My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

[Rembrant]

These things? This is from Page 9 of the 1981 Accessories Catalog.

Yes, those trim pieces. My truck came with a couple of them in a box. Wasn't sure if they were standard equipment or optional accessories.

 

[Gary Lewis]

These things? This is from Page 9 of the 1981 Accessories Catalog.

Yes, those trim pieces. My truck came with a couple of them in a box. Wasn't sure if they were standard equipment or optional accessories.

I think the truck could be ordered with them as I believe they show in the dealer's fact book, although I'll check later. However, I think accessories like that got shipped with the truck and installed by the dealer. So, it wouldn't surprise me if yours have never been installed.

[Rembrant]

Talked to the engine shop today and they now have the new pistons. The engine should be assembled next week sometime, and going on the dyno the week of May 22-25 for break-in and tuning. The dyno time is a little extravagant for this old truck, but I didn't think the charge was that bad, and I really just wanted to get the engine back ready to drop-in and turn the key.

So, any predictions on HP and TQ numbers from the experts?

Original '84 non-roller 302 bored 0.030" over.

GT-40 Explorer heads.

Compression will be approx 9.1:1

Full Comp Cam XE250H kit

Holley 600 CFM 4160 Carb w/vac secondaries

DSII Distributor (re-curved for quicker advance)

Headers (Not sure which ones yet).

[Gary Lewis]

Talked to the engine shop today and they now have the new pistons. The engine should be assembled next week sometime, and going on the dyno the week of May 22-25 for break-in and tuning. The dyno time is a little extravagant for this old truck, but I didn't think the charge was that bad, and I really just wanted to get the engine back ready to drop-in and turn the key.

So, any predictions on HP and TQ numbers from the experts?

Original '84 non-roller 302 bored 0.030" over.

GT-40 Explorer heads.

Compression will be approx 9.1:1

Full Comp Cam XE250H kit

Holley 600 CFM 4160 Carb w/vac secondaries

DSII Distributor (re-curved for quicker advance)

Headers (Not sure which ones yet).

I like the idea of breaking one in on the dyno. Then you know what you have and that there aren't any problems.

As for HP, my 406 with 10.5:1 and aluminum heads turned in 400 HP. So a 302 with 9.1 compression might be 302/406 x 400 x 9.1/(10.5-.9) = 282 HP. And for torque, my engine put out 500 ft-lbs and you have the same size bore (4") but a 3.00" stroke as opposed to a 4" stroke. So 3.00/4.00 x 9.1/(10.5-.9) x 500 = 355 ft-lbs.

Is that scientific enough? But, note that I've conveniently left out lots and lots of things, like cam duration, lift, etc. However, those are my guesses. Let's see what the others come up with.

[Rembrant]

I like the idea of breaking one in on the dyno. Then you know what you have and that there aren't any problems.

Yeah, that was my thinking as well on the dyno break-in. They sell the dyno time in full day blocks, so we'll have lots of time to play around with jetting and timing if need be. With all the 302/5.0 reading and studying I've done Gary, your HP and TQ estimates should be pretty darn close. I could have bumped up to the XE256H cam which would have gotten me to (or close to) 300HP, but I would at the same time lose 20 ft/lbs TQ at 2000 RPM. If my internet searches are correct, my factory 1984 302 2v was rated for 133 HP and 250 ft/lbs TQ, so an increase to 282 HP/355 TQ will be nice. Add on top of that a 5spd swap to remove that dreadful 3-spd, I think it will be OK.

Out of curiosity, I am also going to weigh the truck this summer and see where it comes in. I read somewhere online that a 2wd V8 Bullnose Flareside was in the area of 3450 lbs. I am removing some factory pounds with the aluminum intake and removal of the cast iron manifolds, smog pump, cats, etc.

However the larger tires and wheels I'm running are definitely heavier than the originals, and the aluminum bodied 5spd is probably a little heavier than the old iron 3spd. Not that the weight even matters...It's not like I'm racing or anything, I'm just curious is all.

 

[Gary Lewis]

I like the idea of breaking one in on the dyno. Then you know what you have and that there aren't any problems.

