H.O. engine, will it work with a '89 Bronco?

[BigWrenn]

Just as the titles states. My Bronco did not come with a H.O. 302 but I was wondering if it would be compatible with the stock setup?

 

[Broncobill78]

The short answer is yes, it'll bolt up and work just dandy. The longer answer is yes, it'll work just fine but while you have the H.O. engine out and it's easy to work on you might want to consider changing the cam (and of course the lifters as well). The stock H.O. engines are tuned for horsepower over torque, pulling the cam & replacing it with an RV type cam will give you an engine setup for a truck and not a Mustang. It'll work either way but swapping cams will really make that engine shine when you drop it into the truck and if it's a late-model engine with the roller cam you can *really* take advantage of the opportunity. Run yourself a real torquemonster cam AND swap out the rocker arms for a set with a better ratio and it'll be a completely different animal than if you'd installed it without changing anything. The stock cam has a powerband & torquecurve that's all wrong for a 4000lb truck with the transmission & gearing that you have, but like I said, it'll work regardless of what you do (or don't do) to the engine

 

[BLADE262US]

If its a 86 H.O> or up motor its EFI . It also has completely flat piston tops NO valve reliefs so make sure you check piston to valve clearance before you get too carried away with cams and ratio rockers could end up more of an expence then your ready for . Also the computer for that motor will have timing curves more suited for a car . Like BroncoBill said weight will be a factor . Roller motors run cooler because of the lack of added friction so that is a plus my opinion for a bronco motor is still the 351W get one 95 or up and its a roller as well . /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[BigWrenn]

Thanks for the replies guys! I was wondering because I have been offered a "crate" 302 H.O. that's been massaged a bit /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />. I'm a n00b with Ford's but engines in general I'm very familiar with and that has been GM experience mainly up until this Bronco came along /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />.