Thread: 302 Stroker??

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I went to look at a 302 Small Block this afternoon. A project that was started with good intentions but (like so many) failed. 86 Mustang, the "kid" wanted to build a "race car"... but the gas prices and 3 kids and a wife have called a halt to it.

The short block is all done. .030 over, .010/.010 on the crank, new pistons of course. Same with the bearings and double roller timing chain. New 303X camshaft and the last thing he picked up was a set of gt40 heads. He wants to bail out and cut his losses...

I'm thinking of picking this up and changing the crank for a stroker... Not sure if I'd prefer a 331 or a 347.. I know there's no substitution for cubic inches, but you hear a lot of stories of noisy motors, I think it was Don who said his 331 was noisy 'til it warmed up.

Decisions.. Decisions... I've got to call the guy back in the morning as I was undecided if this was something I wanted to do.. But, I think I'll pull the trigger even if I have to do this a little bit at a time.

OH, and thanks Dave Severson for the trick in doing a new post.

I really like the 347's, great bang for the buck in a light car!!!! The GT40 heads are a great street head IMO, a good valve job and a bit of match porting on the the ports and they will pull great in street rpm ranges. Never had any noise problems other then the slap of a cold forged piston. The one's I've had seemed to do quite well on a Performer RPM intake with a 600 Holley. If you're staying EFI on it, not hard to find someone to reprogram the ECU for the 303 cam... I'm a 4 or 5 speed guy, so I can't tell you much about the tranny/converter stuff with them other then as with any small cube engine, the more gears the better in the tranny. Normal street works well with a 3.50 or deeper gear---I like to use a 9", easy to slip in my 6.00's on a spool for a bit of Saturday night action!!!!!!

I was reading your reply and it dawned on me I'll need to identify the pistons.. I don't know if they're forged or hypers.... The coupe has an AOD that was previously hooked to a 331 stroker so it's ready and with the 3.90 rear axle ratio - it should get up & go no problem.. As far as intake. I'm thinking of using my Shelby Ram Box but instead of dual quads, I'll probably make a top plate for the single 4V Demon currently in use. The intake choice will probably hurt low rpm but it'll look cool as h_ll!

Heck, just balance it good and rev the snot out of it, bottom end power is for big blocks!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

Heck, just balance it good and rev the snot out of it, bottom end power is for big blocks!!!!!!!!

Truer words are rarely ever spoken!

Originally Posted by 34_40

I was reading your reply and it dawned on me I'll need to identify the pistons.. I don't know if they're forged or hypers.... The coupe has an AOD that was previously hooked to a 331 stroker so it's ready and with the 3.90 rear axle ratio - it should get up & go no problem.. As far as intake. I'm thinking of using my Shelby Ram Box but instead of dual quads, I'll probably make a top plate for the single 4V Demon currently in use. The intake choice will probably hurt low rpm but it'll look cool as h_ll!

like dave said. i put alot of crank to some engines piston sound comes from piston to wall set to kill. or someone did not do there job rigth fitting them .you need to watch how much piston to wall you throw at a hyper piston they will make some sound and may never go away when warm

The "noisey" motors are built with cheap so called "package" pistons, too much piston to wall clearance and more issues. The problem with the small block Ford is high rod angularity. In addition the so called performance cranks and rods from several major retailers are Chinese forgings machined in the US. Thrust clearance issues and surface finishes contribute to the noise and bearing failure problems. You can build an excellent 331/347 using K1 rods and crank, JE or Wiseco pistons and their ring packages. Beware of the cheap Chinese aluminum heads and the intake manifold to head interface. Oil control problems can easily arrise here. Again, the pistons and the proper bore sizing, surface finish are critical on these stroker packages in the 8.2 deck blocks.
Gil from G&G Automotive Enterprises.

Thanks for all the input guys! I am supposed to go get it tomorrow or tuesday night. Once I get all the paperwork I'll have a better idea of what's in there.

