So after 2 years of owning my Mav I think I'm finally going to get it swapped to a v8 this summer. However, I do want to know something when it comes to 302s. What are the differences between a 70s 302 and the one that is always talked about here which is the 50 HO one found in 90s cars? I'm not going to be doing any racing of any kind but it would still be cool to have a 250hp car. Better yet, I think I would like to have a mild built motor. Would and older 302 be better for this or would a 90s one do me better? Cheers!
HO will be the way to go. they have a roller cam, which makes their design superior to the older engines. iirc, the mustang 5.0 HO was rated 220hp stock.
go h.o. if you dont plan on going crazy, early motors are good for building strokers and high horsepower monsters because they have more nickle in the blocks. BUT not all h.o's are roller motors. h.o. just means 4 barrel intake ( at least i think so.) before you buy a motor, tell them to pull the intake and actually see if its a roller motor. Valve covers too (see if the cams bad)
H.O.'s are great motors, but keep in mind they dont have the stud cast into the blocks for the manual transmissions, which is not an issue if your using a C-4. You also may have an issue with converting to a serpentine belt if you have power steering or a/c on the car. Im not sure if a new style motor can be converted to a V-belt or not. Maybe someone else can chime in but for some reason I thought the bolt patterns was different on the harmonic balancers.
No, they don't. The 5.0s are weaker because they have thinner main webs and deck surfaces. An 88 Mustang HO should have a roller cam. Easy way to check, take off a valve cover and pull a pushrod. A roller cam pushrod is shorter than one used in a flat tappet application because the roller lifters are taller than flat tappets.
depends on if you can read it and this is straight out of an old high performance book just telling him that early blocks are good for going big. "The 302 block was virtually unchanged through 1975. In your search for a 302 block, we suggest the use of the high nickel content blocks produced from mid-1967 through the early 1970s. One alternative, though not always easy to find, are the 302 blocks cast in Mexico. A number of these blocks found their way into U.S.-built Fords and Mercurys. These Mexican blocks weigh more, but they offer strength in a heavier casting, thus being more suitable for high-performance use"
I am no expert at all but I rebuilt 5 different engines with in about 2 years and all were 5.0's out of trucks. Here are a couple of things I learned. Some engines were set up for roller cam but were not completed at the factory and will need pricey machine work. They have the taller lifter bores but were not machined on top for the dog bones to sit so watch out for that. Some people just look to see if the valley has the bolt bosses for the spider to sit and think it is a roller ready block. My machinist at the time said it would be a lot of set up work to machine the lifter bores. Him and I both might be wrong but it's something to look into. A lot of the 5.0 blocks don't have the bolt hole for the clutch but there is plenty of metal on some of them to drive and tap a boss. Some of the later engines don't have the metal there at all. There is an adapter available though and I think one from a 71-73 Mustang with a 351C also uses that bracket. I am pretty sure and 302/5.0 can be swapped around by changing the timing cover and using the right water pump, dip stick and brackets. Depending on where you want the dipstick and rather you are using a mech. fuel pump or elec. Remember there are revers rotation water pump and they won't work with standard rotation timing covers. You can look at them side by side and figure out the difference most times. Then you have to look at oil pans and pump pick ups. lol I know they won't swap between 302/5.0's and 351W's because a Windsor has the 3" main bearings but for the life of me I want to think a 351w timing cover can be used on a 302/5.0 but that shouldn't be so. SOme reason makes me think they can be though so I am going to have to dig out some of my timing covers and look at them. Aorry for the book. I was rambling a bit while my dogs dried off after getting their baths. lol clint
Well my car has neither A/C or power steering so all is good. I also have a C4 tranny so I won't have a prob if I ever want to do the serpentine setup. But to ask another question, if I can't find one of these motors, do they sell them as a crate engine? What are the advantages to a crate one vs. one found at a junkyard?
Oh and by the way, when I do the conversion, will I have to convert the shifter to one on the floor? Will I also need to upgrade the 2.79 rear gears as well? Cheers!
A quote from the same book: "Often we hear about Mexican blocks being the ticket to strength due to a higher nickel content than their U.S. counterparts. Investigation since this book was introduced eight years ago reveals little difference between Mexican and U.S. blocks."
Well, I got mine for $200 with zero miles on it. OReilly remanufactured 88 5.0 bored over .040. Guy who bought it couldn't get it to run (trying wrong firing order) so pretty much gave it away. It had a 3 year 36k mile warranty, but since I don't have the original receipt, that means nothing to me. I had to drill and tap for the spider bar, and put in gifted cam, roller lifters, etc. I run the snot out of it, routinely shifting at 6500, sometimes 7000. I was going to suggest that route, but I just called O'Reilly and they want $1800 for that engine, and they need your old one as a core exchange:16suspect I am glad I made that call, though. Now I really appreciate the deal I got on my block. So, keep an eye out. Lots of guys routinely find them in junk yards for $300 a pop. Not hard to rebuild, or just run it until it craters.
Thanks for the heads up there scooper. If I could find one for 300 I will jump on it since I will need to take it to a shop to have it installed. The car hobby sorta sucks when you have an apartment and the jerks who own the garage don't let you do any kind of work on your car. Even when you tell them everything will be done on the floor where there are hardly any other cars. ;(
