It seems that most here say that the 300 is a better truck motor and that a 302 swap would be worthless without warming it up significantly.

Here's my situationt: I use mine as a DD, some off road, snow, and some light hauling duty. Basically I use it as a pickup. I'm running 33's and 3.08 (soon to be 3.55) gears. I like what I hear of the highway driveability of the 302 and I love the v8 sound. I only get 13-14 with my 300 in it right now so I would expect a fresh motor either way would boost gas mileage (mine has 180k that I know of though it runs like a champ).

So how much would i have to warm up a 302 to make it worth swapping it in?

 

I wouldnt swap in a 302, the only way id pull the 300, is if a cummins 6bt was going in.
But thats just me.

As for changing the gears, iv got 33' with 3.55 and i think 4.10 would be perfect. Theyd give you plenty of power while letting you cruise on the highway.

 

I'm not sure on the engine part, maybe a cam, gt40 heads etc., but for the gear part, if you're already replacing, I'd go with 3.73 or maybe 4.10's. With 33'' tires, 3.55 will feel sluggish IMO. Heck, I've got 31's and 3.55 gears, and it's sorta sluggish. Especially if you're towing, I'd go different gears...my $.02

 

seems there is a lot more you can do with a 302 at a reasonable price to hp ratio, compared to a 300, 'specially if it is MAF ..

and you'd have less down time if you built the 302 and swapped, rather than pulling and re-building the 300 ..

 

The 5.0 can make good power but it happens further up the tach.. so regardless what you do to the motor the truck will need 4.10 to 4.56 gears to perform like a 300 would with 3.55 gears. I have a 5.0 with a cam and longtubes in my truck right now and it's sluggish until the motor is wound up a bit, and that is with 3.55's and 30" tires.

 

I would keep it a 300. Since its not a high reving motor it makes its power lower in the RPM and really works better in a truck especailly with towing. I think my 5.0 is great, but sometimes I think it would be cool if it was the 300. I do like the V8 sound better though.

If its lifted with 33s, I would consider a 5.8 swap.

 

What transmission is behind 300? If it is the 5spd, a gear swap would wake it up. 3.73 w/ 33's & the 5 spd would be perfect. An engine swap requires ecu, wiring harness from donor vehicle to make it work, so I would do a gear swap before engine swap anyday.