If I want to buy a new / used 5.0 and build it from the ground up, or should I get some 17 or 18 rims and low profile tires. I really just havent found any rims thta I like, I like plain rims, not ugly chrome stuff that people put on. I likes simple stuff like the gen 1 Lightning rims and the gen2 (99-00) rims, are there any like this out there? However I do like the idea of getting something like an 5.0 explorer engine, and building it up, what would yall do?

 

i say build the engine, its funner (sorta), more educating, good for weekends and nights when you have nothing better to do, and in the end youll have a kick *** motor. Rims on the other hand, you buy, stick em on and. .. . . thats it, esp since you really dont have any in mind that you love. My vote goes to engine build.

 

Man, that is like one end of the spectrum to the other. I wouldn't do either. I spent $900 on a set of eagle alum alloys about 6yrs ago, looked good at first but started lookin bad quick, I ran my 4x4 hard. Took almost a year for me to find a sweet deal on a set of factory rims to go back to. I would also wait til you're engine is smokin, or high mileage and suspect its going to let go on you before buildin a new one and then I would suggest buildin the one you have, less suprises

 

Are you talking like right now are down the road? I figured an engine swap would be out of the question since were saying an Edelbrock intake manifold was too expensive. Would your dad go for something like that?

Any ways, I agree with ccnseven. Wait until you actually need to do an engine swap and then go as crazy as you want. If you sink all your money into an engine when you don't need to, you might encounter some unexpected problems afterwards and you won't have the money to fix them. As for the rims and tires, they can go a long way to improving the performance and look of your truck. But, just make sure you really like the rims. I've always maintained that the rims and tires of a vehicle can make or break the look. There's nothing worse than sinking a ton of money into something and having it actually decrease your level of satisfaction. I say start saving your money so when you see a set of rims you like, you can buy them, or if your engine goes you can replace it. Sometimes we have this vision of what we want our truck to look/perform like. We get so anxious to achieve that look or level of performance that sometimes we don't have the money to do it right so we end up cutting some corners or compromising on certain parts and we end up short of our goal. So my advice is to be patient, save your money, and spend it on something truly worthwhile and/or necassary.

 

Well yes my dad would go for that. He doesnt want me to do stuff to the engine that is in the truck now, but if I bought another one, and worked on it, he wouldnt have a problem with that. I was saying that all the Edelbrock stuff being close to $900 was to much for one mod. Plus I just found out that I can work my old summer job along with my current one, and my parents and grandparents and relatives will be giving me $$ more graduation, so I will proably have about $5000 to blow. Maybe Iwill save it until my junior year in colllege, because my grandparents bought my sister a 2001 Grand Cheroke when she was a junior, and it was like $25k, and he wont have to buy me a vehicle since I have one, so he will give me like $20k. After saying all this, I think I will just save my money, I will buy small mods like I have been doing, and when I'm in college, and I can drop $10k + into the truck, it will be sweet. Thanks for the help guys. And TF you are right, sometimes we do just get caried away. BTW I am still intersted in what we talked about; however, I am just trying to figure out what Iam going ot do. Ill get back with you soon,

 

One more thing to think about...By the time the engine would be ready to go into the truck, chances are much higher you will be dissatisfied. My experience with drawn out extenuating projects is that they usually get less desirable because you find little or even big things that you can not change at the stage of the project. By then you may want to go with more cubes. 5.0's are very small, especially for a truck. They have the potential for power, but equal values of money into a larger displacement engine produces power unmatched by the smaller engine. I am personally pulling the 302 in my truck. Ive been talking about it for about a year now. I found a 5.8efi from a 1997 F-350 truck so I will be installing that in a few months, of course, after a few modifications have been done to it. I figured, I already have 33" tires and 3.55 gears. I was not looking forward to spending 1000 dollars on gears so a High performance 302 is out of the question, just not enough torque to spin the tires even as it is.

