[67Chevelleguy]

Hi Team!

There isn't a forum for other makes in our Tech room so I will just quietly ask it here...

I want to build my stock 73 302 Ford up for mild racing for next season. Are 302's good engines to start with, I can't find any 351's anywhere, so my 302 will have to do. This is what I have planned:
-stock bottom end
-cam....Valve lift 0.472" int, 0.496" exh. Lobe Separation Angle 112 degrees. (107 int, 117 exh) Hydraulic flat tappet cam
-Edelbrock Victor Jr aluminum heads...2.05 intake 1.60 exhaust, 210 cc intake runner, 85 cc exhaust, 60 cc combustion chamber
-single plane 4bbl aluminum intake
-600 cfm 4bbl carb
-already have full length headers and new timing chain, pertronix electronic ignition

what kind of horsepower should I expect? What other things should I know about?

thanks for any input!

-wes

 

[LXS]

302s are GREAT little motors!!! Especially if they're "Hecho en Mexico", they have a higher nickel content. If you're gonna build it up, why not stroke it? Build yourself a 331, 342, or a 347. You planning on staying all motor? These motors are also great to use with turbos! What car will the motor be going into? What will it's primary use be? 351s are nice, you can stroke them to 385 (I believe), and on up to 391, and 400+ci. I'd love to build up a nice little 302 for my '65 Stang, it just needs a V8 suspension first


What compression will you be running? If you run btween 9.5:1 and 10.5:1 C/R, I'd use at least a 670cfm carb. I'd guesstimate your hp would be around 300hp-350hp, that is without the accessories(sp?). Who's building it, you, a friend, or a shop? Anyway, if I were you, I'd invest in a girdle to help stabalize that bottom end.

 

[Guest]

Please hunt up a 5.0 site b/c the Blue-Oval guys beat on the little bugger HARD!!

And I am not trying to run you off.

Good little motor. But Stock, most of all the heads suck! Ford kinda used to have two head design crews back then, "grocery-getter" and "full-bore RACE"!! So look over whats available from the aftermarket that is of good value to help in the head department!!

pdq67

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[chvl71402]

I used a junkyard motor from a '99 Explorer.
Sold the injection setup for $200 have about$ 400 in the low mileage(59K)
shortblock.
These motors have GT40P heads. Excellent production iron head.
I cleaned up the bowl area had them milled .020 installed better springs.
Edelbrock Perf, RPM 600 vac sec carb.
Bought a Trickflow stage 1 hyd roller cam from Ebay $75.
run a C4 w 2800 stall converter 3.80 gears.
The Ranchero it is in weighs 3350 w/driver.
great little budget project!!
ET is in the sig.
Dave M

 

[Motorhead62]

Any 302 or 289 is candiadate for Stroking and building of a 347. Add a set of Victor Jr heads and a fat cam and you have the makings of great power numbers in a small package! :thumbsup:

 

[GRN69CHV]

Definitely work around the 5.0 from the Explorer. These have the GT40 "P" heads. Valves are 1.94/1.47's but the flow is real high - especially the exhaust side. Depending on the chassis, you may have to research the headers as the plug angle is changed a little. Also, the later 5.0 motors are roller cam designed. Later heads will bolt on early motors - including 351 heads. Do a search for "Tom Schimdt's Links", it's all blue oval.

 

[LeoP]

For a Ford site, you might try www.corral.net there is a 5.0 forum there. Good luck with your engine build.

 

[67Chevelleguy]

Thanks for all of the help guys!

With all of the parts I listed I decided to put a larger cam in there and beef up the bottom end, larger carb, and possibly the stroker kit and keep the rest of my parts, that way I will build a motor that will correspond better with the other parts.

thanks!

-wes

 

[67Chevelleguy]

btw: I am just building my Mustang up to race next season, while I restore my other Chevelle...I not abandoning my Chevelles

-wes

 

[musclecarjohn]

btw: I am just building my Mustang up to race next season, while I restore my other Chevelle...I not abandoning my Chevelles

-wes

...I knew I wasn't losing my mind.

