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302 or 5.0?!


RGeezy

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I have a 1987 BII and I'm thinking about doing a V8 swap here within the next year once I get some parts together. I know I'm getting a 5.0 but, I can't decide if I should go with carb or a fuel injection. I REALLY HATE car wiring and a carb engine would prevent this along with a holly sniper to add good power and tuning capability with the down side of a steep price tag. If I got a fuel injected engine I would get better gas mileage and not have to pay for the EFI carb but I got the damn wires and the OBDI to deal with. Thoughts? Suggestions? Experience?
 

JoshT

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Both... for all intent and purpose a 302 is a 5.0.

For a BII I'd start with the engine and acessory package from... an Explorer. (Didn't see that one coming did ya? 😜)

Seriously though I would recommend the engine and acessory package from the Explorer whether you plan to car it or not. That one has the tightest acessory package of any factory 5.0L and the 83-92 Rangers and BIIs had the tightest engine bay of any RBV.

From there decide which ever works better for you. You could adapt the EFI system from the Explorer donor. Install a Mustang based EFI system, prety much all parts van be bought new aftermarket. You could go full aftermarket EFI using the factory EFI intake. You could drop on a carbureted intake and and carburetor, or spring for the Sniper.

FYI Sniper isn't really going to add any power over a properly tuned carburetor, however most caruburtors that they replace aren't properly tuned. What the Sniper does do is allow for automatic adaptation to various conditions rather than having to tune the carb to account for them. I've done it on an old truck. It isn't pretty but it works well and the whole truck needs rewiring anyway.

If you want to avoid wiring Sniper is probably not for you either. While there are only a few wires to actually connect (depending on options) there are a lot of wires to route and they take careful planning and consideration to avoid any EMI related issues. I would say it probably isn;t much more difficult to install the factory mustang based EFI systems, or to convert the Explorer system to standalone. I actually did the latter once, it wasn't difficult once you dig into it, but I never actually got to the point of testing it.

If going EFI the plus side to a factory system is obtaining replacement parts and they do have some diagnostics capabilities built in if you take advantageof them.
 

19Walt93

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I'm a long time carburetor guy so that's what I used on the 351 in my Ranger. Both my Ranger and Mustang run 80457 Holleys, a vacuum secondary 600 cfm unit with an electric choke. I dropped the jets from 69's to 67's in the Mustang, the Ranger likes the factory 69's just fine. Get a set of secondary springs and use the lightest one that gives you a surge of power without a hiccup when the secondaries open too soon. If you use Duraspark make sure the coil has enough resistance or the module will die early and often. You'll need a low pressure electric pump because your steering box lives where the mechanicl pump would be.
 

lil_Blue_Ford

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Yup, Explorer donor for the 302/5.0 (they’re the same when you’re talking Ford, technically it’s not a 5.0 until you hit like 305 CI, so the 302 is technically a 4.9, but Ford already had a 4.9 (the 300 straight 6). Weird little bit of trivia.

Anyway, you want the short accessory drive system, it will fit better. You still may need a shoehorn.

EFI in any vehicle not set up for EFI will be a ton of electrical wiring. Possible, but if you don’t like wiring, you are far better off with a carb or one of the aftermarket solutions like the Holley Sniper. I’m convinced that most people, for whatever reason, are not good about doing electrical properly. If it’s not your thing, that’s fine. Like Clint Eastwood said, “A man’s got to know his limitations.”

The basic 302/5.0 block stayed the same all through production to my understanding. It’s a Mr. PotatoHead of the automotive engine world. Back in the day it was what the LS engines are today.
 

rusty ol ranger

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Yup, Explorer donor for the 302/5.0 (they’re the same when you’re talking Ford, technically it’s not a 5.0 until you hit like 305 CI, so the 302 is technically a 4.9, but Ford already had a 4.9 (the 300 straight 6). Weird little bit of trivia.
That bugs me when wiki articles call it the "4.9 V8".

Actually, from what ive read (ive never done it) if you do the math based off actual cylinder displacement the 300 is actually closer to 5.0L's then the 302 is.
 

superj

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and if you want easy fuel injection, the throttle body fue linjection system that came on chevy engines in the mid 80s to mid 90s is as easy as it gets. all those 87-95ish chevy 1500s, s10s/sonomas, camaros, anything chevy made with a 4.3 or a v8 have super duper easy to use fuel injection that looks like a carb from the outside.

only negative is hte stupid three bolt mounting flange so you need an adapter to mount it to any carb intake.

but that is the easiest fuel injection i have ever seen to use on a non-fuel injected engine, if you end up going with an old school carb'd 302 but want FI easy of use.

---------------------------------------------------

i used a nice 450cfm holley on my stock 82 302 that i put into my wrangler though. nothing easier than a factory carb on a 302 since the holley was from a 60s mustang
 

RGeezy

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Thanks to everyone I really appreciate the feed back, I am leaning towards getting a carb engine with a sniper. I know there are a variety of carburetor mounting methods but, is it possible to adapt an already EFI engine to fit a sniper? If I try to find a carb 5.0 would looking a f-series truck be my best option? Is there a similar EFI carb other then a holly sniper that would be more cost effective?
 

lil_Blue_Ford

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You want an EFI Explorer motor. Pull the upper and lower intakes off. Put a lower intake for a carb and whatever you want to run on top. You will also have to pull the camshaft synchronizer assembly out and drop a distributor in it’s place. Block is the same as any (F-series, E-series, Mustang, etc). The major difference is the front accessory drive is a lot shorter than any of those other options. That makes a difference trying to shoehorn it in an engine bay. If you insist on buying a carbed engine, you’ll want the entire accessory drive from the Explorer anyway including the water pump, crank pulley, and possibly the timing chain cover. If you don’t, you’re gonna be doing some major modifications to the rad support and possibly the firewall.
 

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