Hi all, this is what I have, and am wanting to do. I am sure it will sound very simple to many on here, but I have not swapped an engine since the early '70's.

I have a 1970 F-250 with a very tired old 302..not original, but I am quite sure from the '70's as well.

I recently picked up a decent 302 from a 1998 Explorer. This, of course, has all the serpentine belt system on it. Really, the only thing this engine didn't have left hanging on it were the starter and fan/clutch assy.

Ok, so here goes. I know I need a new dizzy, complete with steel gear.
According to the one review, this has the steel gear. Will this do the job?

http://www.autozone.com/ignition-tun...79974&cmpid=cj

If yes, is there anything else needed with it?

As I understand it, I will also need to use an electric fuel pump, as this newer engine, even if I changed the front cover, has no provision for a mechanical fuel pump. Is this correct? If I need an electric fuel pump, do I also need some type of pressure regulator?

Of course, all of the fuel and intake system has been removed from the 98 engine, and I will be using the 4bbl intake and Holley 1850 from my current engine.

Really just trying to get an idea of what will have to be added/changed on this newer engine to make it work properly in my old truck.

Also, on the fuel pump, will the electric pump work the same as the old mechanical pump as far as, if I keep it in front of the tank selector switch, I will still be able to run two fuel tanks?

I am sure some of this stuff is very basic to a lot of people here...which is why I come here....but I am sure I have probably forgot more than I remember about these things, as I have not used much of this knowledge over the past 30 years.

I appreciate all the help and information that I am sure will come from all the good people on here, so in advance, I say thank you to all who could help.

 

Externally the 302 block has hardly changed since inception so believe it or not if you strip that Explorer motor bare all the carb specific parts from your motor will bolt right on, that includes the timing cover with the port for the mechanical fuel pump and on this motor the fuel pump escentric bolts to the front of the cam in front of the upper timing gear so that can be installed on the new motor too.

 

As Conanski says, you can put an older timing cover on the new engine and use a mechanical fuel pump. But most (if not all) engines that had mechanical fuel pumps also had V-belts. Water pumps driven by V-belts turn the opposite way of water pumps driven by serpentine belts, so the belt style will dictate which water pump and timing cover you need. I don't know if you can find a timing cover that will work with a serpentine belt.

And surprisingly, most 302s, even with electric fuel pumps, seem to have the eccentric for driving a mechanical pump. So if you get a timing cover that will work, chances are everything will just bolt on and work.

As to an electric pump in front of a switching valve, yes it can work, but maybe not forever. Some people say that electric pumps don't like to pull fuel, so you need to mount them as low as possible, as close as possible to the tank. Mounting one in front of the switching valve might not be the best location. Does it really matter? I don't know. But I know that I did burn up two electric fuel pumps mounted in front of the switching valve in my Bronco, in probably under 20K miles. Maybe they were just two bad pumps, but I went back to a mechanical fuel pump.

If you do use an electric fuel pump you can get a low pressure one designed for carbs and you won't need a pressure regulator (although some carb gurus think you can get a carbed engine to run better if you actually have stable fuel pressure). If you use a high pressure pump intended for fuel injection you will need a regulator.

Sorry, I can't help you with the distributor.

 

Thanks for the input guys, I am hoping to keep the serpentine system, so I guess I will be going with a carb specific electric pump. I guess I will try to find articles on the best way/place to locate the pump for a dual tank purpose.

I know that the dizzy has to have a steel gear so the cam won't chew it up, and the deal for that is best found for one fitting an 85 mustang. One thing that has me wondering on that though, is they specify either auto or manual trans...not sure why there is a difference, perhaps someone can enlighten me on that.
Also not sure if the dizzy would be plug and play, or if I would need modules, boxes and such.

 

One option you have for a distributor (that might be considered heresy here) is a GM HEI unit. Davis Unified Ignition (yes, with the clever initials "DUI") is a high-buck, high-quality source of HEIs on bases that will work on just about any engine you can think of. There are also low-buck, probably lower quality options. I have a DUI distributor on the 302 in my Bronco.

There are people who will tell you that a HEI ignition is a major upgrade. I'm not one of them. Ford distributors are also high energy ignitions, and you won't gain any performance switching to GM. But the GM HEI is self-contained, only takes one wire to hook it up (two if you have a tach), and parts are readily available anywhere if there are any problems (it was used for more production years than probably any Ford system, so it's probably the most common system out there).

It does have the disadvantage of looking like a GM part on a Ford engine, and it is big, which could possibly cause fit problems (I had none on my Bronco). It's not the right choice for everyone, but it is a choice.