ok so i have a stock 302 out of a 74 grabber. what i want to know is what can i do to it to make it have more power. i know i already need to put a 4brl carb and a different intake. i would really like to have a 302 stroker, but i don't know what is invoved in building a stroker. a friend of mine suggested that i put a 351w cam and rods in it. what do you guys suggest. the engine i have actualy runs pretty good for sitting for 10 years.
before you begin, IMO you should ask yourself what the finished product is going to be used for mostly. if it's going to be a daily driver with an occasional blast down a drag strip build it for the street first. pick your gear ratio and that will help determine what rpm range you need to build the motor for. a cam change is definitely in order, after deciding where the car is to be used the most call cam makers with your proposed combo and they can help you choose the right cam to acheive your goals, same can be said of converter makers, etc, etc. tech lines are available for almost everything, take advantage of them.
another twist on the same subject is that I built a stock motor with a 351W marine cam that was supposedly used in HO applications. It had only .416" lift and 195@.050" duration, maybe that's what your friend meant by using 351W cam. I also used a stock four barrel intake from an early fox body Mustang (not sure which year) that used holley carb, put an edlebrock 600 on it, with headers and backed by a C-4 with a 2000rpm stall converter and 3.08 geared limited-slip rear. it ran 15.30 at 2000 feet elevation and got decent enough mileage that I never thought twice about using for trips since it was no gas hog. not a screamer but better than high 17's and still usable daily.
yeah really need to know its purpose in life first.....cause there is all kinds of crazy, insane things you can do.....but if it may not fit the cars purpose or your wallet.
Biggest problems with '74 302s were low compression and retarded camshaft timing. The '74 blocks had a higher deck height (the piston sits lower in the cylinder) by around .023" along with dished pistons. And of course early 302 heads had horrible ports and valves. So you gotta get more compression and more breathing. Either mill and port the heads you have or get a set of late model Gt40 or GT40P's, they would still need to be milled to raise compression. A mild performance cam that matches the intake you want to use, and definitely free up the exhaust. Dual 2 1/4" pipes with a crossover and headers, if possible. 275 - 300 hp isn't too difficult. As mentioned 351 rods won't fit and a 351 cam is the same as a 302 cam, just different firing order. If you want a stroker but don't have much engine building experience, buy a crate engine.
it's going to be going into my daily driver car. but i still want something that can waste ricers. so something that i can do some street racing with. i already put a standard trany in my car. three speed. and my friend is pretty handy whith engines. he worked in a shop rebuilding them. so i can do alot of stuff to my engine, with his help of course. any more info would be great thanks alot.
(IMO) A carb and intake would be a great start, if your going to want a daily drive i would go with a dual plane, and nothing bigger then a 600-650cfm carb. this should hit the wallet to bad. $200-$400. A MSD(or some other multi strike ignition) with a high out put coil will will add a fair bang for the buck $100-$200. Headers and dual exhaust should free up an extra 10-20hp(these cars have TERRIBLE stock exhaust) supposing its stock. I have done these mods and it makes a huge differnce
and my friend is pretty handy whith engines... Is he the same friend that said you could put 351 rods in your motor?
Might want to try this, Erson cam, E210421. Hydr. with 296 duration and .504 lift. Install at 4deg advanced, use stock flat top pistons with good valve reliefs. Must use some sort of adj. rocker arms, on stock heads I used a posilok nut to set zero lash with the stock rail rockers. Performer RPM intake and either an Edelbrock or Holley 750 carb(can tune it to work and still have it for use on future upgrades. Good duraspark ignition set at 36deg total advance, cheap set of Hedman headers and choice of mufflers. Get some 3.55 rear gears and a posi, personnaly would go with a good built c4 to save the drive train and tires when blowing off the ricer's at the lights. This is the setup we ran for years and has plenty of power but yet streetable for just a few dollars. Or in the case of not wanting to get into the mechanics of building a motor, just get a crate motor and drop it in and go. How fast do you want to go? Answer is: "How much mony do you want to spend?" The above info is from my build up of the first Mav we had, the rumpity rump and flowmaster mufflers was enough to scare a lot of the Uncle Ben's fueled cars from taking on the lowly Mav.
I have the same setup Dave is talking about... Not sure what my car will run w/ 4.62 gears. But the setup is a pretty good one. I seen Dave's car run at the strip, and has scared off many wanna be racers around town. Goodset up I think... let us know what you decide.
