I'm thinking of putting a V8 back in the truck later on down the road and was wondering where a good place to pick up a 289 or 302, nothing extream I just want a nice stock engine. I looked at Jegs, Edlebrock and a few of those places but they all want 6-8 k for one of those. I wouldnt mind putting the 39 back in it but I doubt I'd be able to afford one of those.

 

I'd check around the local auto recycling yards. Even if you buy one that's a core, it should only cost $100-$1500 to have it rebuilt as a long block. 302s grow on trees!

But, you might also think about a 351 Windsor. There's tons of threads here about engine swaps one per week.

You might want to use the "Advanced Search" to find a couple.

Here's one to start you off:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...y-do-i-go.html

 

craigslist or the local paper. be patient. Lot's of cars and truck show up as "donor" vehicle. with likew new engines and rebuilt tranny's.

 

I got a 89 Lincoln town car for 650 bucks that has a great running 302/aod trans, brakes,plus I might even use the rear end out of it.if you find a good donor you can always recycle the rest of it. I checked in my area and if I took my Lincoln to get recycled I could get 350 bucks including the tow of the car to the recycling place, so basically I got a lot of stuff for 300 bucks. Donor vehicles are the way to go on a budget.