302 in a towing application

Hi everyone.

As you already know that gas prices are at a all time high and prices will keep on escalating until the new year. I need another truck for towing but I will not be buying a new truck in the immediate future. So I have a simple plan and I want your honest opinion on it.

I have an opprotunity of purchasing a mint 1987 ford 1/2 with a 302. I know that a 302 is really not a torque monster but here is the best part of the story. A couple of weeks ago I received a free 1987 Mustang 5.0 litre engine that is still in working condition! I was thinking of rebuilding the 5.0 and dropping into my truck.

So here is some questions for your perusal

1. Would you keep the stock heads and port them or get aftermarket. Remember this is in a tow application?

2. Would converting the truck to Mass Air be beneficial?

3. Stock hydraulic roller? or a mild RV grind.

4. Nitrous or turbo? (Just Kidding but its the gearhead in me speaking to myself)

Thanks!

Terry

How much are you towing? My dad had a 93 f-150 with a 5.0l we towed our 25' sport fishing boat, transmission didn't like it and it slowed on any hill but it moved... eventually. I told my dad he overloaded the truck, his response was the trailer sticker said the boat only weighed 3700, he said thats nothing. I look at it and it says 3700kg Dry, add 140 gal of fuel, 30 gal of water, unknown amount of gear and we're pushing 10k.

New heads alum if you can afford are definitely a big plus, what heads would be good for your app, I don't know. If I recall the 5.0 had some pretty long intake runners that kinda snaked up to a throttle body(i can't remember exactly I think it was a two piece manifold?). I'd go with a cam the is good from 1500rpm to around 5000rpm, I don't think a mustang cam would be good for this? I'd go with the rv grind while towing you'll probably never hit over 4k, unless really heavy and you need to down shift substantially on a big grade. Anyway as you know you want big torque as low as possible.

When did 5.0l first come with maf?

If you do serious towing north of 7500lbs dump the 1/2ton and get a 3/4 with a diesel.... It's light years better

302 is not a towing motor, if your regularly towing I would throw a 347 kit into the 5.0, keep the stock HO cam, mildly ported heads and convert to mass air, you will have to do somekind of electronics conversion as the HO will not run with the truck's computer, add a performer intake and you should have excellent torque and mileage.

Heres a case in point, I had a 3/4 ton and 1 ton ford plumbing vans, one with a 5.0 one with a 7.5 the vans are fully loaded, the 5.0 was a dog up hills and got 8 mpg's, the 7.5 you barely hit the gas and it moves and it goes uphills with ease in OD and gets 10-12 mpgs no matter how you drive it.

Yeah I was thinking about the stroker as well..I have a 1996 F-150 with the 5.0 and it feels pretty gutless even with 3.73 gears..Part of the reason is the auto trans keeps the engine at very low rpms all of the time..With my truck any extra power would need to be from idle to 2000 rpms max..Most performance add ons are just getting started at those rpms..

Yes I used to have a '95 F150 with a 5.0 and a 5 speed. Even with 3.73 gears it was a towing DOG! I believe it was rated at 210 HP. 10 MPG at best and that's only pulling a 4 wheeler in the back, a 4x8 utility trailer with another 4 wheeler on it. Usually averaged 18-20 unloaded on flat ground. On hills, forget about any kind of mileage at all. You had to downshift to 4th gear and keep the RPM up to pull any kind of hill and it was worse with the original 3.08 gears. For pulling, I'd rather have a 4.9 big six...or a 7.5/460. How about a 351w. Even a 351w will have a ton more torque and get better mileage than a 5.0 will, and it'll drop in right where the 5.0 came out.

To be brutally honest, if I was looking at another truck for a daily driver, I'd be looking for a mid 90's truck with a 4.9 and a 5 speed...but with 3.55 or 3.73 gears (not the 3.08's....). I used to have a '95, traded it off in '97 for a brand new '97 F150 with a 4.2/5 speed/3.55's. DOG! Nowhere near the power that the bigsix had and got really crappy fuel mileage if you had a load on it. Even without a load it got at best 18 mpg. I wish I'd have kept the big six truck.

Not long ago I was in the market for a new pickup to pull the Maverick with. I lucked into a '95 F250 with a 7.3 diesel/automatic. With a cold air intake and not a single other mod, I'm getting 18 mpg pulling a trailer...and it's nowhere near a light trailer. The trailer, car, gear, and all the other junk I have loaded up, it all weighs 7440 lbs plus the weight of the truck. Unloaded, I usually see 19-21. Only problem with it is that Diesel is a bit more $$$ but the truck pulls a ga-zillion times better than the '00 F150 ever did..and not just power-wise. The truck itself is built a LOT stouter! Frame, suspension, rear end, everything. If the wind isn't blowing and there ain't much traffic, I literally don't know the trailer is back there. It was WELL worth it getting a F250 over another F150!

I occasionally towed a car or 4 quads on my 16 foot car trailer behind my 5. slow Bronco. Yes it towed it but it was hard on the under sized brakes. It got 8 to 10 towing and a best of 13 empty. This is over a 10 year time frame with several tunes. I now have a 5.8 88 Bronco with C6 for plowing a 1993 F350 4 door 2wd with 5.8 and 3.55 gears. It has fresh Jasper rebuilt engine with shorty headers. It tows much better, it rides much better. Towing it gets as bad as 10 mpg and empty last week end I got 14 MPG combo highway/city and a high of 14.6 . My buddies 97 7.3 with 300K gets 18 to 21 on the highway. It is all a matter of what you can afford and what you are going to use it for mainly. If you are going to tow 2 times a year than 5.0 is good enough. But if you are going every week end then get a Powerstroke. It will pay for it self. I could not pass up the deal I got on my gasser and the mileage is good enough for me.

I drive a diesel for towing, dont tell anyone but its a gmc.......its an 06 duramax pushing about 425hp and 850 ft lbs, I get no less than 14 punching it around town and up to 21 hwy, towing 7000 lbs its usually 14-15 hwy at 70.

Towing with a 5.0 is possible but you are going to need some serious gearing. I would say at least 4.5xx:1
You are going to need a serious transmission. The Ford Truck four speed is probably strong enough but if you goe with a C4 then you are going to need one with extra clutches and a re-worked valve body. You will need extra cooling including lube to the extension housing bushing (driveline yoke bushing).

i would say more than anything it depends upon what you are towing, i have towed a 16ft car trailer with a full size jeep wagonner on it with a stock geo tracker (not very far and not very fast but it did it just fine, yes i have the pick to prove it) and i have towed u haul trailers loaded with house hold goods and stuff behind 5.0's(302) and just about everything in between, i have towed a 22ft camper trailer behind a 302 and a 300i6 etc...

again i think it depends upon what you are towing and how often everyone up here has given there opinion and its good advice.