Yeah, that was my thinking as well on the dyno break-in. They sell the dyno time in full day blocks, so we'll have lots of time to play around with jetting and timing if need be. With all the 302/5.0 reading and studying I've done Gary, your HP and TQ estimates should be pretty darn close. I could have bumped up to the XE256H cam which would have gotten me to (or close to) 300HP, but I would at the same time lose 20 ft/lbs TQ at 2000 RPM. If my internet searches are correct, my factory 1984 302 2v was rated for 133 HP and 250 ft/lbs TQ, so an increase to 282 HP/355 TQ will be nice. Add on top of that a 5spd swap to remove that dreadful 3-spd, I think it will be OK.

Out of curiosity, I am also going to weigh the truck this summer and see where it comes in. I read somewhere online that a 2wd V8 Bullnose Flareside was in the area of 3450 lbs. I am removing some factory pounds with the aluminum intake and removal of the cast iron manifolds, smog pump, cats, etc.

However the larger tires and wheels I'm running are definitely heavier than the originals, and the aluminum bodied 5spd is probably a little heavier than the old iron 3spd. Not that the weight even matters...It's not like I'm racing or anything, I'm just curious is all.

Make sure you video the dyno pulls! It sure is a sweet time, and you'll want to savor it.

As for the weight, the 1981 dealer's fact book says 3416 for the starting weight.

[1986F150Six]

As for HP, my 406 with 10.5:1 and aluminum heads turned in 400 HP. So a 302 with 9.1 compression might be 302/406 x 400 x 9.1/(10.5-.9) = 282 HP. And for torque, my engine put out 500 ft-lbs and you have the same size bore (4") but a 3.00" stroke as opposed to a 4" stroke. So 3.00/4.00 x 9.1/(10.5-.9) x 500 = 355 ft-lbs.

Is that scientific enough? But, note that I've conveniently left out lots and lots of things, like cam duration, lift, etc. However, those are my guesses. Let's see what the others come up with.

What he said!

 

[Rembrant]

Make sure you video the dyno pulls! It sure is a sweet time, and you'll want to savor it.

As for the weight, the 1981 dealer's fact book says 3416 for the starting weight.

So,

Another question:

I have the 5 vol set of factory service manuals for my 1984 truck. There doesn't appear to be much of a wiring diagram with them. Is it there and I'm just not seeing it? Or was a proper wiring diagram something separate?

 

[Gary Lewis]

So,

Another question:

I have the 5 vol set of factory service manuals for my 1984 truck. There doesn't appear to be much of a wiring diagram with them. Is it there and I'm just not seeing it? Or was a proper wiring diagram something separate?

Bingo! There are wiring booklets that have many very wide fold-out pages, and there are the EVTM's. I have an example of a wiring booklet here: Electrical/Wiring Diagrams. However, I don't find the on-line version useful at all, and rarely refer to the physical version as they are really difficult to use since you usually have to trace wires across several pages. Instead, the EVTM's break the circuits down into digestable lumps that typically are contained on one page.

But, the wiring booklets/diagrams are "the bible". They appear to have been done first and the EVTM's then created from them. So sometimes I go to the diagrams if there is a question about something on an EVTM's page.

[Rembrant]

Bingo! There are wiring booklets that have many very wide fold-out pages, and there are the EVTM's. I have an example of a wiring booklet here: Electrical/Wiring Diagrams. However, I don't find the on-line version useful at all, and rarely refer to the physical version as they are really difficult to use since you usually have to trace wires across several pages. Instead, the EVTM's break the circuits down into digestable lumps that typically are contained on one page.

But, the wiring booklets/diagrams are "the bible". They appear to have been done first and the EVTM's then created from them. So sometimes I go to the diagrams if there is a question about something on an EVTM's page.

Ahh, OK, understood. I'll have a look back through the EVTM then and see if I can find anything useful.

I need to pick-up some butt connectors today to bypass a 4-prong plug, and I was trying to figure out what the wire gauges were. (The truck is 20 miles away). They're probably 16 or 18 ga for the most part, but there is one fat yellow wire there that must be a 12 or 12 gauge.