Hi Everyone,
I have a 1960 F100. When I got it, it had a 300 6cyl in it that was making a LOT of noise. I suspect it was the main bearings. Was told by the previous owner that they blew out the fiber gear and had replaced it but do not know if it was related.

In any event I pulled the motor, cut out the hacked up motor mounts and dropped in a 302 with new bolt in mounts. I have had problems with the old engine though and never got it running.

I am thinking that with tax season approaching I may go the extra mile and put together a new/rebuilt motor for the truck. I really have little idea of what to expect and hope people here can provide suggestions.

What I want is to stick with a 302 to have reasonable torque/horesepower without sacrificing too much in gas mileage. The way the motor fits into the vehicle the front pulley is really close to the front cross member and the original 302 exhaust manifold hits the steering shaft so I need to know the replacement engine will not stick any further forward and I will have to get some headers that drop from the center instead of out the back.

Of course, money IS an object so I have to be as frugle as possible.
I need a complete motor including heads, intake setup and ignition system.
I figure if I am doing this it should all be new and not the cobbed together systems I was trying with the current motor.

Can the motors be purchased complete so I can just drop it in and hook up the wiring without having to worry about things like adjusting the carburetor or figuring out the electrical to a new control module?
Can a motor be purchased with fuel injection rather than carburation without going too much more expensive? My goal is to eventually have the truck completely custom.

I currently have a motor from a 1985 Crown Victoria and a 1983 Mustang. If I had to re-use the heads from one I could but am not sure what work I would need to do on them to accomodate the new motor. The intake from the Crown Vic was throttle body injection and the Mustang of course was carbureted but not in the greatest shape. I think the whole thing would be better off new with the possible exception of the heads but I do not know enough about them.

What are your opinions?

 

wow... You want to not get too expensive, but want a completely custom truck, seems a little miss-matched. Most motors you purchase will not come with the ignition components. To make things easy on yourself, purchase a pre-82 long block 302 replacement, that will bolt up to your current trans and fit like the one in the truck now. Use the current carb and ingnition, shop for some nice headers and be set....

Just my $.02's, --Mike

 

My current question relates to an engine, not to customization of the entire truck. Other parts will carry their own expense.
I do not want to get too expensive so that I can actually afford what I am doing. I see high performance engines complete for over $4,000. I would like to come in less than that amount and do not need high performance. I was hoping someone here would tell me of a source for purchasing rebuilt turnkey engines without paying for all the high performance extras.

The existing intake and carb are in less than the greatest of shape and loaded up with all the extras from the vehicle it came from.
At worst I could buy a long block and add my own intake, but I have to price everything out and see how it is going to cost me all told. I am sure someone here has had experience with all this and could give me advice on what complete engines there are or what components make a good but inexpensive match.

 

Let me ask about the 302 in the truck now. Why does it not run? Did it run before you dropped it into the truck?

You can purchase a long block from any parts store or online. They come without the intake/carb/ignition for around $1200 and a warranty. You can pick up the intake/carb/ignition you may prefer and build it up to your liking. I would recommend Edelbrock performer rpm manifold, a 600 cfm holley carb and the factory Duraspark II ignition. There will be a need for carb tuning and ingnition work, unless you want to drop your truck off ata shop and tell them to make it work with the parts you provide. Becasue you are already set up for a small block or Windsor motor, stick with it for little extra expense. The motors from your Vic or Stang may work, but considering the Vic was FI, you will need all the electronics and computer to match. The Stang motor will probably work as it is now, but there will be some involvement to do so and it appears that may not be the way you want to go....

--Mike

 

The crown vic engine is supposedly rebuilt not too many years ago but judging by the carbon and gunk coming out of it when I took it apart, it does not look to be in that great a shape.

The 83 Mustang engine was supposed to have only 50,000 miles but it sat for 4 years. There was no exhaust manifold on it and moisture got into the cylinders causing it to freeze up. I spent the length of a summer spraying in solvents, letting it sit and then trying to rotate it by hand slowly to loosen it up. I could not quite get it to work free enough and figured if I did free it up the rings would be too badly scored.

I figure with tax season coming I would be better off to see if I can put together a complete engine that should not have a lot of surprises or uncertanties about it. Working on broken down vechicles is one of my least favorite things to do. I would much rather build it slowly to new rather than apporaching each little breakdown with used parts and having a never ending stream of little failures.

The truck already has a C4 tranny, one ton drive shaft and 9" rear end.
I have already put in motor mounts for the 302 and all I need to do is drop in an engine and ignition system.
The Duraspark setup I have is beatup and cobbed together. The original connectors are broken and wires spliced in, etc.
I have not priced out ignition systems yet but will have to run all new wiring no matter what I do and thought it would be a lot cleaner to get a complete engine or at least a complete ignition system to replace this one.
I am also going to have to replace the tranny as this one was slipping badly before it was parked.

The costs of course keep rising so I am looking to get as good as possible within my price range. I have no experience adjusting carbs so was hoping a turnkey package would be available. It looks like I will have to do some piecing together no matter what I do though or I will never get it within my price range.

 

well, if the rear is a 1ton, than that could be a problem, cuz the gearing on those is pretty steep.

 

It should be just an ordinary driveshaft, unless the ends were cut, because I know the Dana 70 yoke is massive in comparison to a 9", and there is no way a C4 was ever put in a F350.

Basically, you need to figure out what year your tranny is, because if you put an 81-up 302 in an earlier model tranny, it won't last more than about 50 miles if you are lucky.

81-up 302s have a 50.4 ounce imbalance, versus the 28.8 ounce imbalance of the 80 and earlier 289/302/351C/351W/351M/400 engines.

 

Well, I was TOLD that it was a drive shaft from a 1ton but who knows for sure?
How do I ID the axle so I can find the gear ratio and how would I ID the tranny?

When I got the truck it had a 300 6cyl in it with the same tranny/axle setup it still has. It is possible the whole drive train came from the same donor vehicle.

The tranny was slipping badly (while cold) three years ago when it was parked and the engine pulled. At first it only slipped in reverse, then later when put into drive. I did not significant driving of the truck then and did not look into the problems.
I have an AOD tranny that came from the 85 Crown Vic that I considered installing but it would mean having the driveshaft cut shorter to make it fit and I really do not know what kind of shape that tranny is in. The car it came from was high mileage. The engine was supposedly rebuilt but I think the car was approaching 200,000 so the tranny may not be worth bothering with. If the engine is going to cost me this much then a new tranny is out of the question so I may have to once again get a used one. Who knows though, maybe my tranny just needs to have the fluids and filter replaced, I have not looked into it yet.

OK, my fear of building up an engine on my own: I have the ability to put it all together but I do not have the knowledge to pick out the proper components to work together efficiently. If I got a rebuilt short block I would not know if it would work well with my existing heads or if I would have to change any components to match whatever cam came with engine, etc, etc.
My instinct is to get something powerful cause lets face it, it is FUN. The rational me says get something strong enough to take off quickly at a light and maintain a good speed on the highway with enough passing power but without going overboard. The truck will not be doing serious hauling but could easily become my summer daily driver so a trade off between performance and good daily driver abilities is a must.
I have found some nice turnkey engines but in price ranges starting at about $4,500. If I knew what parts to get to put together a reasonable engine in the performance range I wanted I could probably save a lot of money but picking the parts is difficult with my limited knowledge (like would I match up the wrong tranny/engine years) and might cause me a lot of grief.