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Any interest in an "old school" 302 Chevy build?

17K views 85 replies 38 participants last post by  davewho1 
#1 ·
I started this build back in `09 and posted the build over on the Yenko site. It's essentially a R&D dyno mule for me, something to test out parts & ideas on. I just wrapped up the first phase of testing yesterday, and despite a few minor issues, it cranked out some pretty decent numbers.

There's way too much to cross-post on here, so here's the link:

302 SBC build

I'm already making plans for the next phase of this build, so there's plenty more to come.
 
#2 ·
i've thought about building a "new school" 302 using a 90's LT1 block with L99 crank and rods.. top it with some LT4 heads and the HOT cam and i bet it would be an absolute blast in a lighter car with 4.10 or deeper gears, and it would be built with parts straight from GM.
 
#3 ·
nice build Eric. I loved my 69 Z 302, still remember it fondly. Still the only engine I've ever owned that would run up to 7000 anytime. No special tuning or screwing around needed.
 
#6 ·
That's a sweet 'lil screamer! Sounds good!

Can you give any hints on the cam since you're going to try something else?

JIM
 
#10 ·
Thanks guys :)



Jim;

Thanks :beers:

I still don't want to divulge cam specifics (don't know exactly how far off this one really is yet), but I'll say it's .700+ intake, .600+ exhaust, 300°+ intake, 310°+ exhaust, and with timing events that definitely did not agree with this combination (lol).

I'm not sure just how "old school" you are. All through the 50's and 60's, when we bored a 283 out to 4.00, we called it a 301. The term 302 was coined by GM when they did indeed destroke a 327 back to 3.00 and called it a 302.

Most of us old guys think they got it wrong.:D

But regardless, just seeing those "double humps" brings back a lot of memories. Especially the ones that dictated if you had solid lifters and a 283 or 301, you had better have a scatter shield, because the things would rev like a Dygrinder.

Keep us posted.
Jackie;

Rest assured, I am about as old-school as it gets. I love taking these parts everyone else considers "junk" and making big #'s with them. :thumbsup:

That said, there's no denying "new school" technology, and there ain't no rules saying you can't apply that technology to old school parts. :D

Eric, cool build. Nothing so small should have that much powa!

Andy;

We've barely scratched the surface at this point...there's plenty more left to come. :)

At this point, my biggest personal surprise was how well that lowly ol' 3310 stood up against that HP Holley (80496). The .bsfc was notably richer @ 5000 with the 3310 and that's where the HP made a bit more power than the 3310. Aside from that, it was dang near a wash.

Not too shabby for a carb that was thrown together from my "parts donor" pile. :thumbsup:
 
#34 ·
Not exactly what you're looking for, but I found an old magazine article online featuring another 302 build. This one used AFR 210 heads and a single plane intake. The cam had a bit less lift than mine but similar duration specs. Everything else was very similar.

Super Chevy 302 build
 
#8 ·
I'm not sure just how "old school" you are. All through the 50's and 60's, when we bored a 283 out to 4.00, we called it a 301. The term 302 was coined by GM when they did indeed destroke a 327 back to 3.00 and called it a 302.

Most of us old guys think they got it wrong.:D

But regardless, just seeing those "double humps" brings back a lot of memories. Especially the ones that dictated if you had solid lifters and a 283 or 301, you had better have a scatter shield, because the things would rev like a Dygrinder.

Keep us posted.
 
#11 ·
4.001 x 4.001 x .7854 x 3 x 8 = 301.77, close enough to 302 for me. :)

one of the best 3310-1 780's I ever had was built up from a bunch of parts carbs. that thing ran weekly on dirt here in Phx for over 15 years. can't even imagine how many cars/engines that thing has been on.
 
#14 · (Edited)
I did one of thes last year for a board member. It was a solid roller. They did not pull it past 6500 but it was still making power. It was 425HP at 6500. LIft was .580 and duration was in the 230 range. Sep was 110. Foxy did the intake and heads on this one.

Very nice build.
 
#22 ·
I did one of thes last year for a board member. It was a solid roller. They did not pull it past 6500 but it was still making power. It was 425HP at 6500. LIft was .580 and duration was in the 230 range. Sep was 110. Foxy did the intake and heads on this one.

