I have a 1986 f150 4x4 4 speed auto with a stock 302. The truck has over 300,000km (approx. 200,000miles)on it and the engine and transmission are just about shot. I am about half way through rebuilding the body on it and I bought a 86 f150 xlt as a parts truck. The parts truck has the same 302 and 4speed in it and I am wondering whether it would be worth it to get the parts 302 rebuilt (it has about 150,000km) or should I just get a 460 that is already rebuilt. I pull a trailer so i need the power. Is the gas mileage that different? What do you think?

Thanks
Canadian Ford Man

 

I think swapping a 460 into a 150 frame would be a PITA but that's just my opinion, if you were considering a swap, why not a 351W and say...a C6 tranny? No O/D but its definatly the toughest tranny ever built by ford (I say by ford because the TH400 by chevy is one beefy tranny) since you already have a 302 just sitting in the yard, rip it out and rebuild it right (blueprint and spec everything, put a nice new cam and nice GT-40 heads etc. on it, would probably be cheaper than a 351W swap, and DEFINATLY cheaper than a 460 swap.

1995 F-150XL SC/SB
http://members.sounddomain.com/blind
5-Star Rated F-150 (Big Stereo)

 

CanadianFordMan, If you do choose to go with the larger engine, it will be a PITA. It is up to you what you would like to do but the quick way would be to rebuild the doner trucks engine. If you go bigger, that is fine but most people who do find out that they have to purchase a lot of other items to make it work. If that is OK, then do it. C6 trans is a very good auto trans and you can get a lot of miles out of them. I have one in my F-250 right now set up with a 351. I prefer a c6 w/out OD. My only problem with them is that I have had to replace them after approx 125,000 miles. I have replaced them in five different trucks. Construction vehicles that are put to the test every day. My only prob was that my personal truck chewed one up at 60,000 miles. I don't beat it but I am tough on it. Just my two cents. Good luck.

Jakegypsum // Ford fleet, soup to nuts.

 

Jakegypsum, just exactly how hard are you on your truck? I have a 86 f250 6.9 diesel with a c-6 it has 157,000 and still drives and shifts like new. John

 

John, Ever since I could reach the pedals of my fathers first trucks, I loved driving stick shift. I learned on a Ford LTS_800 with a 5-speed trans and a 3-speed transfer case. Double clutching city. I bought my 1st personal truck in 1986. 86' F-150 with 3-speed over drive. Typical kid with a 4x4. In the first year I needed tires, brakes, and a clutch before 12,000 miles. There was nothing like 4-wheeling with a 12-pack. I learned the hard way. I drove it without using the clutch, when on the highway. In 92' I traded it for my 92' f-250 that I still drive as my no.1 form of trans. I drive this in a different frame of mind. I take care of it. If I knew what I know now, I would still have that 86' truck. I got $3,000.00 for it as a trade in. It needed a clutch and a radiator when I traded it in. Needless to say, I do drive and think different today.

Jakegypsum // Ford fleet, soup to nuts.

 

I would say just rebuild that 302. You can buy completely rebuilt 302's for around $600 here. That's dirt cheap. If you do some mod's to it, it will have some decent towing power.

Pastmaster's 1993 XLT 5.0 E40d 3.55LS Normal Cab/Long bed Loaded from the factory with aid of...MSd 6a ign/s.p. wires, blaster coil, Hypertech Chip, K&N filtercharger, Cat-back dual exhuast w/o mufflers, 3.5", echo tips, Accel distributor cap, Dark Mocha over light mocha. 5% Dark tint, Alpine Cd player/remote, Pioneer speakers.

toydestroyer1(No Email Addresses In Posts!)

 

John, Sorry about the above rant. It has been a long day. I was thinking of a reply to the Ericsbadf150 posted thread when I posted on this one.

I do a lot of plowing with my truck. It is basically used for utility purposes in my family business plus it is my daily driver. I have flat/towed 60,000 GVW tandem trucks with it on occasion just to get them off of the road during a breakdown. I do not beat it but it is expected to perform above average during the call of duty. The tranny started slipping one day out of the blue. I went and got gas and when I pulled away, the trans started to slip. It was a while after the last time the truck did some hard work. It was just a fluke. We wound up replacing the trans. My truck is the one that is used to fetch the other trucks when they break down. We get put in a bind when something breaks down and my truck isn't operational.

Jakegypsum // Ford fleet, soup to nuts.

 

The 460 will give you all the power you want, but milage is very bad, about 10-11 mpg. Also changing to the 460 is very hard to do! If you want to go that road I suggest finding a parts truck and swapping things that way. This will save you many trips to the junk yard or the fab shop! Speaking from experience doing it the hard way.

Hotrod the 302 with some mustang parts and live happily ever after!

