I just got offered a 302 out of a 69 Camaro...it seems like a nice engine and the guy really brags about it a lot. Are they really that good? I like the idea of having a real screamer but I could just put the money into my 350....so what do you think should I go for the 302?

Yea you should go for it.Make sure you get the original manifold bearings that came on it.Those are very rare pieces.

Manifold bearings???????? what the heck is that???? :confused: kinda like muffler bearings :D

The block should be stamped DZ!! And if it is, you got a winner!!

pdq67

Yeah whats a manifold bearing, have you been drinking lol

I donno about the availability of the manifold bearings b/c it was alway's the kanooter valve down by the exhaust that I had to hunt for around town whenever I needed another one!!

pdq67

how much is the 302 goin for? You might be best off buying it for resale then turn that money into building your 350 into a 383. What combination of parts does your car currently have, gears, trans etc.? What purpose will the car have, street, cruize, race? The 302 was a really hot engine when it was spun high but you'll probably need 4.56 gears to wring it out properly.

302 + 10,000 RPM's = Low E.T. Dont build it for whats it not if your going to go 302, spin the hell out of it cause your surely not getting any low end power out of it. torque would be the last thing on my mind building one. Now a 350 would be less expensive, and more street friendly. I would go 350 but its all about what you want.

Robert....hey im getting low on blinker fluid in my Nova know where to get some? Also the muffler belt on my Cavalier is getting loose better send mom to the store to get me one eh???? graemlins/clonk.gif

If it is a DZ engine grab it up. But build the 350. you can re-sell the DZ engine to someone making a Z-28 clone for Big $$$.

Z-28's were not the hot ticket for a drag car when compared to the other camaro's and motors available. but a real great road car.

why would the guy separate his dz from his 69? that s not adding up.

I don't understand either why he is getting rid of it, BUT, if it is available at a good price, grab it! It would seem smart to keep the ORIGINAL DZ block and either install a 350 or a 400 crank but keep all the good external parts to retain an original 302 configuration.

My guess is that it is not a DZ block, but probably an early 283 that has been bored to 4.000". The early 283 blocks could be bored .125" with ease, resulting in what we used to call a "301".

Another way to build a 302 is to drop a 283 crankshaft in a 327 block. That is what I did. My 69 Z28 I bought 20 years ago without the original motor. I went hog wild with it and even just recently last year bought an original style crossram and dual 450 holleys for it. It has an M-21 4-speed with 4.56 gears in the rear and it will wind to the moon. Not much for low end torque, but the gears help immensely. The car still is wearing the black primer (over the original chipped silver/black stripes) I shot it with in high school. If it does turn out to be a '69 DZ block, I might be interested in purchasing it for my car if you decide not to use it. Might even trade you a nice big block for it...

Way back when the Z-28 was known as a giant killer. Some of it was rep. but it was a good running car for its day. IMO it was one of the better set up muscle cars, lighter than most muscle cars and geared pretty well (3.73 or 4.11 standard)with an engine that loved to rev, it could keep up most of it competition with many less cubes. Like the others said, it would be worth buying the block to turn it around for a profit, they were 4-bolt main and I think you could make a 350-383 out of it if you wanted. But I would sell it to a collector, the DZ stamp makes it worth too much to buildup for any other purpose other than as a collector car.

If that 302 is the real McCoy don't waste it in a
different car. A DZ block will bring big bucks for
the right application. If you can buy it cheap I would turn around and sell it and use the money to build up your 350.

AND they were all two bolt main blocks!!

'67 was the little journal block and the '68/'69 were the medium journal blocks!!

Loved my junk 301!!

pdq67

Ok, heres the scoop....the block has been decked and theres not really anyway to confirm it's a real 302...right? it has Manley aluminum rods and 12.5:1 pistons...so that should make the CR close to 13:1. No heads and no balancer. the guy wants $2,000

Is it worth it?

The 1967 302 engine was a (small journal) 2.300 in main /2.00 rod journal /2 bolt main engine.
The 1968 302 engine was a (large journal)2.450 in main /2.10 in rod journal that was early production a 2 blt main, then converted over to 4 blt main late in the year. The 1969 302 engines were all large journal 4 blt main engines. All factory cross ram manifolds were a dealer installed option ( carbs, manifold, and hardware actually came in the trunk of the car)that were standard with Holley 660 cfm center flow carburetors.
Bob