i am thinking about selling my Ranger 4.0L and instead buying an f150. if i got an f-150 i would probably have to get a 302. my dad tells me these engines are dogs. Hes got a dodge ram with a 318 and its pretty slow. i was also wandering if any of you have a 302 with a 5 sp. manual and 4x4 and how you like your truck. I ve heard you have to wind those 302's up pretty high to get anywhere. any response would be helpful.

 

no, I believe the dodge is the old tired dog in that bunch. The 302 truck motor is very responsive and has huge aftermarket support (like all the 5.0 mustang stuff.)

 

Compared to other small V-8's the 302 I would say is right in there. The one I had in my 88 4x4 5speed would out run the chevy 305's but not the 350's. It didn't really start running "good" until 3k. From 3K to 5 it was pretty stout. It was a dog for just running around town and on the back roads up home. The worst part was the crappy mileage. My grandfather had a 350 the same year and he got much better mileage and more power.

My 2cents

 

Get a 351W (5.8)

 

351 (5.8) stock vs stock whoops the 302s (5.0) ***. I still love my 302, MUCH better on gas and solid as a rock.

 

I'll be putting a stroked and poked 351w (393) in my stang. I need to save fot the short block or blow the 302 up

 

My 5.0 has plenty of power without any mods what so ever. If your towing stuff, you may be shifting alot though, but the 5.0 has plenty of power, and doesn't need to rev very high to get anywhere. Mine is an auto, but it is pretty similar anyway. We tow huge loads of wood in it, and it still can get going down the road, even with the bed nearly draging the ground, and it gets decent gas mileage. And, if you want to get mods for it, you can get a ton of stuff for the 5.0 compared to a 351 if the 5.0 is an EFI. You can get a mass air kit, dual exhaust, new air intake, headers, and just a fuel injection performance kit can boost hp uo to 26 more, for only around $220. So if you have the 5.0 and need a little more boost for towing or just driving, there you go. I am getting a injection performance kit for mine with dual exhaust, that should boost power quite a bit right there. Anyhoo, the 5.0 is awsome soo....yeah...

 

I love the 302. The look on people's faces after you rescue them from the mud pit, or are the first one to the end of a mud bog (after the owner of the pit broke his truck halfway) and get asked the question..."What do you have in that thing?" They don't believe it is a lowly smallblock. They have butloads of torque, and get pretty good gas mileage. My Bronco has 40 inch swampers and 4.56 gears and I can leave my house in Hampton Roads with a full tank and arrive in Nags Head, N.C. with just under 3/4 tank of gas. The bigger motors are more powerful, more torquey, but I love the sound of a smallblock at 6000 rpms.
Maybe it's just me.

Robbie

 

I had a 86 F150 4x4 with a 5.0L(302 V8) and it had all the power one would need. I put a 4in. suspension and a 3in body lift in it and ran 36in buckshot mudders with a stock engine and gears. The truck would go anywhere and would impress all of my friends with G.M. rigs. Some off them went to Fords! If you want a 4x4, your gas mileage will suck no matter what you buy. Thats the price you pay to play!

 

The trucks in the mid 80s were a bit more peppy than the later ones.
There lighter and don't suffer as much from computer programming and weight gain to meet gov. requirements.
If I could find a nice one again like I once had, it would be a 76 SC 250 with the 390 big block, 4 barrel. That truck would run circles around anything today.

 

ok i have a stock f-150 2wd with a 302 in it and i want to start fixing it up like motor wise what should be the first thing i should do what helped yall the most on yalls 302s
thanks

 

My first vehicle was a 69 F-100 it came with a 300 I6. Drove it for about 12 months before it blew up. I got a cheap 302 and droped it in. Not only did I gain HP but also gas mileage...It was a pretty strong motor lasted me a while and I was not easy on it. It was also almost the perfect wieght to HP ratio for that truck.