What is y'alls input on this? Yes I know it isn't a huge V8 and I wouldn't have massive horsepower.
My estimated trailer wt is 1500lbs and IMCA car est 2500lbs so 4k lbs ish.
I've heard they are strong but can it pull enough to get up hills with that load?
Thank you
Don't expect miracles and you'll be fine. Mind the big hills.
I've towed my '67 Mustang up and down the eastern half of the country with one.
She'll do fine.
My first tow vehicle was a 76 f100 with the 300/3 speed manual. My combined trailer and car weight was 5400 and it did fine. My recomendation is good trailer brakes
In the late 70s they were better than the 302 for towing. I had a cotton farmer friend that bought one in an F-150 with 3 on a tree to pull cotton wagons. A peanut farmer friend had one to tow a Cat D6 dozer. Now neither had to tow either very far.
Towed with one for a long time, the only Ford engine I would replace it with if I needed more is the 460.
It won't be fast but it'll be fine.
300 will certainly out tow a 302. That is not saying much, though.
You can tow anything with anything. It all comes down to gear ratios and how fast you want to go.
We have two of those in F150s where I work. They are torque monsters. If automatic trans lock out the overdrive for the trans' sake. Engines are great.
In reply to spitfirebill :
Even in the 90s they out-torqued the 302.
Open up a 302 and you'll wonder how the poor little thing holds together.
You'll never pass anything without a 1 mile open stretch and a 1/4 mile run up. I know from experience.
On a more FUN note. Ported heads are a big improvement, especially on the EFI "fast burn" head. That "fast burn" is nothing but a smaller chamber that almost completely shrouds the valves above .200 lift. Big valves are a good move and BBC rocker arms can be utilized. What the engine REALLY needs though is aftermarket EFI and Ignition with a turbo. I've seen examples that over doubled the HP (125 carb and 135 EFI) and moved torque up past 450ftlbs.
Streetwiseguy said:300 will certainly out tow a 302. That is not saying much, though.
You can tow anything with anything. It all comes down to gear ratios and how fast you want to go.
That was my baseline. TunaDad pulled that much in racecar/trailer all over upstate NY with a 302 Ford of that vintage and it was fine. There were trouble hills, but it wasn't the end of the world. I know the 300 was better.
L5wolvesf said:What is y'alls input on this? Yes I know it isn't a huge V8 and I wouldn't have massive horsepower.
My estimated trailer wt is 1500lbs and IMCA car est 2500lbs so 4k lbs ish.
I've heard they are strong but can it pull enough to get up hills with that load?
Thank you
I've towed just fine with a similar load and way less engine than that. You'll be fine. You'll still probably be speed limited by the rig, not the power.
TurnerX19 said:We have two of those in F150s where I work. They are torque monsters. If automatic trans lock out the overdrive for the trans' sake. Engines are great.
FWIW, I have never seen an AOD plugged up to a 4.9. It was always a C6, which is the Fig. 1 illustration for "bombproof" in the dictionary.
I've also only ever seen them in one-ton vans, or manual trans 2wd F150s. So my sampling may be a bit skewed 
You could get a 300 in an vehicle with a 20000+ gvwr. You'll be fine.
As mentioned in a different thread, we had an '81 E150 cargo van with the 300 and a 4 speed overdrive that we bought new. Never had an issue towing, even when we had a '70 GTX (3800lb+) on one of the early tank-heavy u-Haul auto transports from the mid-70s. Braking will be your biggest issue.
Torque not horse power is the answer.
I've seen 90 hp dump trucks out pull 140 hp dump trucks 'because'.
Your profile says you live in Arizona -- how many big mountains are you planning on towing over?
Pete. (l33t FS) said:TurnerX19 said:We have two of those in F150s where I work. They are torque monsters. If automatic trans lock out the overdrive for the trans' sake. Engines are great.
FWIW, I have never seen an AOD plugged up to a 4.9. It was always a C6, which is the Fig. 1 illustration for "bombproof" in the dictionary.
I've also only ever seen them in one-ton vans, or manual trans 2wd F150s. So my sampling may be a bit skewed
I know that the EFI units got the E4OD trans instead of the AOD that the 302 got. The 351 and up also got the E4OD. Always heard it was because the torque would kill the AOD, but that always sounded like chest thumping.
codrus (Forum Supporter) said:Your profile says you live in Arizona -- how many big mountains are you planning on towing over?
The interstate has some long pulls. I found myself downshifting to 4th in the Jeep a few times.
buzzboy said:codrus (Forum Supporter) said:Your profile says you live in Arizona -- how many big mountains are you planning on towing over?
The interstate has some long pulls. I found myself downshifting to 4th in the Jeep a few times.
I think I phrased my question poorly. I've only been to AZ a couple times, but as I recall the state has some flat bits and some bits with some really tall mountains, and it's not clear to me which of these two tasks l5wolvesf is looking to do.
In general though, my suggestion is that if you live out west, be careful with statements about adequate towing power from people who live in flat states. :)
In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :
No problem and FYI. My profile says Northern Arizona which is not like the lower desert areas. The elevations near me are: Flagstaff 6900, Prescott 5300.
My house is at 3100’ – pass heading south to race track 4400’. The highway got a truck lane because of the steepness there and the fact that the uphill outside lane was becoming a parking lot at times.
Elevation where I hope to race the car 2000’ – pass heading north from race track 3200’. The highway is getting a truck lane because of the steepness and the fact that the uphill outside lane often becomes a parking lot.
There are numerous elevation changes between the 2 passes. The round trip is about 150 miles. Also take into consideration Arizona’s summer temps.
Thank you for the input, very good to confirm/know. If I can at least do 65 towing I can live/work with that.
My trailer has good brakes, the truck that got me to asking (85 F150) has an automatic. If I do get this I’ll look into upgrades to get a bit more out of it
Mr_Asa said:Pete. (l33t FS) said:TurnerX19 said:We have two of those in F150s where I work. They are torque monsters. If automatic trans lock out the overdrive for the trans' sake. Engines are great.
FWIW, I have never seen an AOD plugged up to a 4.9. It was always a C6, which is the Fig. 1 illustration for "bombproof" in the dictionary.
I've also only ever seen them in one-ton vans, or manual trans 2wd F150s. So my sampling may be a bit skewed
I know that the EFI units got the E4OD trans instead of the AOD that the 302 got. The 351 and up also got the E4OD. Always heard it was because the torque would kill the AOD, but that always sounded like chest thumping.
That's believable. The AOD is a light duty trans built for low output engines. The 302 is kind of pushing it. The 300 makes the same amount of torque but with only six power bigger pulses instead of eight smaller ones, so it's going to be harsher.
If you want an extreme example, check out how the 2.8l turbodiesel four in the Liberty was great at wrecking transmissions until they were reflashed to take like 30% of the max torque away. And that the new 2.8l turbodiesel is a six, not a four.
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