 

That is a good point about engines, but is there a huge amount of power difference between the 5.0 and the 5.8? If I had the money now, I would get edelbrock head and RR, Crane Cam, built bottom end, edelbrock upper/ lower, either a Kenne Bell blower or another running like 12 psi, plus all the bolt ons I could get. I think that this would be pushing about 400+ rwhp. If I did this same stuff to a 5.8, how would it performance compared to the 5.0? and isnt the 5.8 a HUGE gas guzzler? I mean I know hte 5.0 wouldnt get that great, but hey every mpg counts. And I would need a new comp and everything, then I would have to convert to Mass Air since the 5.8s didnt come with it. It seems to me that the 5.0 is what I would rather. Plus if you beat someone would you rather say that you have a 351 or a 302. I would rather say 302, cause then they know you put alot into it. I dont know what do yall think?

 

Well, I think it depends on what your uses are. If you're building a street racer, I would say stick with your 302. You don't have to worry about turning large tires since you have a 2wd and the aftermarket is great for the 302 engine. And you're right, if you're gonna get a supercharger and all the bolt-ons you can find, what difference is it gonna make if you've got 375 hp or 410 hp, either way you've got a s##t load of power and without the hassles of swapping ecu's and such. If you want high end power, then the 302 is just as capable an engine as the 351 is.
For me, I've gotta worry about turning 35" tires in addition to wanting a truck that can get up and go when it needs to. This is why someday I'd like to stick a 351 in there, not so much for the hp, but for the torque. And you're right, the 351 gets a lot worse gas mileage than the 302. So that's gonna suck... But hopefully it'll be worth it. But, I've only got around 40,000 miles on my rebuilt 302 so I'm gonna wait until I actually need a new engine again before I make the swap. It would be a waste of a perfectly good engine to swap sooner. I think if you put enough money into the 302, you'll be more than satisfied with the results.

 

how long do the 302s usually last if they were cared for well, and was driven easy for 68k miles,, and now with it having 76k, and I dont drive it hard, but occasionally I do have to show off Ford power. What do these engines last? More than 150k?

 

Drive your truck til it drops and put the 5 Large in the Bank

When you're twice the age you are now, you'll thank me

 

If the truck is maintained properly, then 150,000 miles should not be a problem at all. My friend has a 1990 F-150 4x4 with a 302 and 3.55 gears and he's got 140,000 original miles on his engine. He could use a little maintenance, but for the most part it isn't engine related, and we have a suspicion that the previous owner stopped taking care of the truck for a while before he sold it. On average I would say at least 150,000 should be reasonably attainable. I heard once upon a time that these engines were designed to last 200,000 miles with ideal maintenance and relatively little abuse.

 

You're right, TF. Maintain it and it won't drop!

My '86 5.8 has 147K, no major work, zero oil consumption, I tend to its bodily fluids and it just keeps goin'

 

Hey guys, I abused the s**t outta my 302 before I got married of course, sunk it twice and thats just the beginning, it now has over 300,000 miles on it and I built the engine 32,000 miles ago because I wanted to, not because I had to. These babys last forever
As for power, if you're gonna do a ground up build, you can get any amount of power within reason from a 302, 400hp is easy to get outta our engines if you're gonna completely build it
Also big block conversions mean to do it right all new front end parts to hold up the heavier engine, and if you're really into doin it right brake upgrades. That doesn't include whether or not the transmission will bolt up.Engine swaps are usually way more involved than people realize.
I'm 32 now and am spending money unduing all the un needed crap I bought cause I got carried away blowing all the money I could get my hands on when younger. Not really my buisness but drive that baby til it won't go anymore, then build you're engine the way you want it and keep savin you're money, you'll need it for somethin important one day. Sorry for goin on and on, I learned the hard way. I wish everyday I had saved the money I wasted:o

 

OMG!!!!

That's all the miles you have on that thing and you are thinking about a new motor, it ain't even broke in good yet!!!

All kidding aside, 200,000 is easy with good maintenance, read that as "FREQUENT OIL CHANGES" #1 way to ensure long engine life. 302's have a relatively short stroke, so side wall cylinder wear is almost none existant, mine had 217,000 when I finally pulled it and the factory honing still looks fresh.

With the low miles you have, there is no reason to consider replacement anytime soon unless you just like to burn money.

 

Thats what I'm talkin bout fast pony