Thread: SBF 302 Build

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Hey guys, been away for a while, lifes been busy.

So I have decided which way I am going to go for my 302 build, I just have a question as I have heard 2 different opinions from 2 different people I know and I believe them both but, neither of them have applied their knowledge themselves. lol

So I am rebuilding my 302, I have gone over several ideas, stroke it to 347, or 331, build it to stoke...list goes on.

I have decided as I am on a new budget with baby on the way, that I am going to polish my crank, new bearings and throw in a set of H Beam rods to strengthen my bottom end as so future add ons I know my bottom end can stand up to.

I am leaving the stock heads on it for the time being and throwing in a 220 deg comp cam, and hopefully in a year I can afford a set of AFR 165 cc heads and some 1.7:1 rocker arms.

My question to you is, if I bore out the block, I am thinking 40 over, do I need pistons to match... or can I just get over sized rings? I hear both are options?

Ideally in the future I will have a turbo or super charger and run around the 700HP mark
Thanks

You'll need pistons & rings to match your bore--no matter what size you do

OK - and me as a SBF 'enthusiast - that 302 as it stands is kind of a weakling. Many of them crack from the cam bore to the front main. That means the first thing to do is tear it down, hot tank and thoroughly clean it then have it mag particle checked at a minimum Then if you really want to stroke to 331/347, then you need to get even more involved with physical and dimensional checks. I would not do .040 as my initial bore on a thin wall casting, but would limit it to .030. As far as a future blower/turbo, quite frankly, that engine is probably a poor candidate. Ford Racing offer excellent alternatives for probably less then what you will be paying to get your worn out OEM engine brought back to new specs. Not what you want to hear, but a reality

i really cant tell what car you have .. your avatar looks like a 70 torino .. you need to step up to a bigger motor .. a 70 will hold anything up to a 460 ..

Thanks for the input.. and its a 69 Torino.

When I wanted to go with a stroker kit I researched it quite a bit and settled on a 331 setup. Even talking to Scat that is the one they recommended because they said it put the pistons on less of an angle and would net almost the same hp. If you do bore your engine stop at 30 over as most of the off the shelf stroker kits are designed for that overbore, not 40 over.

I can tell you that with either a 331 or 347 kit and some decent aluminum heads you will be very happy with the power..........I know I am. They do tick a little due to the short pistons, but I just lie and tell people I have a solid roller cam.


Don

If you are gonna do all that I would just build a clevor 302 and then it would be just like the old Boss.
For a little more you could have alot more if you know what I mean.
Kurt

If anything I would go with the 351W block....lot beafier on the bottom end

What rad rides said x2. Go with a larger eng to begin with, a 1/2 longer crank gives you much more torque. Thats what the torino need ,torque. Not hi winding h/p. I have built many performance ford engs and have not... yet found a crack . .060 is the limit on a small block without any reservations. I have one in a falc conv that is .060 over and not a problem. Just use a set of GT-40 heads for a inexpensive build.Of course there are as many ways to build an eng as there are builders.

I agree with you guys about the 351 build but if he already has the 302 block and is set on using it, why not a clevor?
You know when Bob Glidden won the world chapionship in 73 with a 351C he had de - stroked it to a about 330 ci. motor.
So if this is going in a light car, I would say a stroked 302 is a good way to go.
You can wind the piss out of them and if you got a good bottom end you'll never have to worry about breaking it.
Kurt

Glidden car only weighed 2150#
and those blocks/heads had more time in a pizza oven preheating them for welding than they had in the trailer on the road to a race

in fact those were days of weight/cubic inch and his car maybe weighed less than that!!!

Yep the heads had the plates made up to go on the exhaust side.
I put a clevor style 302 together back in the early 80's and it ran great.
I used the Yates stuff on that with a holley 780.
That motor with the new TrickFlow heads Dave Severson was talking about
would make it fly. I am not sure what his car weighs here, but my 67 mustang
was a little over 3,000 pounds.
Kurt

One of the fastest, most impressive stock rides I have ridden in was a friend's '69 Torino with a 428, 4 speed, and 3.90 rear gears. Now, I am a diehard Chevy guy, but that Torino was really impressive. He bought it new and 1969, and that is when he gave me the thrill ride. It would have eaten any stock 396 Chevelle for breakfast. That would be my recommendation. BTW, his was red, too!

Originally Posted by rumrumm

One of the fastest, most impressive stock rides I have ridden in was a friend's '69 Torino with a 428, 4 speed, and 3.90 rear gears. Now, I am a diehard Chevy guy, but that Torino was really impressive. He bought it new and 1969, and that is when he gave me the thrill ride. It would have eaten any stock 396 Chevelle for breakfast. That would be my recommendation. BTW, his was red, too!

Ahhhh yes, the '68-'69 Fastback Torinos - I had a '68 390GT which I used a 406 Tri-Power from my long past '63. And a hydraulic 427 4bbl cam (yep, they did make 'em). Oh yeah - it was fast, especially when you could wind the speedo all the way around and back to zero - nahhh, not me, that was illegal