Posted by mavman (24.144.46.223) on May 08, 2001 at 23:52:13:
In Reply to: 302 block questions. posted by Fastman on May 06, 2001 at 23:30:14:
check on the drive side deck, just in front of the head, next to the water pump. there is a little "piece" of block that has a code stamped on it. it's probably covered with thousands of miles worth of dirt, but it's the only way to POSITIVELY identify what year your block is. And, yes Ford did change the deck height from '73-'76, it is 8.236, as opposed to 8.206 on all other 302's. The only effect is that the pistons will be .030" farther down in the bore on the tall blocks, not a big problem, but compresison ratio will suffer a bit. I know this from experience...matter of fact, it's possible to use 289 rods in a tall 302, effectively making a long-rod 302. I've actually mocked up a 302 block with this combo, and the pistons are almost dead even with the top of the block, making more compression than a normal 302...I never built it, though, and most enging builders say it's worthless to use longer rods anyway, just too much extra balancing to do. Just my $.02