Thread: 302 Ford

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I am a chevy guy, and have a 302 ford engine i've had for 18 yrs sitting
in my building. Don't know much about fords, but thought I my try to fix
this engine up, with a small cam. Is this engine worth spending a little
money on or not. It would only be used for everyday driving, but was
wondering if it has any pick up and go?
rd

I have built a couple of small block Fords and have been very happy with them. The only real performance problem these engines have is that the stock heads are very restrictive and they don't breathe well. If you go with aftermarket heads, I think you will be pleased. I have used both World Products Windsor Senior and Windsor Junior cast iron heads on the two engines I have built. They are cheaper than aluminum heads if weight is not an issue. For a mild engine, I would recommend the Juniors (1.94 intake/ 1.60 exhaust valves). There are a lot of aftermarket heads available for these engines. I think you will find that buying new heads is no more expensive than rebuilding the old heads.

The really neat thing about putting a Ford in a hot rod is that it's not a SBC.

I know more about chevy than ford but a guy did show me something on some ford heads. Some have a big hump right inside the exhaust port. he said you can port out that hump to get better flow. it looks pretty easy to port out.

Originally Posted by chevydrivin

I know more about chevy than ford but a guy did show me something on some ford heads. Some have a big hump right inside the exhaust port. he said you can port out that hump to get better flow. it looks pretty easy to port out.

That is true - as long as it is the "right" casting, usually found on the 351 engine. Explorer/Expeditions had a pretty good cast iron head - that I have seen as cheap as $50 a pair. It is the GT40P. There are several good posts here - do a search and you will find more good info then you thought possible

Do your self a favor ,unless you just want to use that engine....get a 100 to 250 dollar 5.0 from a 86 or newer car with the roller cam or find a roller cam block for the build.Yhe roller cams get good mileage and the blocks last forever ,compared to the old blocks.One of the rags did a build on a roller block they got from the junk yard with 200,000 miles on it and all it needed was a hone and new rings......

Before you go looking for a roller, you may want to check the casting # on the block (it's above the starter). Some of the old blocks with casting starting with "c" are from the 1960s and have a high iron content and good castings. They are sought for rebuilds. If you pull the intake and see a "Mexico" cast in the lifter valley, these blocks are highly sought for they were some of the strongest ever cast. Don't junk it without checking. some of the later blocks were much weaker. A good website for ford engine building is sbftech.com.

The ford 302 is a very buildable engine. It will take you where your wallet allows! Heads and cams will really wake up a 302.

[QUOTE=JoeSacamano]Before you go looking for a roller, you may want to check the casting # on the block (it's above the starter). Some of the old blocks with casting starting with "c" are from the 1960s and have a high iron content and good castings. allows! [QUOTE]

Actually it is supposed to be high nickel content and it was at least thru '69, and others say thru '73. Good Ford sources have said that is a bunch of hooey - but I am still saving my early 351's JIC everyone else was right. I still like a roller blocks best tho - they had all the improvements in metallurgy and OEM performance potential.

For everday driving the nickel content in the block doesn't mean a thing, if it is anything other then a rumor!!!! If you're going to build a racing Windsor, it doesn't matter much either as both blocks need some block filler to stabilize the bottom end of the cylinders. For an everyday driver, Ireland's Child gave you the good low down. Get a good set of heads and a mild cam along with some quality pistons that will yeild around 9:1 compression with cast iron heads or 9.5 to 10:1 with aluminum heads. If you want to pop the bucks, go for the whole Edelbrock Performer RPM package, cam, heads, intake, and carb. It's a proven package where all the components are designed to be compatible and it works very well for a street engine...

the way i personally like on the 302 is the AFR 165s 58cc chamber, standard bottom end with a steel crank steel rods and forged pistons.... make sure to use good new bolts for assembling the bottom end as well..... also a main stud girdle can make that bottom end a lot tougher.... i would reccomend having the block line honed while its being machined.... fords sometimes will get a little off line on the mains and chew your crank up... make sure to buy a new balancer as well.... old ford balancers always are off by the time you get em.... of course all this depends on your budget.... another nice addition is a retrofit roller cam with a 351 firing order, it makes the engine a little more balanced on firing