Jackbo
90 F-250 w/460
93 E-150 w/351

 

CanadaFord- how heavy is whatever you pull? a 302 seems a little small for pulling to me, but a 460 might be overkill. a 351W will fit the trans you have now and are fairly good, they can be stroked for extra snort if you want. I would keep the overdrive if you can, it is very helpful for mileage when you're not towing, or even towing something not too heavy. The trans can be strengthened if you think it needs it. DF

 

Definatly a PITA. A friend of mine has an 88 F150 that the stock 6 threw a rod on. We towed it here and pulled the motor. I let him use my truck to go to the bone yard to get another. He came back with a 460 from a 90 model F250 2wd. After much cussing and swearing and insults to his mental capacity I agreed to help him put it in. The next day was saturday so we left my place about 8:00 to chase parts. Here is what we wound up doing.

New Parts
rad. hoses
motor mounts
belt
heater hoses
clutch
throwout bearing
pressure plate
pilot bearing.

Used parts
motor mount brackets.
trans mount
driveshaft
trans
complete engine (intake to pan)
wiring harness from donor truck
computer from donor truck
radiator
fan shroud
all engine accys.(a/c comp, power steering pump, etc)
exhaust manifolds
exhaust y pipe
bunchs of little crap.
and last but not least, the front springs from the F250

I never thought about the springs until I let the engine down into the mounts and something just looked wrong (front bumper sat about 9" off the ground (uh oh)after messing with this truck for a little over a week after work and on weekends we finally got it going.

End product? An F150 with a 460 that looks like the factory put it in there, runs pretty strong, surprises alot of people. The F250 springs were a PITA, the did not want to fit the F150 but after much parts chasing and work they went. His dilemma now is the Rear end. high geared for the 6. goes like mad with the big block and is starting to make noise. With all the money he has tied up in this thing he could have just bought a used F250. lol. Definatly stick with the 302 or a 351, less money and time involved (fewer words to invent also)Hope this is of some help.

Brad Godkin
1986 F350 CC/SRW
6.9liter/C6

 

If your doing alot of pulling I would suggest going with a 351W.
Its a strong motor with lots of pulling power and other than getting a proper flywheel (351W has a different balance) its a straight swap, pull the 302 and drop[ the windsor in. You'll also need a windsor Y-pipe because the windsor is 2" wider than the 302. Also many of the parts on your 302 will fit the windsor:
heads, exhuast manifolds, oil pan, valve pans, water pump, carb.
All your gauge sensors and accessories will also fit the windsor.

RCC

 

I don't think the oil pan from a 302 will work on a 351.

Pastmaster's 1993 XLT 5.0 E40d 3.55LS Normal Cab/Long bed Loaded from the factory with aid of...MSd 6a ign/s.p. wires, blaster coil, Hypertech Chip, K&N filtercharger, Cat-back dual exhuast w/o mufflers, 3.5", echo tips, Accel distributor cap, Dark Mocha over light mocha. 5% Dark tint, Alpine Cd player/remote, Pioneer speakers.

toydestroyer1(No Email Addresses In Posts!)

 

>I don't think the oil pan
>from a 302 will work
>on a 351.
>
Yes the oil pans are interchangable, the front seals to the timing cover (which is also swappable) and the rear on the crank where the flywheel bolts on which is the same diameter for both 302 and 351w cranks. With alot of work, having the mains turned down to 302 diameter (not advisable) you can make a 351 stroker from a 302 block. They do this with Clevland cranks because the mains are, from the factory, the same diameter as a 302.

There is a difference between car and truck oil pans though. A car pan has double humps as appossed to a single hump for trucks.
You can use a car pan on a truck (have one on mine) provided you don't mind oil from the front hump running down over the cross member during oil changes.

RCC

 

I see, I've had several 302's and 351's apart, and haven't tried to combine parts. Cleveland crank's are really hard to find. Do you have a website for one. I'm building a 302 for a 1989 F-150 as we speak...

Pastmaster's 1993 XLT 5.0 E40d 3.55LS Normal Cab/Long bed Loaded from the factory with aid of...MSd 6a ign/s.p. wires, blaster coil, Hypertech Chip, K&N filtercharger, Cat-back dual exhuast w/o mufflers, 3.5", echo tips, Accel distributor cap, Dark Mocha over light mocha. 5% Dark tint, Alpine Cd player/remote, Pioneer speakers.

toydestroyer1(No Email Addresses In Posts!)

 

Thanks everyone. The logical thing seems to be either drop a 351w or just build the 302 how I want. Are the 302's easy to build if i want something like 350 hosepower or would building a 351w be better for that. For now I am towing a 20 foot travel trailer but I am planning on getting a bigger one down the road so I don't want to have to do more work when if I get a new trailer. There are also lots of hills where I live and I am sick of going 30mph up a hill being passed by grandmas in firefly's.