Question: In conjuction with my last post and thinking that I probably will be upgrading my tow vehicle. Any thoughts about the Ford F150 extended cab 4×2 with the 302 EFI? A guy up the street is selling his. Has about 100K all freeway, in excellent condition and loaded with all the options. He is asking 9k but I think he will take 8K since he bought a new truck already.
Thanks,

The 302 is OK for light duty towing. If the F150 has the factory towing package it should have a 3.55 rearend. It really needs a 3.73 or 4.10 for better towing. If your doing a lot of towing or pulling over 4,000lbs I would consider going to a F250 with a 351 or preferably the 7.3 diesel.
What/How Much are you towing ? I tow a 19″ Komfort Trailer which probably weighs 3500-3600 lbs (3200 lbs dry w/o options). You will be much happier with the 351 Ford engine over the anemic 302 when towing.
To get enough pulling power, the 302 would have to have low gears, maybe 3.73 or even 4.11. This will hurt mpg. So, a better choice would be the 351 and 3.08 or 3.23. The 351 has the torque to tow some weight, while the higher gears will offer better mpg on the highway. Heck, a 351 w/3.08 probably gives you as good mpg as the 302 w/3.73. But the 351 offers up more power.
In 1985 I bought my 1986 F150 4×2 standard cab, 302 EFI and the towing package with heavy duty springs. The truck has 110K on it and is used often to tow my horses around. The two horse trailer with one horse weights just under 4,000 pounds. The truck has 3:55 differential and the automatic tranny. It does great. I slow down to 55 or 60 on 6% freeway grades, and drop into 2nd and hold about 40 on 8% grades. I’ve pulled out of Lancaster in August with 2 horses, 3 people and a bed full of hay and tack in 110 F heat with no problems going to LA over the mountains. The truck never goes over 1/2 scale on the temp gauge and uses about 1 quart every 5K miles. I get 10 to 12MPG towing and 18MPG highway.
At 80K miles the fuel pressure regulater ruptured, flooding the engine. I replaced the exhaust manifolds (both cracked), the O2 sensor, cat and muffler at that time. At 100K I replaced the factory hoses, belts, water pump, timing gears and chain for preventive maintenance. No other work has been done to the truck

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