my 302 is worn out. i should take it out and go through the whole thing. that take time and not sure if the engine is worth it. so i am sitting here playing desk top mechanic and wondering if it would be better to put a diesel in instead? that would mean beefing up the suspention and changing the fuel system all doable with frequent trips to a junk yard.. but would it be any better. like i said i am just thinki9ng out my backside and i am tired.

 

depends on what truck, what engine you are looking at to swap in, what trans you currently have or want to swap in.

 

Sure,a 7.3 PS is way better than a 302. Complex swap though involving a lot of wiring and fuel system changes along with the motor. Doable for sure but a complete parts truck would be required. Trying to find everything needed with JY trips would take forever. A swap to a larger gas motor is much easier.

 

A mechanical diesel swap would be the simplest. The best gain would be 20+mpg in a light 150. A cummins conversion or DT360 conversion will be expensive, and a decent amount of work. An idi will be easier and cheaper, but much slower.

The easiest thing would be a 460 swap if you're just looking to replace a 302 with something that isn't so gutless..... 302's should have gone in miatas, not pickup trucks.

 

I have a 302 and a 5 spd manual probably a Mazda. I was thinking a straight six diesel. A 6bt I think it is called my truck is a 4x4 so it isn't a speed demon

 

Seems you are asking for opinions...

If I wanted a diesel, Eighth- Generation F-Series (1987 - 1991) truck then I would do some shopping for specifically what I wanted and could afford.
Sell the truck you have (as is) in unmolested condition. There is someone looking for that setup to restore.
I would ask myself 3 questions to head you in the right direction.... 1) What do I want ?, 2) What do I need ? and 3) What can I afford ?
Being you are 60 years old, father time is working on you. Do you want to spend 100+ hours converting a truck or spend time admiring a barn find that just needed some TLC ?
The reality of 2024 is that barn find will have many many more "MADE IN AMERICA" parts than any conversion you can cobble together.
Look ahead to your heirs selling off your truck. They won't want it and it will draw a higher price if it is simply a barn find that had TLC.

The 4BT is not a cheap engine.
https://www.marketbook.ca/listings/s...2&keywords=4BT

Hobo

 

Find a 4BT Cummins out of an old bread truck. Great setup for an F150. I bet there's loads of conversion threads all over the net for it too. That's what I'd use.

Yup, there sure is. Google search:
4BT Cummins in f150

Holy smokes, it goes far beyond. Even the aftermarket has joined in and makes kits! It's a no brainer, man. Look around to see what they get for MPG. I bet it's real nice, to boot. 30mpg? haha, I dunno, but I bet they're getting mid 20's at least.

 

I say find a clapped conversion van, late 93+ and roller 351 swap it. Headers and HO cam will transform it.

You will have to saw the MFer apart to pull it. Worth it? Yep. Usually they are low mile unless used as a DD. Another consideration is a small RV as no one wants them used.

If you need a Diesel truck, just buy one

 

I don't think he's looking to build a sports/race truck. Besides, real trucks don't have spark plugs.

 

Definitely. And would drop right in place of the 302.

A 351W with a mild cam is far from a race truck. The 4BT is not exactly going to break speed record but the fuel mileage would be good but would cost more than a 351 swap. I wonder what the weight difference is between the two engines?

 

Yep, headers and a smog legal, factory cam is barely a race truck. Pal has it in his 89. Runs well, far more *** to it and simple as can be.

Heck, even the the roller 351 cam is not awful compared to the pitiful flat tappet grinds.

PS. I owned a 12 sec PSD and it was a DD. My current is a first gen 7.3. They have their place as needed.

 

Another option would be a jasper engine, with yours as a core, then do a gear swap or axle swap to 4.10 gears for your differentials.
Ten years ago, I had a jasper engine installed in a make other than Ford. It has over 100K miles on it, and no problems. I don't know how Jasper's quality is now.

 

351W is around 500 lbs, 4BT is a few hundred more, 750 lbs or so. I've considered a 4bt swap several times but have never seen a donor engine I considered a decent deal. Seems to me I'd be into it $5k to be up and running.

 

I have done many 4bt builds, sourced from bread trucks, junkyards, equipment (generators and off road movers), and military surplus..... I can tell ya that the era of finding one at an "i'll do this over a 460" cost is gone by as much as 10 years. The 6bt is not far behind, the golden age of abundant 6bt's is also gone by 5--7 years. Now, if you HAVE to have a 4bt for your build, expect to pay for one that someone else found who has better access to them, or get really lucky and stumble across a machine that has one that is being sold cheap. It's still not a deal breaker, a 4bt build in a clean forever f150 (or small truck) is still a better option than anything new, but man did we have it good for 10 years from 2005ish to 2015ish when the equipment they were in reached their expiration and the normie had direct access to them in that fashion. I still have a 4bt fj60 that I am not willing to sell, that I built from jy parts of that era, but I sold 2 or 3x the engines that I used for builds during that time period.

The era of cheap 460's is going to come to a close too, probably soon. If my free time wasn't consumed by young kids, instead of collecting parts, I'd be collecting those too.

I digress, OP has some homework to do, and it sounds like 460 or built 351 is his best bet.

 

Yes, you have a mazda light duty trans (unless someone else put a zf5 in), which will only hold up to a mild 351. Expect a full drivetrain swap (axles, trans, t-case) if you go 6bt. You could get away with just a trans and t-case if you go with a 4bt that isn't turned up too much (axles would be the weak link).