Suggestion of engine in a 79 ford f150?
I was wanting to know a sugestion from you guys i have a 1979 ford f150 2dr short bed i currently has a small block 302 (stock)with a c6 tranny its very weak for the power i'm looking for. What engine do you guys sugest me to put in it i'm using the truck for racing doing burnouts and messing with it and this engine ising working for that. I'm low on budget so i'm not looking to stoke it or put a biger cam on it
Yes it is, part of the reason is age and the other is the nature of the emission control system. A few years earlier or a few years later and it would have more power.
My suggestion is to up-date the engine, a newer 302 will fit and with a few changes to the fuel system a modern EFI port injection engine will work. It will produce more power with better fuel economy. A 351 W from a later truck would be the best choice.
Now there are a couple of reasons why that engine is not stronger and one of them is that very likely it needs a valve job. The metallurgy of the late 70"s was still such that the valves did not last as long as they do now. It took a few years for the auto industry to find the alloys that now are used. Unleaded gasoline just does not do the job alone and different materials as well as manufacturing techniques are used now. This problem is why I don't suggest just removing the emissions equipment and back dating the engine. A good overhaul job on the present engine would be just as expensive as purchasing a used low mileage salvage yard engine and EFI system.
As for burn outs- a truck is light in the back end and while a burn out is impressive it does little for ETA. It needs a torque arm set up to get some bite and installing one of these can get expensive. I drive for ETA- not noise!
It really depends on what "low on budget" means, how much work can you do yourself, vs what do you need to pay someone to do for you? Can you swap an engine yourself, or you need to pay someone 10 hours labor charges to do it for you? If you think changing a cam is too expensive, changing the whole engine can be a lot more expensive.
Check your compression on all cylinders, if you have problems with burnt valves it will show up as lower cylinder pressures, usually the middle two on the passenger side go first as they fire consecutively so it is where the most heat builds up and cooks valves. You can get a compression tester for <$50. If you've got good compression, you've got a good bottom end, then some headers, a cam and a decent intake and carb you should be in good shape using what you've got to start with and not have to deal with pulling and swapping motors.
Or if you want somehing to dream about, you can pick up a 347 (stroked 302) from Jegs with 503hp for only $16K…
http://www.jegs.com/i/Edelbrock/350/45363/10002/-1
Or you can get a more basic 347 for $5K
http://www.jegs.com/i/Blueprint+Engines/138/BP3472CTC/10002/-1
Unless you have a source of free parts and free labor, swap isn't going to be that cheap.
For about $1K, you can pick up Shelby cam, intake, exhaust etc that will work on 302…
http://www.cobranda.com/289fordhipocam.html
A 351 is your best choice. It bolts to your mounts and C6, and the C6 is more than strong enough. You can buy a newer fuel injected engine, and either figure out the injection, or buy a manifold and put a carb on it. A 302 is easier to find, and there are a lot of 302 engines with more power than yours.
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