New cam, heads, on original 302 motor? When will it BLOW?

Can I put a new heavier cam, maybe edelbrock, and new edel heads on the origninal, stock 302 without serious problems? I have about 170 HP, due to the 74 heads/compression. I want more horsepower, and figured a couple hundred bucks for these bolt-ons would be worth it, but can the original motor take it? It currently has 55,000 miles, with edel 600cfm carb and performer 289 intake. Dualled out to side pipes, and few other modifications.

How about a 75-100 shot of NOS afterwards? At which point am I going to crater the engine beyond repair (i.e. cracked block)?

I am kind of to the point where I want to do a complete overhaul and make it strip-ready, as close to 500 HP as I can get it, maybe with a blower or supercharger. But I don't want to lose my block. But the thing runs like a charm and I cannot justify tearing apart a "new" (i.e. 55K) engine if it still runs good and burns no oil.

 

it depends on if the engines bin run hard for 55000 miles or not.. new heads with new valves may suck the rings out of her meaning the oil will go by the rings my 1990 mustang had that happen but it had 83000 on it if u do all that take it out and freshin every thing up you know new rings bearings gaskets.. as for nos if its stock it will not last long and really short time if u never used it before good luck

 

if you have the money, you can order a 302 with 450hp right out of the Ford Motorsports catalog, virtually complete except for pulleys and a few other things-I think its 6995.00, I prefer all throttle and no bottle!!good luck

 

The right cam and heads will turn that motor on. You wont see 500 hp or anything like it but it will liven it. I would have no problem having faith in a good motor like yours. Soup er up!!
Dan
oh yeah, my original motor in my mav blew up within in a year of adding cam and stuff, course if it was bein driven, it was bein driven like I stole it. It only had 12k miles on the car when that happened. It even broke the block!

 

Go for it! As with any other performance type deal, it's not if it will blow...it's when and how expensive it is to fix it! It WILL have some sort of problem later on, that's a given in this hobby...BUT, good news. 302's are tough as nails (as any other Ford engine for that matter except the 3.8 V6) and it's really hard to kill one.

I say do it. You'll be in for a huge surprise (and even bigger smile on your face) when you see that kind of gains you can get from simple head & cam change. The heads alone are probably worth close to 75-100 HP if not more depending on what you have now versus what you're wanting to upgrade. Factory 302 heads suck...wait...they wheeze! Those tiny weird shaped ports and chambers were designed to get good economy and good low end torque...which they did.

Save the nitrous for another "spare" engine. You'll kill a motor quicker with that stuff than with a turbo/blower. 'Course if you know what you're doing with it, it can last a while..just not forever. I've never seen one go very long. Usually a fuel pump quits, line clogs, or something like that....makes the motor lean, and ka-boom...there goes a gasket, piston, head, etc.

 

I agree, go for it. 302's are tough little motors, plus there are plenty of blocks and parts available.

If all you are wanting on a new engine is 500 ponies....that can be done without any power adder..it might not get filled up at the local gas station. But it can be done without any adder.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions and pointers. Looks like a head and cam job are soon to happen. May as well go for some headers for another $150. Wish me luck.

 

good luck! Might as well get a new set of rear tires too...you'll need 'em.

 

I beat on mine all the time. just see the video I posted. It is the second motor of the same build up though. Cracked the main webbings in a roller block on the first motor. No damage to the crank or rods though caught it in time I happend to notice the oil pressure really low and a little clatter noise. Shut it down pulled it out that weekend and saw the cracks I looked like this but was amazed that I could reuse everything but the rings and bearings. So I say build it and beat it with confidence. Keep on mavericking

 

One thing worth mentioning. With aluminum heads you generally want more compression than on cast iron heads, and I do believe the Edel heads are 64cc vs the 74's 58cc heads.

You may well hurt your power more than help if you lose a half point of compression, go with a hotter camshaft (more loss of dynamic compression) and cooler running aluminum heads...

Seriously, you'd be in the 7.5 to 7.8:1 comp territory if I remember the chamber volume of those Edel heads right...

 

How do I (most easily) get more compression? I would like 9.0+:1.

 

either steel shim head gaskets or mill the heads. i think the milling is half a point for each .010 removed from the head (a 9:1 engine would become 9.5:1 if .010 milled off each head). next choice is new higher compression pistons which gets expensive.

 

Maybe not cheap, but get the block milled and put in a set of stock flat top pistsons. Even just dropping in a set of flat top pistons from a 77 would bump you close to one point.

I don't remember the volume of the .023 gap, but the 74 pistons have a 12cc dish and the taller deck.

I don't think you could add more than a half a point milling the heads as far as they'll go, which will make the intake gaskets a little off, center and sides, make the valvetrain off a bit, farther out and down...

 

I used Fel-Pro (stock) head gaskets last time. Any idea how thick those are compared to the steel shim gasket? If I have 7.5:1 now (I think that is what's stock on '74), what will I have after replacing the gasket with the shim?

Also, are there any things I need to watch out for if using steel shims? Hints, suggestions? I will do this next week if I can boost up my compression for $30 and 3 hours work.

 

Stock for 74 is 8:1. As for quick fix... I don't know how much difference the head gasket makes...

With the dished pistons and higher deck, you're fighting an uphill battle.