i have a 1987 f150 4x4 with the un killable 300six. I wanted a second opinion if i should swap the 300 for a 302 becuase i am on a budget and the 300 performance parts are waaay to pricey. This truck is being bulit as a off road machine so please give me your input!!!

 

sorry forgot to mention the 300 is efi if that makes any difference

 

Id slap in a 5.0, it will run a lot better

 

if its an off road machine, and you want to build for performance why waste time and money with a small block? you can keep a 460 stock, run efi and still have more torque.

 

great idea but. still wanted decent gas milege and plan to put on highway miles.

 

You won't be happy with the 302 either, unless you dump gobs of cash in it for power adders. Get at least a 351.

 

I second the 351, you wont be dissapointed, almost big block power out of a small block!!!

 

okay. what is the gas milege on the clevland and windsor?? are the windsor's as bad as they say they are??? and will i have trouble fitting the 351 in??

 

go with the windsor not hte clevland, better gas mileage and cheaper for performance parts, you can but a decent cam in a stock bottom end windsor with a little head work done and have a pretty sweet motor

 

The 4.9L is a perfect off-road engine. Plenty of low-end torque; decent gas mileage; won't die; cheap to maintain; lighter than the big V8s; won't die. And did I mention it won't die?

Don't F your truck up trying to put "performance" **** on the engine. Maintain it well & it'll do fine: on-road & off-. Mine has never let me down off-road (from the swamps of Louisiana to the mountains of Arizona to the hills of Tennessee) and on-road, I can set the cruise over 100mph. Sure it takes a little while to wind up that high, but what's the rush? It's not a dragster.

Reliability is the most important feature of a daily driver OR an off-roader, and the stock I6 is the best at that.

Spend your money on a winch, good 32x11.50 tires, & a cell phone. Those will get you out of more than a V8 will.

 

i think im going to go with steve83's idea... until the old 300 gives out on me!! 32-11.5 you think those are big enough?? or will the truck be able to turn over any more? and 2 more questions....Goodyear MT/R's ...SuperSwamper SSR's or Interco Thornbirds? And.. also what would be a ideal size winch for Sticky situations (or snowey) Up here in Canada??

 

Yeah Steve did have a lot of good points, the I6 300 is the toughest motor in my opinion ever built, and I wasn't trying to talk him into swapping, just giving him some ideas if he did decide to go that route, and you can also swap in some gears to help out a lot, that one of the biggest things to do for more low end power, as far as Tires I think the good years would last you a little longer than the other two, but I would advise against the thornbirds, I have heard nothing but bad things about them, except for they look bad a$$

 

ha yes thats why i stuck them in my top 3 lol. haven't seen them in any reviews yet.. but thought they looked like they would like the snow leaning towards the good years becuase im not sure about inflation and deflation with the ssr's on highway driving.. will be doing alot of it so i thought i'd ask becuase in reviews they never say anything about on rode driving..

 

My only experience with off-roading in snow was afternoon trips in Arizona. It was about 70°F on the desert floor, but there was a nice snow line ~2,000' up the mountain.

But I like Bridgestone Dueler ATs for a good mix of on- & off-road performance, for the places I drive. I can't give you much input for your climate since I'm not familiar with it.

Don't worry about what tire the truck CAN handle - just concentrate on what you NEED for now. By the time you wear this set out, you'll have a much better idea of where the truck is going & what you need to modify on it to get it there. Take your time - get used to it & don't waste time/money trying to keep up with the herd.

Most winch mfrs. recommend a peak line pull ~1.5x the weight of the vehicle, which for a Bronco is ~6Kip curb weight / ~9Kip line pull. My ideal winch is a Ramsey RE10,000, but for now I'm stuck with a Warn xD9000i (got it free!). But ANY winch is better than none, and a ****** block (or 2) can make a cheap winch slow & strong.

Remember that a winch is the slowest way to get unstuck - chains are much better; even for mud. And chains are cheaper.

But nothing will replace skill & experience. Those are your best defenses against being stuck. Read everything you can (US Military field manuals have a LOT of good info) & practise in a safe area whenever you can.

This guy has a tremendous collection of links, including those Army FMs.