Alright fellas due to large technical difficulties I am switching the motor I am gonna use in the 1970 to a 302. I need help figuring out which one to go with. What years have the best compression? Four bolt mains? Good heads? Rods better one year than another? I was thinking about taking a HO 302 out of a fox body along with the T-5 and just converting it to carbed and running it. Which one do I choose? I think you get the drift... HELP!!! -Drew
You got it...for a good street motor, take a HO 5.0 and carb it. There are some things that have to be changed of course, but the roller cam and forged pistons are great. No 4-bolt mains out there (except the Boss) and I think the stock crank and rods are mostly considered equal among all the 302's. Now, if you are going for more power, like 500HP or more, go with a 70's block or aftermarket block, and aftermarket rotating assembly and heads. You can do a search on here for putting a 5.0 into a Maverick, there are a few things to do to make it work, but nothing too major. I would use a C4 or toploader 4-speed. The t-5 is a little more work to get into a Maverick.
What happened to the 351c??? Everyone's got a 289/302. You don't need 4 bolt mains. That is a Chevy neccessity. For a durable 302: Main studs Head studs ARP rod bolts and A good machinist! The whole EFI to carb idea is fine. The later engines are not known as the strongest, but that idea will work by changing a few items. You also have some small things to overcome, examples: no fuel pump provision... different belt and cooling system... wrong oil pan and dipstick... Stuff like that. The earlier the block, the stronger (and heavier), but you lose the factory hydraulic roller. Big deal! Go solid roller! Good luck Dave
Oh... Remember that all roller 302s are NOT HOs. Only HO 302s have the stock forged pistons (to 1992) and the HO cam with 351w firing order. The others have a standard FO roller cam, less aggressive, and cast pistons, as well as other little differences. Some roller blocks didn't even come with roller cams... So buyer beware!
The 351 was sent to a machine shop to do some of the basic machining and long story short i payed 900 bucks and they did 1600 dollars worth of damage to it and than proceeded to go out of buisness (murphys law of course). So I originally was going to fix it but another machine shop said it would cost 1600 and I cant afford that so I am gonna sell the good parts and get a HO 302. I am royally pissed about all this but there is nothing I can do. If I ever see that owner on the stree well..... :evilsmile :deadhorse right in the kisser!! -Drew P.S. Any year HO any better than another? How can I tell the year by looking in a yard?
The HO motor will have a cover that says 5.0HO. Also, it has tubular headers instead of cast iron manifolds. If it is a Mustang, it should be a HO. Lincoln MK VII also had them. If you really want to be sure, pull the intake and you will see dogbones, roller lifters and a spider hold down if it is a roller. Look at the year of the car to figure out the engine year. Look for the 87 and newer 5.0. The 86 had a good shortblock but the heads are not as good. I got an 89 roller from the junkyard for my 87 Stang and it runs awesome.
The 87-92 are the best overall. If it needs rebuilt though, it doesn't much matter because all the good parts are going to be replaced anyway if you are doing it right. The 86 has the best cam. Even the "good" parts though, are only mediocre, and like I said, have a finite life. Not all rollers are HO though. Just a reminder. The HOs also come with cast aluminum valve covers. It has been a long time now though. 15-20 years for these engines, so anything could have been changed. Also, due to the reputation of the 5.0 Stang, many were rode hard and put up wet.
Idea: A good one for your situation... Find a V8 Exploder or Mountaineer. Use only the long block. Also, talk to some guys on the board, because I don't know the exact years, but some had GT40 heads, while others had GT40P heads. Find the correct years to look for, the ones WITHOUT the 'P' heads. That way you get a much newer engine, has all the good parts of the HO with GT40 heads, and if you stay clear of the 'P' head years, you get a 302 that'll bolt in well. The P heads will go in too, but have header fitment issues.
if you are going to do a ...total rebuild...then any roller block will do. stick a set of alumn. heads on a built bottom end and enjoy. if you are replacing the intake, carbing it,and headers ...frank...
I got my Roller "block" out of a 93 E150, even had E7TE heads, so with a quick clean up, new pistons and a cam it's a HO.
There are certain other things to be aware of if using a 5.0 instead of an early 302. I have the T5 in mine, not too difficult, but the later blocks do not have the threaded hole in the side for the mechanical clutch linkage z-bar. You can buy an aftermarket bracket that takes care of that. The later engines are 50 oz imbalance, the 50 oz imbalance flywheel doesn't have the same pressure plate mounting hole pattern as the 28 oz units. I drilled a 50 oz flywheel for the old pattern pp and used a Centerforce diaphram clutch and release bearing with an old style Lakewood bellhousing/T5 adaptor plate and mechanical clutch linkage.
if a shop took money and did not perform the service as agreed, or in other words they screwed you out of the money, take them to court.. plain and simple
Yeah I was planning on taking him to court. Absolutley.... The only problem he went out of buisness and owed the bank ALOT of money and the bank was first in line to get that money from auctioning his stuff off and than the first owner was second in line to get money from him cause he still owed the first owner from the initial buy. This puts me in pretty much last place for my 900 bucks (should be 1600 cause thats the total for damages done) and he had a LLC and most likley claimed bancruptcy so I am pretty sure it would be a waste of my 25 filling fee and 25 serve fee. I would really like to get my money but I just dont see it happening. I see myself losing more money pursuing it... Its the harsh reality of the world. Moral of the story BE CAREFUL WHO YOU TRUST!! cant stress it enough.
