Hey guys I have been looking into getting more power out of my truck. It currently has a 302 and it makes ok power but only up around 4k rmp. I asked a while ago about swapping in a 351 and found out that since my truck is a 96 that I need either a 96 351 or a lot of extra sensors and the egr that were obll specific. I also looked into doing a 351 and a carb swap(have a carbed 351 in an old truck) but learned my truck has a computer for the transmission. A controller from summit will cost me about $800(Canadian) last time I checked. So now I am wondering what the most cost effective way to get more power out of my truck is? I currently have 31" tires but plan to eventually lift it with bigger tires. Would a 300 i6 be a good option for this? Does a I6 use the same transmission as a 302 and 351? Can I do some mods to the 302 to get it some low end power? Would getting a 5 speed and converting to carb to use my 351 be a good option? Would a 460 be less work than converting to carb? How about a 6.9 or 7.3 idi do they compare in power? Basically I want to know what is the cheapest option for getting more power. Any advice is appreciated,thanks.

 

You're all over the place here. First you are talking about power at 4000rpm, then you talk about a 300I6 which makes even less HP than the 302 and tops out at even lower rpms, then you're talking about lowend power and big blocks and diesels. What exactly do you want?
The easiest way to get better performance from your truck and especially with oversized tires is with more gears in the axles. The 5.0 trucks should have come stock with nothing less than 4.10 gears IMO, so that is where I suggest you start.

 

Sorry if that post was confusing, when I was talking about 4k rmp I was talking about where my 302 makes its power. I am looking for somthing that makes more low end so I dont have to rev it as much. If I change out the axle gears then it would rev quicker correct?

 

Well the first thing, is what kind of budget do you have? And I agree with Conanski, minimum of 4.10s is what they should have put in these trucks.

 

depends on what you 'change out' to.

Knowing your budget would be useful. Also what is your end goal for this truck. Daily, track, mud, rocks?

 

Put a roller 351 under the hood, and 4.10's in the axles Upgrade the transmission cooler while you're at it.

 

Well in terms of budget I am 17 so I don't have a ton of money to put in it, If a swap is the best use of my money I would probably do the swap then upgrades later. I would say maybe a max budget of $2000(into the motor,swap would be separate), is that enough to get some decent power from the truck? As for what I use the truck for it is a daily so fuel mileage is a concern, but I get 14mpg driving lightly right now so i'm sure it won't be that much worse.

 

Keep the 302, put in 4.11s and headers, put the rest of your money in the bank. That way you can afford the tires you'll burn off the rear.

 

LOL, famous last words...

Swapping an engine can eat through 2k quickly, nickel and diming on pieces unless you have a full doner truck already.

A rear end gear swap would be a noticeable improvement, within the budget. It also doesn't have to change when you do have more funds available for engine work. Well, at least until you go over what the axle can handle power wise anyway...

 

With $2000 being the budget, I'd hit the junkyard and look for a 4.10 rearend not common but Lightnings had them and I THINK it was an order option for some 4x4s. That is the cheapest route. Next is buy gears and do it yourself or pay to have it done.

 

You guys keep forgetting he has two axles to stuff gears in, at least if he want's to keep his 4wd.


You should seriously be looking into a donor truck or two. Of course you might just find a truck with all of the bits you want in decent shape. It may be better to sell your current truck, and buy exactly what you want.

 

That's why I suggested hitting up the junkyards, if you can find the rear with a 4.10 then you only have to buy and set up the front.

 

I think there's 2 questions I'd ask myself. Real world budget? Which you've answer and do I have enough knowledge to complete and trouble shoot a build like this?

If the answer to the second question is yes then I'd lean towards what some of the other guys have suggested and that is to find yourself a 460 donor truck. Yeah sure there's a lot of things you can do you your 302 to build power, but with you're budget I'd go for displacement.

I'd take a look at places such as Copart https://www.copart.com/locationsList/ or search online for local salvage auctions or even municipal auctions. OBS plow trucks with sound mechanicals and rotted out bodywork still show up from time to time.

Another option if you're want to stick with the 302 are turbos. Although you have to do your research there are number of budget eBay kits out there that some of the magazines have seen good results with on old 5.0 fox bodied Mustangs for little over 1500 bucks! I'm sure there's a workable rout there!

There are a number of directions you can take and some good advice on here. So my suggestion would be for you to put together a plan A, and then a plan B so that if A is a bust you have another option. Look into the cost of hoping up your 302 and a gear swap. Jump on Craigslist or anywhere you can think of and price out a parts truck.

Oh and make sure you leave some room in your budget for those expenses you didn't expect, belive me, there will be something!

 

Gears are the place to put your money. I had a 1970 F100 4X4 with a 302 and it definitely needed lower gears. I didn't know about that stuff back then so you are already ahead of the game.

 

Don't spend money on your truck unless it breaks. Well, spend a little to keep it from breaking and keep it safe but that's it.

Go to the track and meet some racers. Find a racer you can work for. Go fast on a track, not on the street.

Use the truck to haul your racecar to the track.

Drive on the street like you want everyone to get home safe every night.

When you grow up this will make sense, unless you act like an *** and end up in jail.