Ford 302

OK now I'm making myself very vulnerable here and its not comfortable.. :HMMM: I have in my shop a 70 Cougar it belongs to a friend he bought it from a party in Texas over 10 years ago. They were told it didn't run. It has been sitting since in his garage. No one has tried to start it, until now. I put in a good battery. it turned over after replacing the solenoid. I bought new plugs points cond. rotor cap wires oil filter. NOW comes the problem. The plugs I pulled out are Autolite 45 rest. The new ones are Autolite 24 Now a blind man can tell they aren't the same. The parts store says it calls for 24. Did some one change the heads ? the engine? Where do I look for ID numbers on block, heads?? I admit I never was and am not now a ford guy.

Charlie, I'm no Ford guru either, but I believe a 45 screws into an FE head (332/352/360/361/390/391/406/410/427/428). How many bolts are holding the valve covers on?
2 bolts: 239/256/272/292/312 (produced from 1954 to 1964)
5 bolts: 332/352/360/361/390/391/406/410/427/428 (FE engine)
6 bolts: 221/260/289/302/351W
7 bolts: 429/460
8 bolts: 351C/351M/400

Charlie,
For 1970 the 302 takes the smaller 24 plug, as does the 351 Cleveland. The other engines offered all took the bigger 45 size plug, in the 351 Windsor, 390FE, and 428FE. They made two Boss 429's, one for Dyno Don Nicholson and one for Fast Eddie Schartman - I don't think you're looking at either one of those.... Sounds like you've got a 351W.

If you took 45's out of the heads 45's or the equivalent will go back in. The engine could be a 69 or earlier.

yes .. it simply has older heads or complete older engine ..

Is there a way to tell what year it is? I know how to tell on GM

but rspears may have hit on something .. it could be a windsor .. should be a metal tag on one of the carb bolts if all is original ...

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Originally Posted by cffisher

Is there a way to tell what year it is? I know how to tell on GM

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Charlie, see if this helps - - - lot of info here along with some sketches
Ford V8 Engine Identification - FORDification.com

think I'll pull the starter in the AM dates and codes OH BOY!!

"You are about to enter another dimension, a dimension not only of kaos and frustration but of WTF. (What's This For?)A journey into a wondrous land of ?what?. Next stop, the Fomoco Zone!"

Twilight Zone intro. - YouTube

Have a great weekend, Charlie,
Em

Well its a 302 69 version. Changed oil, new plugs, points, cond., cap rotor, wires, coil, Fuel filter, and disconnected the gas tank. Ran a hose from F/P to a jug of gas. A little starting fluid and gas it fired and died. It didn't want to turn over after that. SOO I poured some gas in carb sprayed starting fluid in and cranked it over with 2 batteries. There was a loud BANG out the back and it started to run. It even ideled down and ran fairly smooth. Shut it off and walked back to the tool box and looked behind the car. Scattered all the way to the wall and out the doors was the remains of a Mouse nest I guess that's what stalled it out. Anyway I think it will run OK when its finished
Thanks guys

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Originally Posted by MelloYello

"You are about to enter another dimension, a dimension not only of kaos and frustration but of WTF. (What's This For?)A journey into a wondrous land of ?what?. Next stop, the Fomoco Zone!"

Twilight Zone intro. - YouTube

Have a great weekend, Charlie,
Em

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Thanks Em, LMAO......:LOL:

Hey Charlie!!!!! Around here do you know what we call the chebbie guys that move up to a Blue Oval??????? Social Climbers!!!!!!!:LOL::LOL::LOL:

Yeah !!!OK But the rungs on that ladder are very slippery. and not much to go on

only 80k on the odometer. been in storage for 15 years trailered from Texas no rust. Current owner paid 2k for car 10 years ago.

I'll keep him whole on his investment if he wants to get rid of it....:););):LOL::LOL:

That's not a bad lookin' ol' "Cat". Of that genre of Ford products, I tended to favor the Cougar over the Mustang, just to be different, if nothing else. I am pretty much in the same barn as Charlie, though, don't know much about them; I did refit/replace a long block 351 in a Torino for my son one time, and it wasn't too confusing, only a little bit. :LOL::LOL: I think Em hit the nail on the head, though: a whole different dimension. :confused::cool:
I ain't brand snobbish, though, I even had a Ford - once, and I had a Mopar - once. ;);)

Well, if he wants his money back I'd sure be glad to bail him out of the project!!!!

Heck, I'll let him make a profit! (a nice one too!) should he decide to get out!

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Originally Posted by Dave Severson

Well, if he wants his money back I'd sure be glad to bail him out of the project!!!!

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Originally Posted by 34_40

Heck, I'll let him make a profit! (a nice one too!) should he decide to get out!

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Ya'll would be second and third in line, respectively....

His dad has 5 of them in his garage one is an Eliminator, which I think he said he wanted to sell, Another one don't remember the year. 68 I think. Was special order by some little old lady. brown or dark copper with brown and white hounds tooth interior AND brown and white hounds tooth vinyl roof. I think between the two of them they have around 10 or 12

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Originally Posted by cffisher

His dad has 5 of them in his garage one is an Eliminator, which I think he said he wanted to sell, I think between the two of them they have around 10 or 12

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An Eliminator is high on the list for me!! And they have 10 or 12 of them? Well, if they decide to downsize.... just call!!

Dang - - - in just a few days Charlie's already become a FOMOCO Broker !
I tell ya Gents it's a disease and there are no warning signs.

"Run Forrest Run !"

And that cat is a ragtop too, and he only paid $2000 for it, heck what a steal, know wonder all you guys are lining up to ease the guys pain by offering to relieve him from it and I don't blame you one little bit.

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Originally Posted by Whiplash23T

And that cat is a ragtop too, and he only paid $2000 for it, heck what a steal, know wonder all you guys are lining up to ease the guys pain by offering to relieve him from it and I don't blame you one little bit.

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What do you mean?? Someone took advantage of him big time, charging $2K for a car with a cloth top that will freeze you to death in the winter, and can't be kept cool with AC in the summer!! I'm offering to keep him whole, without regard for the fact that someone took advantage of him earlier. Seems right to me.....:p:cool::LOL::LOL::LOL:

I have incountered the mouse thing myself on my 70 Mustang after lketting it sit for about 12 years unstartedd foir about 2 years stored in my friends barn.

Ford didnt change over to 14mm plugs untill a much later dat than 70 on 302s
Except for boss 302, 351Cs and 429 super cobra jet. Cant remember exactly what year they changed other engines.

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Originally Posted by rspears

What do you mean?? Someone took advantage of him big time, charging $2K for a car with a cloth top that will freeze you to death in the winter, and can't be kept cool with AC in the summer!! I'm offering to keep him whole, without regard for the fact that someone took advantage of him earlier. Seems right to me.....:p:cool::LOL::LOL::LOL:

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OH yes the convert. has A/C but looking at the front and read pans you'd think the P/O used it to herd cattle

Go with the shorter plugs which is a closed chamber head the early heads were a 52cc head and the later heads could go up to about a 74 cc open chamber head which were the longer plugs.
You'll want the shorter plug so the piston does not come up and smack the plugs. It does not matter what year the motor is unless they changed the pistons in it. I forgot to put the that the letter is for the decades, C is the 60',
so if you have C8 on the head that stands for 1968, if you have a D that is for the 70's so D9 would be 1979. and so on.

The only heads for a SBF I know of that used extended reach plugs were 14mm plugs used in E6 heads mostly used on LOPO 5.0s in grand marquis and crown vics in the later years before they went with the modular engines.

here's the 69 it will take $17,000 to put it in your driveway