Hey! Jimmyv65 here! My thread from Ford Six gets hit every once and a while and I am glad it helps people.
A couple thoughts on the oil pan:
-I ended up also putting on large bumps stops that are available at all the big outlets. If I had seen those before, I wouldn't have messed with the pan mod. Unless you really need the full suspension travel, those bigger bump stops will do you fine.
-It may be worth your time to test your actual clearance. Take out your springs and drop the suspension down to see where things are at. Part of why I say this is that our suspension moves in an arc due to the track bar, so your best measuring may not be accurate.
-Those 250's weren't really designed for higher power. With that, I was able to get my motor into oil starvation pretty easily. I adjusted the pick up height, added an internal oil dam to lower sloshing and went to a bigger oil filter. All this helped reduce oil starvation. Part of why I mention this is that the notch I took out of the pan reduced oil capacity, which may have added to the oil starvation. That pan on the 250 sucks. The pick up seemed to be high and the pan allows the oil to easily slosh out of the pick up area. If you are modding the pan, add some oil baffling/dams.
Quick thought on the 250 carb:
-I ended up swapping to fuel injection and I am loving the fuel set up.
-The standard adapter plate for the 2bbl upgrade is sketchy. It works, but it makes the carb mount 90 degrees out from design. With that, I was having all kinds of carb tuning issues under heavier load. Because the float bowl was on the side of the carb instead of the front, I was getting fuel starvation on the front jet during hard acceleration. Be careful there if you are going with a 2 bbl.
Hindsite:
-I would have gone to the 300. There is a TON of mis-information on the differences between the 300 and 200/250. The 300 is almost the same length and it is about same weight.
-Advantage to the 250 is that the motor mounts don't need to change. I've seen a lot discussed on the 300 and what all need to be changed. Many of the 300 swaps involved a longer trans, which added to the issue.
-The 300 has a ton more options and doesn't have the integrated log manifold. That integrated manifold really limits you.
That said, my 250 with cam, head and FI is a great set up. I have a ton of power. It feels more powerful than a stock 302. The straight sixes are just great in the Bronco. I really enjoy my 250! Just saying that knowing what I know, I would have gone with a 300.
Hope this helps.
-Jimmy
