My Ford pickup has a nasty almost dead 6 cylinder with a 4 speed (4th says overdrive) stick on the floor. It has GOBS of torque, but it's literally about to expire... anyone drop a 302 into an F-100? The mileage would have to be better, and I carry nothing in the back, and stay on the highway. What do I change? Motor mounts, clutch, tranny, rear end, etc. etc.?? Can I get parts out of another truck, and any websites that detail this? I love my truck, so not replacing it, but despise the idea of putting another 6 in....THANKS!! paul
OK.... I understand that the F100 you're talking is the 3.8 V6 F100??
If you're replacing a 300 inline 6, this swap would be slicker'n shhhhh.... well, it'd be pretty slick. Replacing a 3.8 powertrain isn't quite so easy..... trans wont fit, driveshaft will be wrong, brakes probably a tad light (IIRC, this is the 4 stud wheel F100) and the diff may not be up to the extra torque.... radiator too small..... springs and possibly more that I can't think of at the moment. The coachwork would have to be pretty primo for me to wade through a 3.8 swap.
If, indeed, it is a 4.9 you're swapping out, the extras wont be anywhere near so overwhelming and lots of stuff will bolt right up.
Can't be much worse than putting a 302 Boss into a '51 F-1 p/u....that required shaft, motor mounts, radiator, transmission, and a whole mess of figuring out how to get the clutch to work. Other than that it wasn't too big of a deal. Its easier if you are using an automatic.
I just went outside and looked @ the data decals - it's a 4.9 inline 6 w/4speed...wheels are 5 lug - sorry to be so ignorant, but all this is new to me, being a VW owner.. aren't 302's more plentiful and don't they give better gas mileage than these 6's? I wonder what this would cost me in actual $?
I notice the idle/choke isn't supposed to be adjustable - after a compression test, if there's any hope for this motor, I'd LOVE to throw out/rip off the egr hoses/filters/valves, and maybe even get rid of the carb... I have a GREAT older mechanic, but he won't reveal his secrets - I ask what was wrong and he smiles (different car) and says, "brakes got stuck"... right now it just shudders and runs very rough (it quit on the interstate after some deep knocking-but of course no knocking after it was towed home), so until I get some $, it's going to sit where it is... I looked inside the valve cover when I put a new egr fitting on the front of the engine, and there is about 1/8" of CRUD in there....:+( it smokes blue when I crank it up - had an oil change, belts tightened, new ac filter, and new egr/pcv stuff - I suspect there's about 1/2 million miles on it!! These motors do look strong, though designed when? 1950?? Hey, THANKS for the help! Paul
For one thing, I can' t imagine a 302 getting BETTER gas mileage than a 300.
In fact, I have a 95 F150 with a newer version of that same engine in it, as well as an Explorer with a 302 in it, and I can tell you that the truck gets better mileage. (not dramatic though).
While 302's are plentiful, I don't think you'll find any shortage of used
300's either. They were put in zillions of trucks and vans for a LONG time!
It doesn't sound like you are building a show truck or anything, and (no offense intended ) it doesn't sound like you are real mechanically knowledgeable so you would be at the mercy of someone else every time you need to tinker with it. And if you bring it to a shop with a V8 when the data plate says V6, you will likely get a lot of head scratching, and open yourself up for more abuse.
IMO engine swaps should be reserved for customs, or motor-heads who just want to do something to prove they can !
I say, find a decent 300 in a junkyard and plop it in in an afternoon, and drive away!
I have to agree, Chief. Unless he's been building cars since he was a teen, like some of us, and is a habitual tinkerer, he's asking to bite off more than he can chew. This isn't a job for an old Beetle owner / mechanic.
I like the 302, but it isn't likely a V anything is going to get better mileage than an inline. The 300 six was a very popular, dependable engine.
The Chief and John have it right...... Sounds like bux are an issue as well so cheap version would be a straight across swap..... there'll still be some issues such as throttle cable, wiring, exhaust possibly rad (for sure rad shroud), flywheel and all the gotcha's I'm forgetting. A straight across swap will also make the experience gathered in the process a little easier to take and a lot less frustrating.
One thing to watch on these is that pesky Carter carb.... IIRC they used the old YA series carb.... the top half likes to come loose from the bottom half. Caught early enough, a carb kit will supply the gasket to repair it.... left for any length of time turns the carb into a poor doorstop. Idle and choke are adjustable....
You guys are exactly right - if it comes to it, a junkyard 300 is the answer. I can maybe get one with a 30 day guarantee, and that's enough time to give it a compression test, etc...hey THANK YOU! :+) paul
The 302 is cute in the mustang but its no torque monster. Your trading a tractor engine (300) for a racing engine (302). Personally if I was going to 'upgrade', it'd be a 351W at the least.
If fuel economy is a big issue I'd re-gear the truck with lower gears and replace/overhaul the 300. The 300 has outrageous torque at low RPM and with lower gears you can take advantage of that.
The nice part about the 300 is they tend to last forever if maintained halfway well. I know of one late 70s all-original 300 with over 300k, driven a few times a week for over 30 miles per trip, oil changes twice a year no matter the milage. Used on a farm, has towed, hauled, bogged, and everything else.
So whats wrong with your 300? Maybe some TLC to it would be better than a 'new' engine (and a set of possibly worse problems)...
Having driven 2 Ford 300 I-6 engines (a 1982, carbureted and a 1992 EFI) to over 300,000 miles, and having driven many ford 302, 351, 429, and 460 engines well into the multi 100,000 mile range. The 300 I-6 is a DOG. I have a tractor that will pull stumps, but it tops out at 16 miles per hour...
Unless your truck is competing in some LOW horsepower type of tractor pulls, or putting around a field in granny (LOW) gear full time the 300 I-6 has ZERO advantage over the nearly same displacement 302 V-8 (Fords most successful engine ever). The stark difference in on road and highway performance is incredible. The 300 loses any torque advantage it might have above 25 miles per hour... All of my 300 I-6 engines have always gotten less gas mileage than my 302's 12-16 MPG for the truck application 302's
10-12 MPG for the 300's.
As far as re-gearing your truck, I would make a wager that if you put "Higher" gears in your truck you would see no Fuel consumption improvement. Yes I typed "Higher" gear ratio and Jacob typed "lower" this is an area where Jacob has his terminology reversed, in a transmission, First gear (4.14 revolutions in for 1 revolution out ) is low gear, fourth gear (1 revolution in for 1 revolution out ) is high gear. On rear ends the terminology is the same, 3.00 revolutions in for 1 revolution out is a high (Tall) geared rear end, and a 4.10 revolutions in for 1 revolution out is a lower geared rear-end. Thus 4.10's are lower gears, and 3.00's are higher gears...
As for your swap, mount stands and mounts, should be different. Your bell housing should bolt directly to the 302 V-8. Check with your local machine shop about fly wheel size, balance and application, they could swap from 300 to 302. I always like to have the flywheel balanced with the engine, but then you would be talking about an engine rebuild. The swap should be simple, the 302 engine will have to have a truck application oil pan and pickup tube, not a car.
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