i have an 89 ford truck with a 302 i use it for a daily driver and i like to race it, i was looking for some info on some mods i can do to it for cheap. ive heard you can use a mustang computer as a mass air conversion, but i would like to know some more info. as i was very interested in buying the kit from ford. i want some cheap quick mods that dont cost a lot. i would also like to know if anyone has tried a intake spacer. i know throttle body spacers are a joke. i want my truck to rip latey ive been loosing races cuz im to slow.

 

There aren't really any cheap quick mods that are going to make a big difference. Simply stated, "Speed costs money...how fast do you want to go?"

Those intake plenum spacers may give you a little more bottom end by lengthening the intake tract a bit more, and supposedly they help to insulate the upper manifold which will cool the air charge a bit. I doubt you'd even notice the diff if that's all you did.

I hate to tell you this, but it's a truck, not a race car. With the supercab, it's a heavy chunk of iron and it simply needs more motor to go fast. The 302/5.0 is a great engine and I love 'em, but it has it's limitations. It needs to be in a lighter vehicle and operate at a higher RPM level then you want in a truck in order to get the most out of it.

I see you already have long-tube headers, that's a start. To change to Mass Air requires more than just plugging in a different computer, you also need the MAF meter and a different engine wiring harness as well as a computer harness adapter, since the pins on the Mass Air computer are in a different arrangement, and you're adding an extra system (the MAF meter). With scrounged parts you might do the conversion for 200 bucks or so but you can probably expect to wind up paying more. Once this is done it allows you to upgrade the cam and do some other changes to get more air through the engine, which equates to more power. But don't expect startling results. You'll have to go into the motor and put some bucks into it to get some bigger numbers out of it, and if you're going to do all that anyway why not go to a bigger motor? I know, I know...you said "Cheap". Refer back to the phrase "Speed costs money...!"

About the only way to really make some good changes for cheap is to learn to be a first-class scrounge and know good deals when you spot them, and take advantage accordingly. You can often pick up good used stuff for a huge discount over new, but it may not be exactly what you're looking for or the best thing for your intended use. You just have to learn to know the diff.

Another consideration is weight. If you can't add power, then reduce weight. This will mean gutting the truck and removing all sorts of things that you'd probably rather keep in place on a daily driver. You have to prioritize here. If you can live without them, you can remove all the comfort adding accessories (if you have them) like cruise, A/C, carpet and padding, etc. Replace glass with Lexan (except the windsheild) remove the extra fuel tank (if you have one) and get creative with the torches. And after all this is done you'll still have a heavy vehicle, one that may not be a lot of good as truck anymore.

Sorry, there just aren't any easy answers for what you want to do...

 

i just found a rilly good article on FORDMUSCLE of a truck with an inexspensive way of changing to a mass air flow system. it is rilly detailed and sounds easy. i just got off the phone with a nearby auto wrecker looking for some parts.