Stroked 302 or a stroked 390?

[Garf]

I have a 1970 F100 LWB that I am planning to restore but just getting ideas for now. I plan to lower the truck with dream beams and a shackle kit, widen the wheel wells so I can fit a 12" rim in the back, fuel cell sitting in the bed over the rear axle, bucket seats / console.... and build a motor with a goal of 500 hp. The truck currently has a 302 and I like the idea of #'s matching and it saves me some weight, but with all the mods I am making taking it away from original, it probably doesn't matter that I keep the original block. On the flip side, I like the look of a big block under the hood. I already have a 390 FE block from a donor truck, and I don't care about gas mileage as it won't be driven much, but it does need to run on pump gas. Cost is a factor.

I know this is mostly a matter of personal preference, but just wondering what other people have considered or done, and if there is a significant price difference in building a 500 hp 302 vs a 390?

With the weight transfer of the gas tank and bigger tires, will this thing hook up or do I need other modifications?

Thanks.

[RottenAppleRed]

Don't want to burst your bubble, but you aren't getting a realistic 500 horses out of the factory block...not even with a stroker 347. Building the 390 will be expensive and will cost even more to squeeze 500 hp from it without power add-ons. Not saying it can't be done, but it'll cost some coin. You would probably be ahead of the game to swap in something already built (good local find, crate motor or donor of some type). A 351W roller block might not be a bad start. You'll need a strong bottom end, good oiling system, forged pistons, good flowing heads, finished off with a centrifugal supercharger. Then you can either use a blow through carb or a fuel injection unit. You've got a lot of homework to do, cost being the biggest hurdle.

[Garf]

Thanks for the response. I figured stroking the 390 to a 442 and looking for that kind of HP is about $12K (no forced induction). Was looking at complete rotating assemblies from Survival Motorsports, and they go for about $4K. But agree, the lowest cost route is a crate motor. Then when I think about doing that I ponder just putting in modern technology via a coyote motor where I can add a blower later. So many ways to go!

[RottenAppleRed]

I think you're correct on running a late mod-motor for drive ability and modern power adders. Ford modulars have strong bottom ends, but run miles of chain to drive the top end. This makes doing maintenance at certain high mileage points a factor. Let's face it, an overhead cammed Ford V8 pushes the F150 down the road pretty sufficiently. By all accounts, transplanting one into a bump with a supercharger would indeed scoot.

On the other hand, it might be less pricey to build a big block...maybe the same? If 370 hp out of a Ford Explorer 5.0 can be achieved by swapping cam, intake, carb, ignition and a port job, then who's to say 500 couldn't be squeezed out of a stroked 390.

[Ranchero50]

I managed 100k miles on a 450 crank (390RWHP) '93 5.0 with head and a mild Paxton setup.

It all depends on your budget.

CV front end with a later model 5.0 would be my choice if I wasn't worried about money or originality. 500+ stroker FE if I was.

[colnago]

Don't worry about matching numbers - there aren't any! I'm not sure when Ford started that, but these trucks don't have numbers on the blocks. Various numbers to ID when a part was engineered or cast, but nothing to say, "this engine goes with this frame/body."

Joseph

[sargentrs]

For some real fun go to Comp Cams website and download and install their CamQuest software to your computer. You can play with a variety of block, cam, intake, etc configurations and check HP/Torque possibilities on each one. Lot of fun!

[rollercam1]

Just some food for thought. The cheapest way to make you 500hp goal I with a 460. A set of the A429 super cobra jet heads, camshaft, intake and headers on a bone stock 460 shortblock will yield that number on 87 octane fuel. A stroker kit in a 460 (503-557 cubes) for 1600.00 from Scat will net another big jump in power. Just remember that with 500hp other things will need attention. Trans, axles, driveshaft etc.