So the story starts that we have been looking for a truck for a while. We didn't need anything new or fancy since one good car payment is enough for now. Perusing the facebook classified (a rabbit hole if there ever was one) yielded a 1995 white with blue accents F150 4x4 5-speed 5.0. Initially the seller was asking a bit much since the description had the caveat "engine does not turn over!". I kept an eye on it for a couple weeks and the price kept dropping. I suspect since most buyers were wary of that statement and were looking for a cheap driving vehicle score.

The price finally reached a point that I wagered, even if I had to replace the engine, it was worth it for a clean titled chassis, especially a 4x4 5-speed. We went and purchased the truck and towed it home for further inspection. Upon removal of the engine and diagnosis, we found that the P.O.'s son (who was the primary driver) had neglected to check the oil and had thought the engine overheating issue was a cooling system issue. They had put in a new water pump and radiator to attempt to fix the truck, but that did not prevent the 5.0's demise.

Draining the oil pan during engine removal yielded barely a quart of fluid, along with the shininess of particles that does not bode well for a healthy engine. Once the engine was on the stand and the oil pan removed, the carnage was laid bare. A rod bolt had failed and let a rod get jammed in between the crank and the bottom of the cylinder bore. This catastrophic event broke off part of the block and affected the bore high enough that it would have interfered with proper piston ring sealing. Scratch the 302 block at this point.

Fortunately we were prepared for this outcome and hopped off to the local boneyard in search of a 351w or at worst, a suitable 302. Queue finding a similar year F250 with a 351w that would ALMOST do a full 360* on the crank, but was otherwise in decent nick. A few hours (and a few curses) later, a usable 351w roller block was loaded into the back of the truck and hauled off for revitalization.

Upon disassembly, we discovered that the reason we couldn't fully rotate the crank was due to carbon buildup in Cylinder 7. Once the head was off, the bottom end rotated nearly effortlessly. Additionally, the bores were barely worn and measured in at a stock 4". No overbore needed!Continuing to check the internals, the crank mic'd out within spec as well.

At this point, a plan was needed. Looking at the truck's intended use as more of a daily, occasional hauler and off-road use, a mild hop-up was deemed appropriate. After much discussion and research, the build is going to consist of the following:
1) Summit rebuild kit with 4 valve relief pistons (advertised 9.17:1 CR)
2) 35-512-8 camshaft
3) ford performance lifters
4) new pushrods
5) Parts Store rebuilt ford GT40 heads with comp cams upgraded valve springs
6) Summit shorty headers (with provisions for OEM EGR)
7) HD clutch and stock flywheel
8) Summit balancer
9) ARP head bolts, main bolts, rod bolts and more.

Currently I have one more pass with the hone before the block goes to the machine shop for vat cleaning, cam bearing and freeze plug installation. I will also have the crank polished at the same time, then I'll be able to start reassembly.

 

Please add pictures! give us some before shots or abused engine shots or anything you have.
Congrats on a cool project truck!

 

Bringing the truck home in my Father-in-law's trailer


Carnage in the bottom end of the 302


Roller 351w before tear down to be rebuilt

 

351w great engine. I love my 93 lighting. Nice to see a fun project get off the ground.

 

Nice project. Are you planning on some sort of 4x4 Lightning build? I used to dream of doing that to my own 95 but at this point, I like it more stock. My 302 is at 206,xxx miles though and she’s tired for sure!

 

GreenMachine - we are kinda going for a 4x4 manual lightning-ish build. Since the original 302 was not useable and the 351w we pulled from the yard was not in a "drop in and run" condition, it turned into the slippery slope of a "while we are in there" rebuild. Things like adding a cam, GT40 heads and other goodies were easy to justify since we were going to be building the engine from scratch. Our intent was to keep it within the confines of the stock SD computer so it would retain stockish driveability while gaining some area under teh curve for power and torque.

 

I think everyone falls victim to this at one point or another, new or rebuilt.
Truck looks like she's in good condition otherwise, just needs some elbow grease.

 

"just a few dollars more for XXXX better part..." - never happens!

Body isn't bad, some rust but a far cry from what a 1995 from the rust belt would be like.

 

I have a 95 lightning and have had a 93 and even with the gt40 heads the best money you can spend on lightning is some head work

 

I bet, most of my research corroborates that statement. While I never drove it in stock 302 form, I believe the 3-bar GT40 heads with the cam will make it miles better than what it once was. I looked at other heads, but I didn't have the equipment to modify GT40p heads nor the budget to get aftermarket heads at $1K+ per head.

THEORETICALLY the combo is good for high 200s horsepower wise and probably high 300s for torque. If I can best a stock lightning specs at the wheels, I'll be happy.

Of course, the "worst" case is that the SD computer doesn't like all these mods and i HAVE to go with a standalone ECU (oh no....the horror?). In which case I have a Megasquirt-II on the shelf already.