My 351 was really stout. I think it would give any Vortec SBC a run for it's money, it just killed TBI models in the power department(I don't hate Chevy like some of you do, and I actually like all American trucks, but Ford is my personal prefrence). I think my boss's 98 Chevy might have been a tick faster than my Ford was but my Ford felt a lot heavier duty than his Chevy does(BTW I drove a 96 351 Bronco once holy crap it was fast).

I did however think the 300 that I drove had more bottom end than my 351. I bet with a few modifications like a cam, and header, MAF with an intake, you would probably have one hell of a running engine.

I like to have a lot of power and not use it. I like to just barely touch the pedal and let the truck just slowly get up to speed(I sometimes have a WOT day). I think a modded 300 would be the best motor to have for my kind of driving style, because I feel the true measure of a cars power is how well it accelerates with 1/4 or less throttle.

 

Put a RV cam in the 351 to give it more bottom end. Would take off the top, but make it more like the 300.

Yeah, I too would love a 351, but not if I can't also have my 300.

 

Hehehe. A friend of mine used to have a Taco and it did get good mileage....until he hooked something to it. He was always bragging about how it would do anything my truck would do and still get better mileage. Then he bought a boat. It was probably an 18 or 19 foot runabout with a 4.3 V6 and sterndrive, not very heavy at all. The first time we headed for the lake he was pulling his boat and I was pulling my SeaDoo and he was really struggling, so we switched on the way home. Even with me pulling his boat and him with the SeaDoo he couldn't keep up. Guess who got better mileage on that trip? I got my normal 16-17 mpg and he got about 10.

 

My 351 had a RV cam in it and less than 80k on the motor and the crappy running 300 with 160k miles still had more off idle, and up to at least 1500 RPM(neither truck had a tach so I am guessing). I think I will probably try to get a 300 six, but it will depend on prices and the trucks around the motors in question. If I can't find a Ford I like I may even get a Chevy or a Dodge. Hopefully I can find a good Ford for a cheap price.

 

well, coming from my point of view. i live in a ricer city. drop a built 351 in a Econoline... you get the picture. On the other hand with 300 if i bulit it, all they would see is tail lights and the stickers on my rear barn doors that say "300 INLINE SIX" above my ford truck enthusiast sticker XDD. but i really love 351's. Gas isnt a very big concern to me. i drive to school then work then home. and i dont really tow anything. the only thing i have is my 1976 14' Thundercraft Wildcat speedboat which wieghs maybe 600-800lbs boat motor and trailer.

 

That's just plain funny. I sincerely hope you rubbed in his face the fact that your setup was far superior than his. I'm sure he had a lame excuse. Probably something like this; "Well, you do have a bigger engine.." ha ha!

Smack talk doesn't mean junk if you can't back it up.

 

Good point. For a newer truck, I'd go with a GMC (prefer styling to Chevy) to get a pushrod engine vs the Ford modular OHC. First choice is older Ford with pushrods.

 

I think the 5.3 is overated, and overused. The 4.8 seems like has way more power for it's size, and it barely gets used, and the 6.0 is not powerful enough for as big as it is. Of course the 8.1 is F*(#ing Awesome, but no longer available in a real pickup truck. I have my doubts about wether or not the 5.7 Hemi is all it's cracked up to be. I bet it's a blast to drive, but to actually tow with it I couldn't say. the 4.7 is pretty sweet though, I know that for a fact, and i bet the 302HP 329TQ version is even sweeter than before.

I actually like the 5.4 liter it's a great motor, well except for the whole spark plug issues. It has a giant stroke just like a truck needs(although I think it could use more bore, make it somewhere in the 5.8 range), and it still has good top end power from the OHC set up.

I would like to see Ford bring back the Windsor motors as well, they are lighter and more compact than the Modular motors, and they can make more power with them I bet. They could probably even make the 302 a better truck and car motor then it used to be. A more modern 351 would be freakin sweet.

