I have a 1978 2wd shortbox with a 460 and need help. It burns oil and i am replacing it with a smaller engine because i am 16, cant afford the gas, and want an overdrive but cant afford that either.

My choices are:
- 1969-72 302, mild build, cleveland heads, and an aod
- 1969-72 351w, mild build, aod
- 1971 460
- 351 cleveland which i want most of all, it is polished, ported and blueprinted. say it has a cam, pistons, intake and bigger carb, and knowing it is a four barrel what would my gas mileage be compared to a 460? right now the cleveland is hooked to a 4 speed and can break loose in all 4 gears if this helps towards the hp guesstimate. I also have 2 transmissions, a 1981 aod off a 351 and a 1991 aod off a 302, will any of these aod's bolt up to a cleveland or will my current c6 bolt up? i really like the cleveland but if it is not going to get any better gas mileage i wont even bother, i will get the 302.

if you are at all confused ask for some clarification and i will do my best to clear it up. thanx for any help

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 01-May-01 AT 01:28 PM (EST)[/font][p]Exactly what will this truck be used for? stoplight-racing or gentle cruising with enough guts to pass? Since your concerned about gas mileage, I would go with a 302 or a 351 crate motor. Get yourself a PAW catalog (cant remeber web address) You can get a decent crate 302 for about $850 or so.
Also, if you cant afford the AOD, change the ring and pinion to a numerically lower set (ie, 3.00:1 instead of 3.73:1) this will help mileagte, but will make your take off a little slower.
So, let us know your intent and then Im sure we can give you some better help.

Stryder

 

My intent for this truck will be mostly a daily cruiser with the guts of a strip racer. something to beat the pants off a 350, which isnt very hard but i want to have good power for the stop light take off kinda thing. and i do have 3 transmissions, all i need to know is whether the overdrives will mate to the engins having come off a 302 and a 351w or if my c6 on the 460 will be better?

 

I guess if it was my money, I would go with a PAW long block kit stroked to 427 cu. in. for $3000. Comes in either 10:1 or 9:1 configurations and will provide plenty of power to blow the doors off a POS 350!
Or if your ralley have some money, you can go with the GT-40 351 pumping out 362 HP. All you need is a carb and ignition and your ready to go for the nice price of $4900.
As far as the trans goes, if it wont bolt up, get a hold of Advanced Adapters. They will provide the right adapter that will work.
PAW web page: http://www.pawengineparts.com
I dont have AA's web page, but if you search the forums, its there somewhere.

Stryder

 

thanx for the help but i still do have one more question that would help me a lot, if you know it. what is the gas mileage on a 351 c 4-barrel? well say stock for now and i will deduct a couple or more when i go to see it. thanx again

 

Im not for sure, but I would guesstimate around 8-10...maybe 12 if you stay off the pedal. This is, of course, not taking in account an AOD.

Stryder

 

thanx for all your help, and i do think that if i can hook the aod up i will probably get the cleveland, if it has enough power, HA, i know it does, thanx again

 

- 351 cleveland which i want most of all, it is polished, ported and blueprinted. say it has a cam, pistons, intake and bigger carb, and knowing it is a four barrel what would my gas mileage be compared to a 460? right now the cleveland is hooked to a 4 speed and can break loose in all 4 gears if this helps towards the hp guesstimate. I also have 2 transmissions, a 1981 aod off a 351 and a 1991 aod off a 302, will any of these aod's bolt up to a cleveland or will my current c6 bolt up? i really like the cleveland but if it is not going to get any better gas mileage i wont even bother, i will get
the 302.
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The Australian 4 barrel 351 Clevo in a falcon did 8 mile per gallon in "fast touring mode". This was with the 9" diff and the 4 spped manual box (toploader) They spun tyres in ANY gear no worries and also guzzled fuel no worries. An F100 is bigger than a Flacon so I'd expect it to use more fuel. If you lay off the throttle it could do 14 mile per gallon (maybe), if it is wound right back.
Actually the 4 barrel's 2 primary barrels are smaller than the 2 barrel carb, so if, and only IF you lay off that pedal the 2 small barrels in the 4 barrel carb should give slightly better fuel economy than a 2 barrel carby will. However blue printed clevos with 'cams' were never noted for good fuel economy. If you want fuel milage get a diesel with at least a 5 speed manual.
In an F100 a good diesel with a 5 speed should get 20 - 35 mile per gallon, which is why a few are being converted to diesel here.

 

I bought a 1973 Ranchero this summer and it has a 1972 351 CJ (factory 4V). Even in a poor state of tune, and at speeds of 70-80 MPH, I got 14 MPG over the 600 miles. I have since swapped the intake and carb so I don't know what it gets now (don't drive it much yet).

You are asking the impossible - good gas mileage and you expect to be street racing it (not that I am against either). It sounds to me like no matter which engine you have, you will not be able to keep your foot out of it. With that in mind, expect mileage not much better than 10MPG - been there, done that...


Tom