 

[Motorhead62]

I hate to admit it, however, the Fox body mustangs with 5.0's are cheap to make fast!

 

[Darracq]

Those heads are pretty big for a mild combo. If you are going to use them get your compression up around 10.5 and run a cam in the upper 230s to low 240s @50. And at least a 650 carb. My buddy has the same heads on his 302 with a roller cam 4.88 gears and it screams. THose heads like RPM.

 

[musclecarjohn]

I hate to admit it, however, the Fox body mustangs with 5.0's are cheap to make fast!

Oh no doubt.If your looking to build a cheap road-race or 1/4 miler,that's certainly the platform...

 

[Guest]

67Chevelleguy,

I have to tell this on me from way back when!!

I was being harressed by a '65 or '66, 271hp, 289 Mustang Coupe with four guys in it and 3.90 gears and I had a heck of a time keeping up with it around town with my -151 cammed L-48, '67 Camaro, M-20, 3.31's and tall tires!!

They knew they were quicker block to block, so they kept turning blocks so I couldnt wrap up and smoke them!!

Back about the spring of '67!!

It was funny tho b/c after I darn near pushed a '62 'Vette 300hp/327 4-speed at 130 going over to the Drags on Hwy 36 at Calio, MO from Macon, MO late Sat. night back then, I never had an encounter with any of the town's "hot" cars after that!!

You should have heard my girl-friend/wife now hollar when I darn near BUMPED the SOB at 130!! And I was just tooling along at about 60 or so mph when he pounced on me for a high speed run!!

We stopped at Calio and I asked him if he wanted to go a quarter and he backed way OFF! He said, good running car....

pdq67

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[Bob West]

HUH? What? I must have made a wrong click, I thought this was Team Chevelle,,, you know "Chevrolet",,,and I havent even had a beer yet

 

[bored&stroked]

I've built two 302's for friends mustangs, although both have been FI and roller cammed. The only engines better then the ford 302's are chevy v8's and honda v6's.

GT40p's are the ford version of vortec heads, just not as good. Still the best ford made production wise. As mentioned above, the explorer motors cam with either GT40 heads [early production] or GT40P heads [late production] along with a cobra lower manifold and explorer spacific upper. They also had 93 cobra cams [which are actually worse then stock H.O. cams as the cobra cam was designed for use with 1.7 rockers, not the 1.6 that are stock]

I personally would at least go with a late model roller cam block [they are everywhere]

 

[Rich69RS/SS]

I'm getting parts together for my Ford 5.0 motor in my 64 Ranchero project, From what a oldtimer told me Ford made a good stock cylinder head, the 69-70 351W heads (D9E or D0E ) have big valve and 60cc chambers and you can bolt them on a 289 or 302 block, the set I have have been milled and ported with Comp springs and Comp roller rockers. The only thing killing me is the damn clutch linkage on Fords, I got a T-5 tranny with the engine deal that I want to put the hurtin' too when I'm done. The kits to switch over to cable clutch are big $$, mine has the old stock 4 speed linkage set up. The rest is a Edelbrock Air Gap manifold, Comp 270S cam, with some good gears this thing should scream. Ever install headers on a 64 V-8 Ranchero with a 4 speed ? it is a joy you have to try once in your lifetime.

 

[Darracq]

All the factory 302 or 351 heads suck.excluding the boss heads.They are ok for a fun driver,

 

[Nickel333]

My buddy across the way has an 80 mustang with no fancy chassis stuff, a Tremec 5 speed and a 302. The 302 is somthing like 9.0:1 compression, has a small split pattern cam, a factory crank and rods, world windsor heads and a vic jr and its gone a best of 12.17 @ 112. The little bugger runs good goes 7,000 RPM and hes probably got 40,000 miles on it since the build.