Ford is making all these twin turbo motors now. I think they should make a TT 240 for the F-150, and a TT 300 for the Super Duty. I think if the 300 went into the 2000's it would have made at least 180HP and at least 300TQ, so with twin turbo it should be at least 350HP and 425TQ(by modern standards).

Wonder what would happen if we all signed a petition for Ford to bring back the 300 six (they could make it pass smog easy)?

 

The 5.3 is way overrated, as are ALL modern "truck" engines. At the previous shop I worked at we did a lot of performance work on GM vehicles. We did about $5k in upgrades to a 5.3 and it only made about 10 ft-lbs more torque at the wheels than my truck did and it took until 4000 rpm to do it. The consumer's hunger for horsepower has killed the true truck engine. They've made more horsepower, while losing low end torque. As a result they have to add more gear so the trucks will move and then add an OD transmission in an attempt to get the mileage back to a livable number. They'd be better off losing 30 hp, gaining 50 ft-lbs, putting ina taller gear and keeping the overdrive.

 

I have one of each, and this is what I'll say. Keep in mind that my 351w is a 1990, so it doesn't have the roller cam. This is the only 351w that I've had, but I've owned several trucks with a 300.

The 300 and the 351 are almost identical up until about 3k. Then the 351 really starts to shine and the 300 starts to run out of steam. The 351 is good up until about 4k, which is great in a truck. Considering that my Bronco weighs about 5500#, it moves it along real well. When it needs a motor, it will get a warmed up 351.

BTW, I have never personally seen a truck with a 300 and gears lower than 3.08. I've heard a lot about them, but I really think that most of them came with 3.55 or 3.08. Most of the 4x4's had 3.55.

 

I agree. a lot of these motors are ruined by todays demand for horsepower. well horsepower is great but everyone forgets that TOURQUE is what gets your car rolling off the line. I think we should sign a petition. i doubt anything would get done. but still.

And speaking of windsors and 302's. I have a question... I can get a 302 EFI out of an 87 or so f150 XLT for FREE or very little atleast. it has 150K KM on it which isnt a lot at all. but i would like to know if it would be worth pulling out my 300 and putting the 302 in. id probably rebuild my 300. what do you think?

And another thing! i dislike how they make trucks look now a days. i think they make them almost tooo aerodynamic. and fragile. like whatever happened to solid axles? and the Twin I-beam? and as far as styling i think they should make trucks look tougher. like the 70 F series. in my opinion they were a TOUGH looking truck. in my opinion i think Dodge trucks are a pretty nice looking a truck however i like the late 90's early 2000 ford f 250 and f 350's aswell. IMHO.

 

They are out there. The truck I pulled my spare engine out of had 3.55's. My uncle had an 88 XCab w/300, 5 spd and 4.10's, and his current truck is a long bed reg. cab w/300, E4OD and 3.73's. Unless you pull a large trailer I really think that anything more than 3.08's is a waste. We used that truck with 4.10's to haul firewood in and 1st gear was still completely worthless with 2.5 ricks of wood in the bed. The only time my 3.08's have ever failed me was a few months ago when I tried to move my old IHC truck to mow under it. I thought traction would be the problem, but with the chain hooked low on the Binder and high on my truck all I got was 3000 rpm, not a hint of wheel spin, and a a terrible smelling clutch. Then I hooked the tractor to it and it struggled to move the old truck and I felt a little better.

 

I would want 3.08 if I didn't have OD, and 3.55, or lower If I did. Especially if I had a manual tranny, considering the M50D doesn't have much of a first gear, and the auto sucks away a little power.

Silver Streak I am curious what have you done to your 300 to have that much HP and TQ at the rear wheels?

 

3.08 and M5OD in my '95 turns 2050 rpm at 70 mph. To me that is the ideal freeway cruising rpm. I feel the M5OD has quite a decent first gear for the street. With the 3.08 rear, first is hitting mid 3000s in rpm at 25 mph.

 

It's great for the street, but not many 5 speed manual trannys have much of a first gear, really the NV4500 is the only one I know of with a granny gear.