hey guys, quick question. my 302 in my truck is all stock, speed density. could i add a stroker kit to turn it into a 347? can i do this and still stay speed density, or will i need mass air? thanks...

edit: forgot to add, i'd like to keep it efi if possible. will a mustang 347 stroker kit work on my truck? i found a kit in a mustang mag. that included forged crank, forged rods, forged pistons, new bearings and new gaskets for 1500 bucks.

 

Sounds like your at the same crossroads I'm at.
My 95 is leaking at the rear main seal. It has 140,000 miles on it.
Trouble is I still like my truck = Don't want a new one.
I may go for 347 stroker and put a c-6 transmission in as well.
I think a floor shifted auto could be cool.
Not sure about the speed density.
Hopefully someone will reply.

 

You can go with the stroker if you get a custom chip burned, or swap the computer for one supported by the EEC tuners.

Over at the NLOC site there are guys running blowers and anything else using speed density and the EEC tuners. The limits to speed density are much higher than most people think.

 

thanks a lot for the info! im really hesitant to switch to mass air only because a buddy of mine put the mass air conversion kit on his truck and ever since the truck does not run quite as good. he is always having trouble with his maf sensor. anyways, will a mustang stroker kit owrk on a non-HO 5.0? the kits include cranks, pistons, rods and bearings. i imagine these parts are interchangeable between HO and non-HO 302's. am i correct? thanks!

 

Point to consider:

The 347 stroker was never designed or intended to last for more than 5000 miles. While one or two companies now offer, for 3 times the money, a 100k mile warranty on parts (with a very long list of exclusions), they rarely see more than 50k miles. They are really only suited for racing. They are being used in daily drivers, but it's not recommended. In a truck, well, I wouldn't do it. Not even with your money.

Take care,
-Chris

 

Will the parts fit in the block, yes! I would go for an HO block block though because then you can go w/ hydraulic roller lifters and pick from an endless supply of "Mustang EFI" cams. Will it last 100K miles.. don't know. I wouldn't COUNT on it going that long but it could. I put 30K on my 347 in my Mustang before selling it in perfect shape, burning no oil. Would I keep it SD, no. Would it run right SD, I'd say probably not. The engine will be sucking in so much more air (or trying to at least through factory heads) that it will put it outside the VE ratings of the SD computer. Would I convert to mass air, heck yes! I did, it runs perfectly! Used the FMS Mass-Air conversion kit for my 93' 302 5spd. If it were me I would NOT go w/ full forged internals for a truck unless your going to add a power-adder. I did the full forged kit in my Mustang but that was for racing and N20. For a truck save the money and go w/ the economy stroker kits using all cast stuff and hyper pistons if they have such a kit. That gives you the cubes (which you need) w/o the cost of forged internals which in my opinion you do NOT need. Save THAT money for a set of TFS TW heads, stage 1 cam, and Street intake. Don't bother porting anything, its not a high rpm thing.. you still want to shift at 5K rpm IMO. THAT would make a decent truck engine in my opinion!

I just put a 306 from my Mustang in my truck, converted to HO firing order, and got a custom cam for it intended for stock heads and 5K shift point and lots of towing. It works great. I still have an Edelbrock Performer intake, 70mm TB and 75mm MAM to install after hunting season.. hopefully that completes the package and I'm done messing w/ the truck. My goal is to be able to tow my boat (1000lbs) up hilll at 75mph in 5th gear (3:55 gears) and maintain my speed. I can't do that today at Fort Worth's towering 800' elevation. I need more torque at 2600rpm in order to this, I'm hoping the intake does it.

 

thanks for all the info. i think im gonna forget the stroker idea and just go with my original idea of rebuilding and adding a couple of hi-po parts. one more question...i was looking at the mass air conversion kit for my truck and it costs around 600 bucks. will i ever need to reporgram the maf sensor (if i get larger injectors)? what if i want to get a larger maf, will a mustang one be compatible? thanks for the help!

 

You can use any Mustang meter. Buy a meter that matches your injectors and your set or buy a Pro-M Optimizer which allows you to use the same meter w/ any compatible injectors and you adjust it. Its a little crude but it can work. Going to be installing one on my truck in fact to tune it w/o a chip.

 

Donate54,

Do yourself a favor.... go to the NLOC forums and look under Performance Specialties. Check out the threads on the EEC Tuner and who is using them.

These guys are running blowers, lumpy cams and anything else you can imagine with speed density and a tuner. Although my truck is mass air, no way would I shell out the money to convert it before going the other route.



Chris (PKRWUD),

Do you really think a stroker would be that short lived? There is a guy locally with a 331 with almost 80K on it. If so, why?

Granted the rod ratio would no doubt contribute to more ring and cylinder wear but it's not all that bad. Heck the stock 5.4 rod ratio is terrible!

 

Rod ratio plus piston design is the reason a 302/331 should theoretically should last longer than a 347. 347 will have shorter piston skirts and almost always the oil ring intersects the piston pin requiring a less than ideal work-around of installing a support for the ring over the piston pin bore. With short skirts the piston will rock more in the bore and w/ the oil ring less than ideally supported, it too can wear out quicker. You can do a search of the archives at www.corral.net in the Windsor forum and find lots of good discussion of this topic. In my personal experience, my builder botched my first 347, it died at 300 miles. he bored it .010 over, made it a 349 and we tried again. That one lasted 30K miles before I sold it and there was no detectable oil consumption when I did sell it so if it were ME, I would try for 100K out of a 347, especially in a low revving (<5500rpm) truck!

Jerry

 

Signmaster-
There is a big difference between the 331 and the 347. The demands a truck, and it's extra weight, put on an engine, are why I would never put a 347 in an F-150. A 331 is a different story. That could be fun.

Take care,
-Chris