Fast 88 f150?

Just thinking of abstract stuff... so I've got an 88f150 short bed 300ci 5speed 2wd, body is beat, just hit a deer this week(still runs great though) and was thinking... how can I get this thing to be a sleeper?

Note please, I know nothing about drag racing, nothing about trucks, nothing about American v8s and all that stuff, assume I know nothing about vehicles at all(not true but humor me) what would be cheap ways to make it into a ground pounder like the farmtruck? I'd like to keep it 5speed, streetable, and mean as hell while keeping it project poverty style... also keep in mind that I can handle simple stuff, but if we get into major fab and stuff ill have to outsource

Like what would be done good suspension mods? Chassis mods? Motor swap? Boost? Nitrous? Trans?

I guess looking for inspiration

Fordsix.com if you want to stay 300 powered. Personally id go 460/c6 with a small nitrous shot too move the weight. Finding a stick that will live behind a 460 on sticky tires wouldnt be real cheap.

Dump truck turbo, stock internals = 10 sec 1/4 mile

https://www.google.com/amp/www.hotrod.com/articles/ccrp-1108-1971-ford-maverick/amp/?client=safari

Isn't the ZF up to pretty big power?

(Still don't know how to insert links)

You click that chain looking thing just above the text input field and you paste in your link and it goes like this;

Hot Rod 10 sec 300ci

This is on the desktop version of the site, the mobile requires dark magic or isn't possible or something.

In reply to pres589:

That's what I did!

But thanks for the assist!

Lincoln 4.6 4 valve and boost?

Ok I'm sold on the turbo 300 because of the line "at WOT it sounds like a UPS truck on acid".

ebonyandivory wrote: Dump truck turbo, stock internals = 10 sec 1/4 mile https://www.google.com/amp/www.hotrod.com/articles/ccrp-1108-1971-ford-maverick/amp/?client=safari Isn't the ZF up to pretty big power? (Still don't know how to insert links)

hotrod said: Mike knows that the Ford 300 (like most straight-sixes, regardless of make) uses a 120-degree crank design. That means the crank rotates a full 120 degrees between cylinder firing impulses. By contrast, most typical V8 engines send a piston down the hole every 90 degrees. On the negative side, that means the six’s crank must rotate a full 120 degrees before there is another power stroke. But on the positive side, each power stroke has 30 degrees of extra time to put energy (i.e., torque) into the crankshaft. That’s why straight-sixes generally deliver more low-end torque than comparably sized V8s—all other factors being equal.

WTF? No. That's not how it works.

In reply to ProDarwin:

Explain what you mean if you will...

It doesn't have "30 degrees of extra time to put energy in". Power delivery from one cylinder doesn't stop when the next fires.

In reply to ProDarwin:

It seems like that'd shake like crazy if that were the case.

I wouldn't mind having one of these trucks. Note: lowering the front end isn't trivial with the twin I-beam front suspension. I think it's mostly just a matter of expensive-ish parts to get it lowered, if that's what you have in mind.

One thing you could do is model it after a 1st gen Lightning. I'm not saying clone...but take the elements that made the Lightning good and use them. 351 roller engine, nice wheels/tires, brakes, etc.

In reply to ebonyandivory:

The number of crankshaft rotation degrees over which the power stroke of any one cylinder in an engine acts is completely independent of when the power stroke for any other cylinder in the engine occurs. A 120 degree crankshaft vs a 90 degree crankshaft just means the power strokes on the six simply overlap by 30 degrees less than on the V8.

Inline 6s tend to make big torque because they are designed with low RPM torque in mind. Period. Any engine is an internally-powered air pump that makes power as a bonus.

The straight six is just typically a truck motor, so its made to be torquey, but if you take a 4.9L I-6 and compare its torque to a (for example) 5.0L V8 with the same cam timing, port flow, compression, etc, the I-6 doesn't make more than the V8. The only difference is that one is a vee and the other is not.

Put em on a dyno and they'll be really similar.

in 88 the compression was probably in the 8.5:1 range, right? That sounds like time for turbo, 91 octane, and back off the timing a couple degrees.

What year did they start getting the M5OD? That is a good little box. If its the older one, isn't it a T5? Might not like being in a sleeper truck.

Definently turbo the straight-six and let me live vicariously through you.

Remove the bed, and add a lightweight flatbed? Speed holes?

a turbo is the way to go on a 300, a hx35 would probably do pretty well on there is you are trying to stay in a decent budget

i've thought about doing a boosted 300 for a while as you can find the trucks reasonably cheap in decent condition

Buddy is wrapping up this 4 valve swap into his F150 with a 5 speed

Once he gets few miles out of it and considers it sorted, it gets a bonus blower.

Well I guess I really ment not only in the hp department but life how to get good traction, how to not flip it and kill myself, tires, lowering(i kinda wanna slam it and go drift missle style but want carry capacity too)

I thought about turbo but I'm not sure of the condition of the motor(can be noisy, but I think most of that is an exhaust leak) that and I would think that turbo is bad considering it feels like itll explode past 3k... not that I'm against it but probably not much of a power band. Also ive seen turbo setups not really give a lot of gain(iirc dynoed 210hp) Afa trans I've got the m5od. I've heard varying opinions on these, some say junk others say ok idk but definitely could use mounts

Bangshift (I think?) covered a build of one from the Ford truck forums.

300 I6 with a turbo and a stick running high 12s

Found a link

Flying dutchman on www.fordsix.com is the guy too ask about 300 performance. Still think the big block option would be better too start with.

Lowering it is costly, the ibeams tend to be several hundred each.

1996 was last year of the 300 but (sorta) only year for Mass Air. (California only got it in 1995). It would make cam swaps and turbocharging etc. easier on the 300. I had a Mass Air 1996 F-150.

For lowering, they offer drop spindles, and lowering springs if the beams are too expensive. The rear should just be an axle flip kit.

So tbh I don't even know what front suspensioni have I remember reading that 8th gen changed the ifs setup somehow and it made a difference of cheap to pricy(tbh im not even sure what twin I beam or torsen bar? looks like)

And when I say low. I want to sit into the truck like a car, I still have to climb alittle into it... currently running 215/60/r15 on it now(because all I could get at the time)

These are all just tossing ideas... I've got an 84 rx7 gs that needs love and go fast, but part of me can't resist a whacky slammed or even tubbed no fudges given not even messing with the body work(or the bent front bumper/headlight from the deer) pile of Crap sleeper machine, where the thing that works is the drivetrain and the suspension, that's it... Yeah I've been told I'm clinically insane lol