My 92 F150 , supercab 8 foot box 302 E4OD 3.55 Limited Slip , 4x2 , tows our 94 24 foot Prowler , dry weight 3955# with no problem at 180000 miles , or 300000 kilometres. This engine does not burn oil , or miss.I swear by super gas , at least 91 octane , usually 93 octane. I change the oil every 3000 miles.This is by far one of the most reliable engines I have had the pleasure of owning.

Good luck!
Sty

 

price sounds a little steep. i personally only buy vehicles that i can sell a year later and at least break even. i bought my 95 f150 for 3500 w/100k miles. its just a regular cab xl but its in mint condition and it has the straight six. i wouldn't pay more that 4k for that truck.

ps. when i was deciding on buying my truck a few months ago i made a post in the straight six forum asking how many miles everyone had. the post now has over 3 pages and a number of people have over 300k miles and they say it still runs strong. try posting that question in the 302 forum. you should get a lot of replies in just a few hours. it was really the deciding factor for me. also, follow frederic's advice. have a mechanic check it out. my mechanic charges me 30 bucks. they can usually spot serious problems.

 

My 93 crewcabi has 188K, the 99 Intercepter has 35.9K, the 93 Continental has 138K, and the beater 89 tempo's speedo broke somewhere in the 150K range. My 75 Dodge D200 died at a little over 470K. I bought a camaro brand new in 85 that needed a new engine 6K later

There are many reasons why an engine will last, or not. First is design. Good oiling, good cooling system, proper airflow, good quality wiring and connections, all that stuff is important. Obviously stuff you personally can't control, but obviously its key.

A major factor is manufacturing tolerances. In the early 90's tolerances and clearances started getting smaller, and more consistant. Pistons that are designed to weigh "X" oz actually are pretty darn close. In the 50's and 60's it was not uncommon for pistons around a V8 engine to have a significant difference between the lightest piston and the heaviest piston in that engine. If you had that kind of imbalance, well, that engine didn't last long even if you changed the oil religiously. It would vibrate itself to death.

Robots, better precision in casting and machining, and employees who care and take pride has all helped engines become leap years better than they were even 10 years ago.

Add reasonable maintanence and common sense, listen for knocks, pings, tings, rings and clangs and you're good.

Though, sometimes things just don't make sense. A good friend of mine has an 82 reliant with who knows what the mileage is (at least 200K). He's had the car since highschool, he's in his mid to late 30's, and the engine light is STILL on, as its always been.

Sometimes its just luck!