Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

I know this post is older than sin but I just came across it as I'm sure others will from time to time so I thought I'd add my 2 cents.
A few years back I went to look at a 1977.5 F250 4x4 that a farmer used for hauling firewood and it had a custom steel flatbed that was 9ft. long with 6 1/2ft. tall steel bedsides with steel framed/metal mesh covered barn door tailgates. He was able to fit 1 1/2 cords of wood in there.
It had Dana 60's front/rear with 6 leaf springs per pack in the front and 13 leaf springs per pack in the rear, plus overload springs. It had an NP435 tranny and NP205 transfer case and he said everything in the drivetrain was original(minus the engine) and the only stuff done to it was routine stuff like fluid changes, axle cover gaskets, u-joints and one new clutch.
I was truly impressed with this truck and I thought for sure when I popped the hood I was going to see a 351M, 400, or a swapped in 460; nope, it was a little 302. He bought the truck in '89 with 112,000 miles on it but it didn't have an engine or bed so he built a custom bed for hauling wood and found a deal on a 302 with only 50,000 miles that he couldn't pass up. He then went on delivering firewood with it for the next 20+ years and ended up putting an additional 265,000 miles on the engine which added up to a total of 315,000 miles on the engine and 377,000 miles on the truck. We're talking about 20+ years worth of hauling payloads of wood that often weighed upwards of 8,000 lbs. with a little 302.
I became friends with the guy and he still drove the truck until he died 6 months ago. Yes, the engine burned a little oil but it still fired right up every time. Was it the best choice of engine for hauling that amount of weight...no, but it did the job. He was a thrifty old farmer who refused to spend money unless he absolutely had to but the point is, that little 302 just wouldn't quit.
For the record, the 351M and 400 may be from an era of low power from smog equipment and detuning, however, they can easily be retuned to some serious power. I have a 400 that is bored .30 over with a custom cam, 351C heads, custom made 4bbl intake, 4bbl double pumper carb, and a few other things done to it that I have less than $3000 into and it makes 420HP and 545LB. FT. of torque. I have also owned other 351M's and 400's that I beat the crap out of that far outlasted/outperformed my friends Chevy and Dodge trucks. I still have my hunting/log skidding truck('79 F350 4x4) that had 392,000 on-road miles on it when I decided to make it an off-road-only truck. It has had another 10 years of off-road abuse added onto those miles since.
Both the 302 and 351M are good engines but the 351M and 400 are better truck/heavy car engines.