Just wondering if the 300 can be a good engine for off roading. I have a '79 f150 that has the 300 in it with the offy intake and holley 390. I would prefer to keep the engine and just put a new cam in it and maybe port the heads, but would that be worth it? Thanks

 

According to Four Wheeler Magazine the 300 is the bare minimum engine for 4-wheeling. When picking up a truck with the intent to 4-wheel it, they recommend a 351W (or 460 obviously, but they were talking about 80-95 F150's) and mention that the 300 has great low end torque and is adequate for 4 wheeling.

That said, that is referring to a stock 300. Withthe additions your truck has, I'd say your 300 is already set to go, and with the mods you talked about you'll have no trouble. Just as good torque as the 351, you just can't rev it as much or get as many ponies. New truck-designed cam, porting of hte heads, and an exhaust will do you quite nicely. Try not to remove too much material in the porting though, don't try to increase combustion chamber size, simply smooth out and increase flow capacity around the valves. A cam that increases your compression a bit might be nice.

The big six won't let you down.

 

when ur wheelin u really want low end torque and this is the engine for u. four wheeler is full of poop and can kiss my 300 lovin posterior anyday of the week. unless ur doing mud drag races, runnin sand dunes or pullin 38-40"+ tires the 300 will be perfect.

 

You are so right on that one.

 

It all depends on what type of 4 wheeling you plan on doing. If you'll be running alot of mud/sand areas a V8 would be better. If your doing trail or desert running the 6 is better IMHO. Have you ever noticed Jeep used an inline 6 as the big motor for years? Gearing is the key to off-roading.

Keith

 

Great point, gearing IS the key.

As for four-wheeler kissing your 300-loving butt - it was a write up for the BEST options for 4-wheeling. The fact that the 300 was mentioned in the group as being adequate in the BEST category means something. You cannot say that the 300 is rippling with muscle. The 351W IS a better 4-wheeling motor. You have the horsepower when you give it revs, and still have MOST of the torque you get with a 300 down low.

Back to the question at hand - also go out and get some 87-95 EFI Manifolds for your truck. Have them ported out a bit as well. You shouldn't have any problem finding a pair from a junkyard. If you want better, get some quality 200+ dollar headers. But the EFI Manifolds will flow perfectly fine for you unless you decide to dig into the engine internals and start playing around.

The only engine that you don't want to take along to a trail is a 302. You'll be laughed at - but it is possible. My friend Jones had a full size Bronco that he dropped a 302 into and it worked alright on the trails. Only problem it had was bottoming out until he put the thing on a diet.

Even a 302 can be made to 4-wheel with the proper cam and intake components to give it strong low-end.

The 300, once made to breath easier and with a good cam, will be great for you. Just do the things I mentioned in my first post, as well as the EFI manifolds. Don't go big on the exhaust pipes...stick with a 2.25 inch single pipe. 2.5" max.

 

An advantage of the 300 is that since it just has so much down low power, you can lug it down lower than most any other engine out there. I've had mine turning 400 RPM down the trail. It was a bit rough, but it chugged right along.

Right now I'm running a 300 with a crane truck cam 260H in it. In normal driving the cam was a bit disappointing, I was expecting more of it. BUT, once I got a load on that thing it was like night and day. This is also using teh stock 1bbl and exhaust. With a 4bbl, i'm sure your results will be even better.

As for offroad, in hi range my truck is a bit gutless but that really has to do with my 3.5's and 35's. If i had some 4.11s It's be MUCH nicer. Once I slide that thing into low it has plenty of power on tap and the some, and that's with a pathetic 1.98 low range. If you're doing trails and rocks, the 300 rocks stock. Once you get into DEEP mud and really soft sand you can't beat the top end of teh stock V-8's to turn the tires over. Build the 300 and it'll do everything you ask it to, return better mileage, odds are will last longer,and you have the "novelty" of having a 6.

Justin

 

Btw...New gears. I don't know what you have in it, but if this is going to be a 4-wheeling rig then go at least 3.73 if not 4.10. A successful rig, at least. If you're going big on tires then 4.56 or 5.13 might be needed - but I doubt you could find a vehicle in a junk yard with those ratio's in an axle to drop in your truck.

If I didn't have a girlfriend out in California to look forward to, I'd have a 78 F150 with a 351M, C6, and Dana 60's to tool around with for cheap - just have to rebuild the C6. Darn women .

 

Bah! Take it with ya to California! There are mountains and logging trails not too far away

Frank

 

yea i run my stock six to turn my 35's with the stock 3.55 rear...i would have had to swap gears if i had a v8 but the low power of the six keeps them turning. since i have a np435 manual tranny i can rip in the mud in second and bring it up to 3 grand and roll through the mud if i have a prob i figure i have had the motor up to 6 grand before accidently so i am not worried about reving it.....like evryone else said, screw 4wheeler

 

I agree, screw 4wheeler. The only engines they really are interested in is 500+ ci big blocks & (except for jeeps) inline sixes are a big no-no. I have a 300 in my '84 & so far its done everything that I need it to do off road. I first got intersted in this motor while playing in the mud with a couple of friends. They were both running chevy 350s (one is a built LS1) & both ended up pretty stuck in the mud. One of the guys dad showed up with an early '90s F150, 300 5spd & hyway gears. I was pretty impressed at how the 300 simply walked both of the stuck vehicles out of the mud. Without getting into the chevy vs ford thing (though I still give my friends lots of grief about this ), I noticed that the v8s had to rev up a bit to produce torque, by that time the wheels were just spinning. The big six however, had torque right off of idle.

 

63red, my point exactly.

 

the 300 will give you the best low end torque and it can produce a lot of power if you want to spend the money. If you are looking to 4-wheel where you need low end and grunt then the 300 is it. Another good point is that the 300 is about as close to completely bullitt proof as you can get. They will take a heck of a lot and keep on going.

 

I love my 6. I wish that it had a little more guts, but it has the standard 3.55 gears in it and runs 35x12.50 MT/R's, so that's got a lot to do with it. I have no idea how you guys are getting over 3500 RPM's with your six. Seems to me that I have some kind of rev limiter at 3500 RPM's. I wonder what that's all about? Also I've got the 'stumbling six' ever since my last time off road...

 

6 grand on a 300? Wow..I'd have to go change my pants after that. I about flipped when the engine ran up to 4500-4800 after pushing in the clutch without disabling my cruise. It was just nice to know that it CAN go that high without grenading, though I never run her over 4000, and even then...usually about 3400 and I shift.