Bronco behind it) for a much cushier base camp. So go with what works for you.

And a locker will lock, sending all of the torque to the one tire it's driving (the inside tire on a curve, or the tire that's on the ground while the other is in the air). So it can send all of the engine torque (multiplied by the gearing) through one axle shaft. An open diff sends equal torque to both tires all the time, so at most it can send half of the available torque through either shaft. Nothing magic or overly threatening, you just need to keep in mind that you can stress the axles more with a locker, especially with a really healthy engine. So be a little careful. And your built 8.8 sounds a lot better than a stock one.

 

merry christmas and happy new year

 

Sounds like a fun project, both to build and to drive!

Lockers get a bad rap for streetability that they only partially deserve. There is a learning curve, so they aren't a great choice for a vehicle that will have a lot of different drivers switching in and out. And I wouldn't recommend one for someone who doesn't want to think about the vehicle they are driving (I'd never put one in my wife's vehicle, or my older son's, but I wouldn't hesitate for my younger son).

The only application that I really don't like automatic lockers is heavy towing. Towing adds load that you need to move without adding much weight on the drive wheels for traction, so it's really hard to start around corners without spinning a tire. But even then it's not like you can't use it, just that you're going to spin tires.

 

merry christmas and happy new year

 

When the 302 died I replaced it with a Ford Motorsports 392 (430hp) and converted to mass air.

 

merry christmas and happy new year

 

for those of you that want to run a stroker engine....after talking with a pro engine builder..he said as long as your drivetrain is in good condition and you drive normaly....and you dont want to stomp the gas at every light...you will have no problem.....but if you are a lead foot you will have trouble most of the time because..you stress all of your major parts due to torque and vibration.....