Hi- This is my 1st time to post. I have several questions about my 95 f150. It currently has a 300 6 with 305k, a 5 spd stick, 355 gears, and stock 15 in wheels and tires. I put 150 miles min. on it daily. Only 10 of that is city, so I drive mostly all highway. I get 15 mpg & sometimes 16 to 17. I haul light tools and materials off and on. No heavy towing. Having said that, what I would like to do is swap out the 6 for a 302, keep the 5 spd, swap out the 355 for a 308 or 273, and keep the 15 wheels. I drive easy for good mpg, so this is not for speed. I like the sound of a v8 and figure the mpg would be as good or maybe better with the higher gears. Does anyone have this combination? What do I need for the engine swap? Will the trans bolt up? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Bob

 

Welcome n00b! It sounds like you are looking at doing something that you might regret. However, if you are bent on going to a v8, and you can't find a 351, then the best advice I can give you is to keep the gears. If you go to a 308 with that engine, you will struggle to get off the line. You could use those gears with the I6 though...

 

Going from the 300six to the 302v8 seems like a lot of work for not a lot of upgrade. You'll pick up maybe a 20hp gain, but it's torque curve is way different. The 300six makes all it's torque down low, while the 302 needs to rev higher to get into it's powerband.

I don't notice my new truck (351, auto, 3.55) sounded any different from my old one (300, stick, 3.08). The 351 definetly has a lot more ***** when you put a load on it, but even with granny driving I can only get 14mpg highway. The old truck would get about 16 highway.

muddytruck is right, you'd have to be revving the 302 way more than you should to get it going with tall gears. You'd wear the clutch faster, and it would just detract from the "driving experience". Try and track down a 351 if you're set on the swap, it's a much "slower" motor, it's torque is more like the 300, and would be a good 40-45hp boost over the six.

But really, I don't see why you'd need a v8. You're getting excellent mileage (for these trucks), and a v8 swap would knock 3-4mpg off right there. Plus, you said it's all highway and no major towing, so the six can cope with that just fine.

 

Thanks for the help. Looks like the 4.9 is the best option. I need to rebuild it. The oil pump failed at 282k. While replacing it I installed crank & rod bearings. It has a noise coming from #6 cyl. Trouble guides indicate wrist pin noise. I have read about "Low Friction Rings" for improved milage. Are these available for this engine? Has anyone tried them? Thanks again