52 f-7
 

I have decided recently that if I plan to use this truck as often as I want ( which is daily as my work truck ) than I need to get rid of the original 279 powerplant tranny. I just cannot have it down for weeks at a time because I cant find a part right away. Anyway I have a hydrovac, 279 motor and tranny with 23000 miles on it and all sorts of other stuff if anyone is interested. My e-mail is jhason2@yahoo.com....


On another note I would like some advice as to what I will run across by putting a 302 in this truck, looks to me as if there is no way that the exhaust manifold is going to clear the steering box, the motor and tranny are coming out of an 86 F-250 and it is fuel injected. The stock manifold on there now dumps out the back, I am sure there must be a stock manifold that will work, I dont want to go with headers because performance is not what I am after. Reliability and longevity is what I am after. Any tips would be great, thanks

I don't know if there are any factory manifolds that have a center dump to clear the steering box.

As far as reliability and longevity headers are just as good. Ford had factory headers on the later 5.0L Mustangs and had no problems. I work in a exhaust repair shop and have replaced many cast iron manifolds on the new trucks cause they break bolts and warp the manifold.

I think but I may be mistaken that at one point they offered mainifolds that dumped out toward the front, maybe someone here will give an application for those, thanks

i was checking out "julies cool f1" gallery about a hour ago.seems to me the engine that was in that truck when she bought it had front dump on the drivers side,maybe she can help you with this.

roy

Parts are readily available for the 279, and it is as reliable as any other, as long as it maintained. Upgrade the ignition to an electronic unit, and you're pretty much good to go. The carb kit is available too. Rings and bearings are available through any auto parts store, as are most other hard parts. As for a 302, it's a bit small for what is considered a 3 ton truck. I'd be looking at a few more cubes, like maybe a big block. You got to remember, the frame and suspension alone on that F-7 weigh almost as much as an entire 302 powered car. Add the all the body tin, and everything else, and you're talking about a 302 that'll fall right on its face, or spit its poor overworked guts out on the hi-way. They are not made for pullin 7,000 pounds of old Ford iron on a daily basis. There are so many engines available, I'd be looking for something more suited to the task just my opinion.

Parts are not readily avail. I have already done the search, I defanitely cannot just go to napa as someone here suggested earlier. Most of the vendors listed here on this site had not even heard of a 279 ford motor. Someone told me that parts were readily avail when I came to this site and that is absalutely not true. I was able to find a carb kit but of course it is mail order, I eventually found a fuel pump and purchased it again from a vendor here that had never even heard of a 279 even though it was clearly listed on his site and again that was mail order, what will I do when the water pump goes out, I have already been told to forget it....I plan to use the truck daily for a landscaping buisness, it will not just sit around so I can tell everyone what is sitting in my driveway. Anyway you must be thinking of a different engine.
BTW the 302 is more cubic inch and higher torque rating than the 279, I have hauled believe it or not 4 tons of trees on my trailer behind the truck that I plan to steal the motor from. Thanks for the advice but I dont think it is correct but I will let you know either way.
Another thing that might be considered is that a brand new Lincoln SUV weighs in great excess of 7000 pounds and although granted it is pretty tech advanced they run 6 cylinders in a majority of them so I guess its not the size that matters.

You must be looking in the wrong places. I can walk down to NAPA right now, and have a crank kit, and total re-ring kit sitting on the shelf tomorrow. I can have a water pump, and a brand new timing chain and gears here in two-three days. Dealt with it already. Took the Ford parts book into NAPA and they kept it for 3 months going through the list of items I marked for them, just to see what the availability was. The 302 is a short stroke motor, it will not produce enough torque haul that truck around all day long plus a full load of materials. That would be like trying to make a 351 run my tandem axle semi truck. I feel sorry for that engine. Oh, I guess I was mistaken, the bare bones 52 F-7 is going to weigh more than 7K. What I'm saying, before you get all sideways on me, is yes, 279 parts are available. No, a 302 is not suited for a 3 ton rated truck. The short stroke is all about top end, and nothing in the hole. It's gonna choke on its self. You say you want reliability. A 302 in a truck that is basically a single axle semi tractor, is not going to be reliable. It's gonna be a slug, and it's take so much fuel to make that thing even do anything. You say you want to drive it, everyday, and use it for work. A 302 is gonna be too small for what you are wanting. Any reputable mechanic you go too, that knows anything about the needs of a working class truck, is gonna tell you flat out that a 302 is a bad idea. Yard out the 279, but at least put something in there that will handle the job you want it to do.

Just for interest sake the 279 has a 3.5" stroke which is the same as the 351W. The 302 will be able to do the job but would be best for it to be built for the application. Changing a few components will make a big difference in that engine. I got a 302 to go in my one ton but I've built it for a truck.

