what is the best motor to swap into my 78 f-150 4x4
 

I have a 78 f150 4x4 it has four inches of lift and waiten for my new 33 13.5 by 15 ss ltbs to come the motor is an inline and a 4 speed tranny it has a holley 1bbl carb and split headers to true dual exhaust wait it gets better it has 3 1/2 inch stacks and sounds like a tractor on steroids.:-missingt i know i know!!! the motor is startin to blow oil and i was wonderin what motor would be the best motor to put in my truck (v-8 that is) i like the low end of the inline but when your slingin mud it just dont really cut it any helpful comments gladly excepted also where would be the best place to look for a motor that is budget friendly but doesn't need rebuilding??? thanks Jeremy

351M/400 is what I would put in it. Next in line would be 351C. But I know someone that has a 78 F250 4x4 with 33's all around and a 351M/400 and it is one heck of a puller.

IMO for v8's - big blocks (460!!) no replcement for displacement :-jammin
especially if you want to run in the mud, that will be more than enough power for your F-150 & 33's

The problem with the 460 is finding parts for them. I know a guy that wanted to put a 460 in his 350, problem though is its hard to find good upgrades and parts for those motors.

302 or 351w will bolt to your trans and probably use the same bell.

Just add money to make them more powerful.

Same swap issues as other engines with respect to the small stuff.

Both have tons of aftermarket proven hop up parts, as well as good track records.

The 302 is a weak sister and needs a beef up for your job, the 351w a bit less so.

The simple way here is to rebuild the six, add the 390cfm 4bbl, cam, headers, maybe bump the compression a point or so. That would get you as good a result as a mildly warmed 302, better than a stock 302, and lots less $$$, time and effort on non-performance changes than either 302 or 351w.

The 351m/400 are ok, but require bell change, and, imo, a performance rebuild (compression, cam timing at minimum) to be worth the effort.

460--can be done, bring money.

ok I just bought a 351m but it needs rebuilding any suggestions for cam intake heads machine work etc thanks for your help -jer

as for the six yeah they can take alot but can rarely break 200 hp and i would like to break 300 hp the inline has aftermarket split headers etc aftermarke holley single barrel carb and I belive even a mild cam

My friends 351M/400 was bored .60 over and had the oversized pistons to go along with that. Double roller timing chain was put in it, MSD spark box and dist were also added to it. He also had a holley 4 barrel carb on it with a Edelbrock performer alum intake. He had some kind of radical cam in it (Not sure if it was Comp or Lunati) Not sure what else was done to it, but I know the final compression was around 12 to 1 once it was done. The only bad thing he did then was to run reg 87 pump gas in it and that was bad. Truck was run for about 5 years before the double roller chain had streched real bad causing it to run like crap.

It all depends on how much money you have and what you want to do with it. I know in another forum (Bronco site) alot of guys like to put Aussie heads on the 351M/400.

Oh and no matter what you do, install a high volume oil pump. To gain a few extra horses also, run an electric fan instead of the motor driven fan. And I would also find yourself a fuse panel that can handle 200 amps and get a 3g alt for it as well.

okay I have to put my 2 cent in here..... putting a stock 460/429 in this truck would not cost that much.... motor mounts (was about 200 bucks prbably less now) a 400m bell housing and a 390 flywheel you will have to buy all this except the motor mounts on any other motor change.. the 460 will be a power house... I have had 5 400's and 3 360's and 4 460's non of them could hold a light to the stock 460 (one of the 400 was 30 over) it's basically what you can find cheep and want..

yeah 460 is nice but tell me where I can get all of the mounts bellhousing flywheel and a running stock motor that will last me all for around 500 bucks in northern minnesota slim pickins up here since scrap was so high last summer stupid ass people brought anything and everything to the scrap yards :-banghead Im just lookin for somethin good and strong with a mean v-8 ehxaust ya know i was kinda thinking rebuild the six and put flat top pistons a cam a 240 head and a offy 4 bbl intake and stick with the split headers to true dual exhaust

Motor swaps F-150
 

The guys are all on the right track. All are do-able swaps a donor truck helps. 2wd 460's or older car motor will fit with simple junkyard parts. I have a 400hp one in a 78 supercab dually conversion and a 450hp one in my 250 with 39" tires both preform flawlessly and have alot of miles since install. My 79 Bronco runs a 415hp 400ci that was built using plans almost identical to the previos metioned ones. The motor some people forgot is the 390. Good power decent fuel milage and fairly reliable if maintained. Good luck. If you do decide to hop up the 6 banger regear the axles to help with tire size in the rough stuff.: I can find and ship all neccasry parts from Oregon yards for really resanable prices except motor. Can get several of each size for cheap but big $$$ to truck.

your not the only place that got good trucks junked...people went crazy... alot depends on your area right now in my town there in a 79 bronco with a blew up 400 4 speed with a spare 460 to in it for 400 bucks..
I remeber when a 460 that needed rebuilding went for 150 bucks.... best bet is look for a cheep runner in the paper or craiglist and buy the whole car/truck and scrap the rest of it when you get the motor out..

yeah a guy at work told me i could use 351m or 400m perch mounts and 390 motor mounts just have to redrill one hole in the 390 mounts then it will bolt right in dunno if its true or not but how do you think an ltd motor would do the 390 thing is true i went to the junkyard where i know the owners they told me 75 bucks for a 390 outta an old 1 ton that was used by a local lawn service to carry the liquid weed killer and pump but that would need rebuilding i was thinkin bout drivin around knockin on doors about 5 miles out these guys got a lotta junk cars and trucks etc but are tight asses and wont sell one unless they need to. if you guys got any tips on building the inline up as it seems most cost efficient unless i can find a car with a motor for a couple hundred thanks -jer

If you want torque then go for a 429 or 460!!! You won't need to be searching for aftermarket parts for the because they put out tons of power stock.

Alot of 70's ford trucks had 460's in them so it shouldn't be too hard finding mounts and other parts for it.

Way back in high school I had a 78 F-100 with a smogged out 302 in it, I bought a 1970 T-bird with a 429 in it and swapped it in, it was a cheap way to get all the power you could want. I loved it when I would be passing Trans Ams at 120-130 mph and they couldn't do anything about it!!!


My first truck:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...id=210119&.jpg

400 get a 4bbl, cam, up the compression, open up the heads a bit and get some headers.

Or rebuild and treat the 300 the same way. 9.5:1 cr, good RV cam, 4bbl, port the head, etc. That will wake it up.

Pretty much anytime you get a whole vehicle cheap just for the engine, it will need a rebuild, might as well do it while it is out anyway unless it was done recently.