Headers are already too pinched for the 302, anything else is just worse, and requires custom fab work. Bought used - I put over 100,000 miles on it, still runs great. It drives like new again. We got it for really cheap with a salvage title, and it's been consistent and reliable. When it does, the carmaker looks like it had seen it coming all along. The Auto 4x4 kicks in as soon as the rear tires start slipping. Longtime mileage with mixed city and highway is 18.
I average about 18 mpg so this would be my only negative. Some people here have done the swap and have written about their projects with enough detail for you to know if its over your experience level or budget or not. I replaced it myself, as well as all the brake pads and rotors. I have the Eddie Bauer with V6 and 5 speed auto trans. If you need more power use a turbo or supercharger.
Insurance isn't too expensive, either. Love that you're up higher than the cars. There is a few things that have broken diver door lock light on raidio. Even if it's only half that, the math still works out to billions, serious money anywhere but in D. I once got myself out of a ditch in Michigan in a snowstorm almost immediately and without effort just by trying with the 4x4 engaged, which honestly is the event that made this car worth dealing with the gas mileage to me. Hence, a new one is well along in the development process. The cloth is nice, I've yet to tear any of it or have it stain unreasonably.
Sometimes while in the city I wonder where the gas went, but on the highway the mileage is decent. Lots and lots of aftermarket parts are available. Lots of cargo room, or seats if you need them. It really hung in there! But they are all too wide at the heads compared to the 302, don't waste the time. The brake pads are easy to get to and easy to replace as well. That's the purpose of concept vehicles: to toss out an idea and see if it floats into the reality of the future.
I've never done any real major maintenance on the car, Just brakes, tires and oil changes every 3-5k miles, keep the fluids topped off. This new invention in the vehicle world had not come full circle so much as around a tight S curve. The display on the radio doesn't work, and the front sway bar end links tend to break if taken off road. The 4x4 is awesome, and it seems to work for the car they put it into. Our Take on the 2001 Ford Explorer The Explorer has been around for 10 years now, a veritable geologic age, even in sport-utility terms. For 2 years with no major repairs! I do all the maintenance myself, and changing the oil is a quick affair. The leather has held up well, even in the rear which has been subjected to car seats and booster seats since the truck was new.
In that case, you may have to swap a few bolt-on parts from your engine to the replacement engine. It's broken in now and the only major thing I'd have go bad is the fuel pump and now I need a new exhaust but I've owned this truck for 12 years now and enjoyed every mile without any major problems. At 100,000 miles I had all the shocks and the front lower ball joints replaced. Anything is possible but most aren't worth the hassle. The vision in Ford's crystal ball was sharp when it presented the Adrenalin concept vehicle at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January of 1996. It just rolled over 100,000 miles and still going strong. I feel confident that he is safer in this truck than in a car because it's heavier and holds the road better than any car I've driven.
Anytime friends get stuck in bad weather I get the bail out call! The back seats fold mostly flat if you're tall, the driver's seat inhibits it going down past a certain point, but the area is still pretty flat, and huge. Actually the 351 Cleveland is the same smallblock bell housing, and only one year of 400 did too. Parts have been cheap enough, as cheap as you'd expect domestic car parts to be, which is nice. Very safe, very tall, powerful but not too powerful. It will get stuck in the mud, but has never been stuck in the snow. The hydraulic lifts in the hood and back hatch went bad at some point, but if they were original, they lasted for ten or more years, so that's not bad. So, no mods needed to swap in a 4.
Even though the 4dr could have the 4. As stated in above posts, the 5. And it has a jump on the market. But in the meantime, Ford is using a variety of tried-and-true tricks to maintain momentum. The gas mileage is embarrassing, and the tires are ridiculously expensive, but it holds its own and starts and drives every time I want it to.