Very nice build.
It turned out so sweet. Thanks Chris and Scott!!!!

If you remember, we took our real high rpm, 500hp 302 from 13.5-1 compression, bigger solid roller, the factory cross ram and two 4's, to 10-1, your cam, and a single 4 carb. WOW!!! What a big change!!!

Like Chris said, we stopped the pulls, at 6,500, it was making 425hp, and it was still climbing. Back in the car (a real 69 Z/28, M22, and 4:10's) it is a dream to drive. Much smoother, and still plenty of power, and not bear to drive under 4,000 rpm.

Really a fun car now!!!!
 
#17 ·
But who sees 6500RPM?
For a race motor, there are probably better options.
For a street motor, there are probably better options.

So other than the number, what's the point?
GM went to the 350 when the rules changed. Think about it.

This is like people arguing about 327 vs 350. Popular opinion says the 327 revs better.
Well lots of people say the 283 revs better than the 327.

Not so many argue the 350 vs 383 I guess because the 350 was the workhorse and not the sexy engine. :)

Still, if going SBC, the old rule still applies: there's no substitute for cubic inches.
 
#25 ·
i used to take the 355 in my Nova up to 7200 on a regular basis- it revved high enough to get up to 65mph in first gear, which confused a couple of passengers when i would blast it up to highway speed in first gear and then shift it straight to 4th and putt along.. i can only imagine how much more fun an engine that was capable of going to 8500 would have been... less torque, yes, but sometimes a motor that revs to the moon is just the ticket for some stress relief.
 
#18 ·
Always a favorite of mine, DZ 302 with m22. Shifting at 7500, jumping 2 feet to the side when you shift and not lifting, that is a sound and a feel to remember. You flat out bond with a ride like that. Like being part of the Borg! The collective!



 
#54 ·
Always a favorite of mine, DZ 302 with m22. Shifting at 7500, jumping 2 feet to the side when you shift and not lifting, that is a sound and a feel to remember. You flat out bond with a ride like that. Like being part of the Borg! The collective!

DZ 302 4 speed 8000 RPM - YouTube



My father always talks about his old 302, warning me that if you were racing someone on the street you had to be very mindful of where the other guy was when power shifting, otherwise you're liable to slide right into them. I've been slowly gathering parts for a 302 build of my own. One day I'll get to experience this!
 
#21 ·
Very nice build Eric,, brings back fond memories of the good ole pre DZ era of 125 over 283's we used to play with many moons ago,,, fun stuff

To anyone that doesn't understand why,,,,, I guess you just had to be there :cool:
 
#23 ·
Thanks again guys.

I'm really chomping at the bit to move on to the next phase of this build. There's more cylinder head work planned along with several camshafts and a few other "tweaks" as well.

Can she make 550?...or more? ;)

For those who might ask "why", Wolfie summed it up perfectly:

...To anyone that doesn't understand why,,,,, I guess you just had to be there :cool:
:thumbsup:
 
#26 ·
I read the whole build
missed the cam specs somehow....
whatcha got and which way are you going to go with it cam-wise?

Impressive power numbers
 
#27 ·
Thanks George.

I'm intentionally keeping the cam specs under my hat even though they're off quite a bit from (a) what I expected and (b) what the engine wanted.

As mentioned earlier, I'll divulge that it's .700+/.600+ I/E, 300°+/310°+. As far as the next cam(s) go, for headers I'm looking at a little less lift on both intake and exhaust but with a bit more duration, and the cam for the manifolds will have the LSA spread quite a bit from the existing cam. That said, I need to get flow data once the heads are updated before we finalize anything.
 
#35 ·
In case anyone's interested, I just dug out the flow sheets on the heads:

Lift----Int--------Exh
.200---128.2-----111.5
.300---179.2-----142.6
.400---213.6-----161.9
.500---223.4-----172.9
.600---225.4-----180.1
.700---229.6-----185.2
.800---231.8-----186.9

That puts it roughly at 2.19 HP/cfm. My cylinder head guy says there's still plenty left, should be able to squeeze another 20-30 cfm w/o having to resort to exotic mods and w/o killing air speed.

I hope to have the engine ready for another round of testing by the end of the year.
 
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