1990 F150 engine and tranny swap
 

Hey guys I've got a RWD '90 F150 XLT Lariat with the 302 H.O and the AOD tranny about a year ago and finally got her running smoothly in the fall. I had some big plans with the 5.0 but I've been reading that you can squeeze more performance and better gas mileage from a 351w and a manual is just plain better.

Anyhow, I got a few questions:

What can I reuse on the 351w from the 302?

Which tranny will pair up best?

How much coin am I lookin' at, roughly?
I understand this depends on the source.

I got her for free by the way, in case y'all were wondering why I don't just run out and grab me a manual 351.

302 to 351 is a direct bolt in but I believe you need the 351 computer, tranny depends what you wanta do. For speed either a Mazda 5 which I think is a POS, for durability I would go for a T18/T19 but then you don't have OD, best trans ( in my mind ) is a ZF5 good gear ratios, strong, OD, and granny low. But they are spendy. As for price all depends where you live and what you can find. I've bought whole trucks for $400 and paid $750 for just a trans. Good luck with your build personally I hate the 302 it isn't a good truck motor, the 300-6 is a great truck motor and the 351 is a good peppy motor!

I'm in Missouri, we've got all kinds of great junkyards where I live full of these old trucks so it'll be a piece of cake finding the 351 and a CPU I'd imagine.

Sounds like I'd be hard pressed not to go with the ZF5 based on your recommendations. As long as it can handle a reasonable amount of power for a a bit I'll be a happy camper. Current AOD is getting weak and although the 302 is as strong and peppy as ever she's gotta go not enough power to run a half-ton around it seems without getting single-digit mileage.

Thanks for the reply!

zf5 will handle anything youre gonna throw at it with a 351. the gearing is far from optimal if you are lookin to rip around, but unfortunately its the only strong option there is without spending a fortune.

ZF5 it is!

Are upgrades possible with this transmission for it to handle more power?

What kind of power we talkin? It holds a lot of power as is....no internal upgrades are necessary. The input for small blocks is 1-1/16", and can be swapped for input out of the big block zf5 which is 1-3/8, but that's unnecessary too unless you plan on running forced induction.

The only thing I'd do to a zf you find is grind the ears off for the trans mount, and weld a solid block of aluminum across the tailhousing in their place. Add gussets from the block of alum to the housing also, then tap or thru bolt the block for the trans mount, voiala. The ears break easy, this is the remedy.

Somewhere around 400 horses.