Themoldyone

I want to know if it is worth buying and then adding 2k+ mods to it. It is currently all stock. If I get it what could increase the gas mileage and horse power and be California legal. I am thinking a new holly carb, Air filter, spark plugs, intake and all new exhaust system. I want to know your opinion and suggestions on what to get to help it's mpg and horse power. Thank you.

Edit also would a use/new 700r4 tranny help.

rusty vango

unless your a arab sheik .you will go broke in a hurry trying to feed that monster.as for cali emissions...... they don't like changes

jimdutro

iTrader: (1)

No, I would advise buying a 1975 or older, anything from `76 on requires you smog it every 2 years and it gets expensive and restricts the performance parts you can use. You will never get decent mileage out of an old 454 even if its fresh.

Themoldyone

Ok thanks I will just save for a newer truck.

Harvey Mushman

When I was a teenager I helped a local guy who raced sprint cars (very cool) He hauler was late 70's crew cab dually with a 454. He got 6 mpg hauling and 6.5 truck only. Those trucks had the saddle tanks. He'd damn near drain them before he got out of town. He had to install a 100 gal aux tank in the bed.
Just a commentary. That entire rig weighed 18500 lbs Truck, trailer, gear, people & beer. I think a modern 1/2 ton would get the job done.
Good advice here on passing

cuisinartvette

The late 80s/90s trucks are TBI 350s.
Easy to maintain diagnose last forever and are dirt cheap
They arent power makers but you can depend on them
Had an 87 G20 work van I put over 320k on without a hiccup smoothes running vehicle Ive ever owned even idled smoother than my 5.3 ls

With that said Im looking at a 73 single cab dually 454/t400 for track towing duty. Gas whats that?!

1gary

Looking for fuel mileage and towing power??. Look outside of the box. The Ford 250 with a power stroke 7.3 turbo is the way to go. Don't think you have to pay alot for them either. Been shopping for one myself on E-bay and have seen some so very good deals. Actually one is nearing the end of the auction with some body damage. Last time I checked it was at $1,900 and change with no reserve. They last forever and in my case I want one that is a stick shift. We had one that was towing a 24' enclosed trailer loaded to the limit and it didn't matter if we towing over mountains or on flat land because you didn't even feel it back there. Got 17 mpg with or without the trailer. Keep up with the filter changes and a easily over 300,000 engine.

Themoldyone

Oh the 77 is only 500. What year of the f250 should i be looking at. the 77 I am looking at runs has 2 gas tanks needs some cleaning probably could be pretty good. Besides gas mileage is the 77 a good trade up from a 84 s10 2.8l v6?

cuisinartvette

If you want power meaning torque to tow get a 460 Ford, or a late model diesel (not the ones from the 70s/80s)
If youre trying to make it fast look for a 50 state legal supercharger/turbo setup. Trucks are heavy and take a lot to get them moving. In Ca its about impossible to do it and keep it truly 50 state legal most times its just not worth it;even with 400hp the truck will still be somewhat slow, just faster than it was

1gary

The one we had was a 1999 crew cab 8' box single rear tire.I shared in the fuel costs with a friend who owned gas version 250.This is over ten yrs ago.We where coming from Roch,NY to Indy.It was horrible gas mileage and was gone threw before the trip.Cost us $100 bucks just from Roch to Cleveland.My friend Joe told me his father has owned Fords for as long as he could remember and all of them got terrible gas mileage up to the point when his father bought a diesel.

Ours had one hiccup.On the way back from Cleveland it threw a tranny code with the 24' trailer behind it.We nursed back to Buffalo and took it to a dealer.Trans repair cost us $2,800.Ouch!!!. After that no problems. Two places told us after the code was thrown,it didn't matter,the repair cost would have been the same.

Currently we are running a Dura-Max. We we do tend to trade things around lot. But the costs for them is high.

Oh yeah.Got friends who have 454's in pick-ups.Towing even with a open trailer,average gas mileage is from 7 to 4 miles per gallon.Now that is the older version 454.

We have also a motor home that has a v10 in it.Did a chip burn and it gets decent gas mileage too.

Fast355

iTrader: (2)

The heads on your early model 454 are TERRRIBLE.....They are key to making power in the truck. Combined with a newer grind roller camshaft, performer EGR intake, and a well tuned Q-Jet you could improve power tremendously. However I would look for modern EFI control and an overdrive transmission with more torque capacity than a 700r4.

Not sure what it would take to get past the *****, but you could also upgrade to a 91+ 454 TBI setup and 4L80E. Some of the early 454s even had a TBI-Carb adapter from the factory.

Then again....Not sure what your budget is, but I had a 2012 Nissan Titan with big tow package and a class 4 receiver hitch. It had the normal cold air intake, catback exhaust, and hypertech programmer on it. Rated to tow 9,300 lbs and I can attest that towing 8,500 lbs with the few mods it didn't even struggle to keep the speed up on the interstate on hills. A few hills I manually downshifted from 4th to 3rd and held the RPM up around 3,500 @ 70 and quickly found myself going 75+. Runs the flats @ 2,400 rpm @ 70 mph in 4th gear and was still managing 12 mpg.....But that's what 388 RWTQ @ 2,900 rpm and a torque curve that is table flat in the lower RPM range will do for you.

odddoylerules

No save for an older truck. Then add OD. My pops 99 suburban gets 21mpg at cruise and is way heavier than an old short box pickup.

odddoylerules

It is the vortec motor, and has fuel injection so its probly making good tq... His isn't set up for towing, how do u tow rig guys live w mpg like that?!!