Good point. If built, and with the right combos, you can get it to produce the power and torque down low, where a truck needs it. But, there are about 4000 pounds diefference between a F-350, and a F-7. That could be overcome with a good tranny and rear axle ratio combo. Low stall converter, heavy clutches and bands, etc., etc. The 302 in all but Mustang, or Mustang equivelant trim, produse as much, or less HP than the 279. I checked the specs at work. They produce about an equal amount of torque. The main difference, though, is where in the RPM range it's produced. The 302 is, for the most part, all above 3000 RPM, while the 279 is down low in the 1200-2500 range. This where a truck needs to operate to stay cool, and not blow its top when loaded down. The 279 is more like a diesel, building it's power and torque way down low, where a truck needs to use it. You don't rev a motor to 3000 RPM to start moving, not unless you want a cooked tranny, or a smoked clutch. Trucks that work, and haul heavy loads are all making there peak power and torque down in the 1000-2000 RPM range. They can start moving right off idle, and don't need rev real high when climbing. All the power in the higher RPM rnage leads to overheating on climbs, luggin hard trying to start out under load, and really poor reliabilty and fuel use. Not suited for the task. Hypothetically, in stock trim, that 279 will pull circles around any 302/351 engine, and give back change. Is it an out dated design, oh yeah, is it pricey to repair, yes, but the parts are still available, and it is suited to the task, in stock trim.

You keep saying the parts are avail. just out of curiousity do you run any 279 in any of your trucks and if you do what do you do when you need a water pump or a Generator or just a simple carb rebuild kit. Maybe you know of some majic parts shelf that I can get turned onto. ( sorry if I sound sarcastic, its not intentional ) If you do than heck I will just put the stock motor back into the truck, I need to be able to buy my parts from the shelf if I intend to use the truck daily which is what I have planned. The truck simply cannot be down for 1-2 weeks because the dist. gear decided it would go on vacation. Hope you see my point

Engine Performance WhareHouse stocks cranks, rods, bearings, rings, and all gaskets for it. NAPA, CarQuest, and Schucks have gotten me all the parts I needed, including distributor parts, caps, rotors, brake parts, carb kits, water pump, etc., etc. JobLot auto, stocks many parts for the 52-55 Ford 279 OHV Lincoln motor. Currently, my 279, that came from my 53 F-750 is in Arizona, with it's new owner. Parts are Ebay constantly. To me, the people you're finding at the parts store, are the problem, not that application, or your requests. If you want to replace it, I'm just saying that the 302 is going to be a bad idea. I think you'll be happier with a larger displacement engine....429/460, etc., etc. I'm personally confused as to your lack of luck in finding maintenance parts. I've never had a problem, for any of the old Y-Blocks.....239-332.

At this point I cant say much more than what I have stated. I have contacted job lots about the motor they told me they carry no major parts for that motor , I have a good friend that works at Napa and he has already researched what I can get which is not much. Maybe things have changed since the last time that you looked so I can only go with what I have found to be true on my end recently. Thanks for the advice though, we will see what happens.

HMMMMM. It may also be a case of location. I know, for recent fact, that I can get 279, and 317 Lincoln hard parts. Everything but the actual block, and bare heads, intake, those sort of things. All internal parts, I can get, and just about all the external bolt ons. Not all NAPA stores are conected. They all have many of the same info, but each store also has its own. Since you are wanting to make a daily work truck out of it, I won't try and talk you into keeping the 279. If it were me, and I say this because I already did it, I would save the motor/trans for a person looking to restore a truck with original drivetrain, etc. If I were doing what you are doing, which I kind of am, I would go a different engine tranny combo, which I already did.....the Catrpillar V-8. You say you want to work the truck, use it daily, and basically have a new truck, with an old body. personally, I would transplant the body onto a newer F-350, or similar frame. Diesel or gas, auto or stick, it would be better than trying to match a later power train in the right combos to get the same result as the original power train set up.

That sounds like the best idea. Even steering a 1952 while going over 45 mph is supposed to be dangerous. That is without considering total rebuild or re-engineering.

Good luck. I'd like to see a transplant that has succeeded though!

You just need to know a custom camshaft grinder that knows your engine inside out. My little 331 (302 with a 3.25" crank) will put down 300+ ft-lbs of torque from 2000 till its peak at 3600 rpm. The 279 ft-lbs is 244 at 2000 rpm. It's all in an engine build. I've sacrificed hp in my build for torque but I can still spin it till 6000 rpm which is when my valve train will start to lose it stability. Although it will have quit making power at 4900 rpm.

The camshaft ties an entire engine together. Putting a totally different camshaft in the 279 would make it pull up the rpm range until it couldn't overcome its (I'd assume) large main bearings and when the valve train says no more. An engine is an engine for the most part. They can be tailored to any need possible you just need to know how.