Originally Posted by 34_40

I went to look at a 302 Small Block this afternoon. A project that was started with good intentions but (like so many) failed. 86 Mustang, the "kid" wanted to build a "race car"... but the gas prices and 3 kids and a wife have called a halt to it.

The short block is all done. .030 over, .010/.010 on the crank, new pistons of course. Same with the bearings and double roller timing chain. New 303X camshaft and the last thing he picked up was a set of gt40 heads. He wants to bail out and cut his losses...

I'm thinking of picking this up and changing the crank for a stroker... Not sure if I'd prefer a 331 or a 347.. I know there's no substitution for cubic inches, but you hear a lot of stories of noisy motors, I think it was Don who said his 331 was noisy 'til it warmed up.

Decisions.. Decisions... I've got to call the guy back in the morning as I was undecided if this was something I wanted to do.. But, I think I'll pull the trigger even if I have to do this a little bit at a time.

OH, and thanks Dave Severson for the trick in doing a new post.

Unless you are getting a bargain price for it or keep i as it is i dont know how you are going to benefit from buying it because if you put a stroker kit in it you are going to have to match the
.010/.010 on the crank and redo any piston to valve clearences that the increased stroke will give. So you will be basically redoing the short motor anyway.

Originally Posted by ggoldstein

The "noisey" motors are built with cheap so called "package" pistons, too much piston to wall clearance and more issues. The problem with the small block Ford is high rod angularity. In addition the so called performance cranks and rods from several major retailers are Chinese forgings machined in the US. Thrust clearance issues and surface finishes contribute to the noise and bearing failure problems. You can build an excellent 331/347 using K1 rods and crank, JE or Wiseco pistons and their ring packages. Beware of the cheap Chinese aluminum heads and the intake manifold to head interface. Oil control problems can easily arrise here. Again, the pistons and the proper bore sizing, surface finish are critical on these stroker packages in the 8.2 deck blocks.
Gil from G&G Automotive Enterprises.

well that some good info BUT the wiseco pistons pins in are made in Taiwan .K1 stuff is not made in the usa but offshore chia stuff no matter were it comes from it needs to be played with and check over very good . as for china heads there all pretty much junk along with rocker arms

Originally Posted by my671fordv8

Unless you are getting a bargain price for it or keep i as it is i dont know how you are going to benefit from buying it because if you put a stroker kit in it you are going to have to match the
.010/.010 on the crank and redo any piston to valve clearences that the increased stroke will give. So you will be basically redoing the short motor anyway.

Well, it's priced about half of what he has invested already! The idea of building a stroker motor meant that I was going to re-do a short block so that's not the main concern at this point. Right now I just want to get it home and dis-assembled to see what's all in there and verify the measurements. Then I'll decide which direction to go in.

Thanks for the input!

I've got a full roller 331 using a Dart block and world windsor lite heads using the 303x in my summer driver mustang. If I were to do it over, I'd build it as a 347 or even larger. I built it using a magazine artical as a guide. That was a mistake. Not much more torque than a stock stroke 302. I'm thinking of a redo and if I do it, it will be 408.

Originally Posted by jayp

I've got a full roller 331 using a Dart block and world windsor lite heads using the 303x in my summer driver mustang. If I were to do it over, I'd build it as a 347 or even larger. I built it using a magazine artical as a guide. That was a mistake. Not much more torque than a stock stroke 302. I'm thinking of a redo and if I do it, it will be 408.

HI and thanks for the input! I keep flip floppin' on what to do! 331?? 347?? 331?? 347?? Since it's really just a toy, I keep leanin' for the 347.
I have made up my mind to not go with the gt heads or even gt40 heads. To take advantage of the cam I'll need the 303x heads or maybe trick flow Twisted Wedge or some similar.

Thanks Again for your opinion!

Wouldn't it be cheaper to just build a 351 from the start? I'm not up on Fords that much but won't a 351 bolt in where a 302 will?

Tom

Not really for me! If I had picked up a 351 I'd have to stroke it to 408 at least!

And like the car, it's really about the build for me.