Owner of a 1989 f 150 with a 5.0L V8 (302 Windsor). Love the truck but hate how little power the engine has. I talked to someone who has the same truck (and same engine) as me and he explained the mods that he put in. He installed new cam rollers, new heads, some kind of lift (hydraulic maybe) in the engine, upgraded the distributor cap, the fuel injector, spark plug wires, and a few other things that I can't remember. He said that with all of the modifications he is getting close to 400 HP. I wanted to see if anyone could recommend any specific mods (good brands etc.) That could get me into the 400 HP range (or close to it). Also, I wondered if it would be easier to buy a 5.8L V8 (351 Windsor) a junk yard and use that as my build instead. As I understand the 351 is the same as the 302 (just bigger), so I should be able to swap it out pretty easily. Since a junkyard 351 Windsor engine seems to be pretty cheap (under $1000) it doesn't seem like a bad idea. My biggest question is, would the 351 (once upgraded) offer significantly more power over the 302 Windsor or would the difference be neglidgable? Thanks for all of the help!

 

I don't think there are enough bolt-on parts to get 400HP out of a stock 302, especially if the EFI is still Speed Density. He did not mention going to Mass Air?

 

There are.. but you are correct it won't run on the factory EFI system without tuning.

 

He may be over estimating or maybe not, but do you know if he removed the EFI and installed a carb?

A cam and exhaust system is about all that is possible while maintaining correct engine operation with the oem EFI setup, this will really wake the motor up.. it could gain as much as 100hp but most of the gains are at higher rpms. But this is just how a small V8 works.. there is only so much low rpm torque available, the meat of it's powerband will always be 2500-5500rpm. I have done this and have also done a 5.8 swap so I'm speaking from first hand experience, it's really easy to do this wrong and end up with an engine that doesn't perform well or to lose all of the nice driveability features of an unmodified vehicle, so you should define your goals really well before making any purchases or turning any wrenches.
if the PCM is upgraded to one that is tunable(Stinger Pimpx) then the sky is the limit. The other option is to remove all the EFI stuff and install a carb but if the truck has a computer controlled transmission(E4OD) then it gets really complicated and expensive and you would be better off going the Pimpx route.
The 5.8(351w) is a bolt-in, the added displacement produces more torque at lower rpms and at least as much HP as a 5.0 with the same performance parts. Adding a 347 stroker rotating assembly to a 5.0 produces the same results and the 5.0 truck motor has a better designed factory intake but a 351w can often be obtained for less $$ so you have to weigh all the pros and cons.