I have a 1992 F-150 1/2ton Regular Cab 2x4 with a 5-speed Manual Transmission and that beautiful 4.9ltr 300ci block (with it's terrible peripheral parts, leaving it with low horsepower)

anyways, I believe i have the larger rear end, because I believe at somepoint the whole drivetrain was replaced, with a stock ford tranny, looks like a really big 11" rear end, cant be sure of ratio, and a giant hollowed cast aluminum light, but SOLID!!! this thing doesnt shake a bit, and its responsive as hell, and absolutely terrible in the snow. for a diesel truck with 5x the HP and TQ.

so finally getting to the point i'd like to raise the horse power and torque rating on the truck with whatever means necessary, spending under $1000 total, with the ultimate goal of getting better gas mileage. The goal is making between 180-200HP and around 300 of tq. because the torque in the engine peaks at 2000 rpms I believe if I do a lot of upgrades without increasing gas consumption I can get 18mpg City and up to 25 highway.

For instance i'm looking for something along these lines, but i've never really had the chance to work on this truck (although I learned to drive and work on cars with my dads 1976 Ford F-250 with a 351 Windsor, that thing would pull ANYTHING!) but never the 4.9ltr.

my idea is to have this, maybe a new Intake Manifold, if it's possible to fit a modern one or from newer or other model truck or even cars. ive already ordered a flowmaster muffler that says it will help throttle response and give about 4-6 peak hp and up to 8 peak tq, so add a better airbox (since the one I have is busted) and possibly a better ignition system.

I've thought about getting a K&N Air Intake Kit for it, but they cost over 200 and I know they dont provide the 17hp advertised. also the aftermarket ignition kits, inexpensive, and for the right car can provide a good boost. although regarding the air intake and throttle bodies, I notice it has the dual throttle bodies, is there someway to switch that with some ford V8 with the same configuration, along with the bigger airbox? that way I can just rip it out of some junk yard, there's always pleanty of wrecked mustangs and whatnot.

so couple all of these together, with maybe other upgrades, call a company to make a custom chip that will take advantage of these upgrades and will cost less than 175 from what ive seen.

sorry this thread is so long, i just know so little. but i do know a Ford Staight-6 will last forever if you treat it right. so i plan on having it a while, and if spending a thousand bucks gets me 5 more miles per gallon on average , than i'll save 1,260 bucks a year (assuming i drive it 25k miles per year and gas is 3.05 per gallon) and if i have it 4 years (which i'm sure i will) it will more than pay for itself....

 

i had the exact truck i believe, but mine was the 5.0 (92 single cab shortbed 2wd) very nice little truck. watch that tranny though i torn the )(*&$ out of mine once, had it rebuilt, and then no more problems

you have a manual so you probably don't have cruise control so you don't have to worry about that going out...

leaf springs...i had BOTH mine break on me.... just remember that...

get a larger radiator, new water pump, and cooler thermostat...that will help keep the beast cold

new plugs ( i ran bosch +4 in mine with no probs) get some of the thick 80mm spark plug wiring, and while you are getting a new radiator, go ahead and take that huge fan off the front and put electric fans...that will probably give you the most noticeable power

 

The performance gains you are looking for are nearly all in head work. There is NOTHING you can bolt on and pick up 20-30%. Take a look at this thread

http://fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30135

While you're at it add a mild computer-friendly cam like an Isky 256 and you should be good to go. There 2 flys in the ointment though:

1) if you need to pass an emissions test, the camshaft may or may not cause you to fail.

2) if you push the HP level much beyond your target, you'll have to do some fuel system mods which on a 300 can upset the PCM and make it start puking out error codes.

 

thats a pretty good idea, it says pretty cool now, (too sensitive of a thermostat or something i guess)

how hard is it to take out the clutch fan?

 

bout 5 minutes, lots of pb blaster 40, some cuss words, and then finally iTHINK a 10 mm nut with a screwdriver to hold the fan from turning...

at least that's the redneck way

 

as far as i'm concerned thats the only way that matters. the other way is paying some ******* 50x the cost to do a half *** job