My 16 year old son bought his first car, a 72 comet. He got it from a grandma so it is just like it came from the factory. 302 with automatic and 109,000 miles. We took it to a mechanic to get suggestions. We will be working on the front end and gaskets on oil pan and auto transmission. Other than that everything is good except the carberator which is leaking gas. Mechanic wasn't sure till he could get a good look at it what the problem was. Anyway we can get parts at dealer cost so he and his friend are debating on just replacing the 2 barrel or upgrading to a four barrel. We understand the intake manifold would need to be replaced. Another friend has a better cam and timing belt so they are debating using it. They figure if they are going that far they will pull the engine to do all the work and pull the head and check things out while their at it. Here's the question. Is a four barrel going to make that much difference to justify all the work and is all the work necessary. Should they go for it which will no doubt be stretching their abilities, or should they leave well enough alone and just replace the 2 barrel? What do all you experienced maverick/comet owners suggest?
The 4 barrel makes a big diffence but it also depends on your set up, for me of the line response was about the same but it cut my quater by almost 2 seconds, The better your set up the better it will preform there is just so much more you can do with a 4bbl over a 2bbl to me that would be the very first preformnce mod i would do and the 4 bbl setup i used was the cheapest i could find it cost me about 300 for all new parts.
A 4-barrel gives you an instant 30 horsepower right out of the box and you can really feel the difference in the seat-of-the-pants. You really need a fre-flowing (better than stock) exhaust system to get the full benefit from it. A 4-barrel, and reared gears really give you the best bang for the buck. Next would be a cam but requires more work to swap...
ccg718, the 4bbl., intake, clean the heads up, bottom end cam and a set of free flow pipes will make a big diff. i have a 72' 302 in my mav. and i don't know about a timming belt, mine had a chain. i know they make gears to replace the chain. let me know about the belt if you can. it might be an opt. for later. i have a 600 holley and am pleased with it. keep us posted on what you do. pics pics. pics...frank...:bananaman :bananaman
I think it all depends on what your son wants out of the car, rebuilding the 2 barrel is gonna be the least expensive way out. I also own a 72 comet with a 302 stock from the factory. It is quite peppy just like it is and its a 4 door! You didn't mention if the car was Automatic on the floor or what. Headers on a column shift are tricky at best. There's no doubt a 4 barrel carb and intake will give more bang for the buck but to ge the best from it you need some headers and good exhaust system and this could set you back 700 bucks if you have to buy OTC like most of us do. There are alot of modifications that can be made on these cars and being new to them I wouldn't rush headlong into it. Get him running and let him decide...I've gone through two 16 year old boys, I feel your pain Dang, I forgot...I still got one more to go
to 4 or not to 4, that is the question If I might say, this is a good first car. Now it's also a old car that has been both babied and neglected in some areas. If you start putting more HP under the hood get ready to start replacing things from the radiator to the rearend. Personally, I'd start at the rearend and work forward and completely rebuild the car. Upgrade the gears with also a posi, better brakes with front discs, maybe even a rack/pinion steering and suspension. Super slick interior, rebuild the trans and make her a strong good shifter, headers with dual exhaust and rebuild the engine with just a little stronger cam, port the heads, electronic ignition, better cooling system, windage tray. Then stick with the 2bbl but get one for a 68-72 429/460 engine. They are much bigger and no one else will know. Older engines when a little more HP is put to them tend to have piston slap. Chrome and/or powder coat some parts. It would be a clean machine.
install the 4V its a no brainer! when i got my maverick, i was dirt poor and needed the cheapest/quickest fix to get my car running. it ran fairly well, and was pretty quick with the 2V carb. but the carb was bad. luckily for me, the previous owner had recently rebuilt the engine and had kept good maintainence on the vehicle. someone offered me a 4V intake (edelbrock performer) for $30. i figured this was the best price i could get, and an aftermarket 4 barrell would cost approximately what another 2V woulda cost. i played it modest, and put a 500 cfm edelbrock carb on it. boy was i enthused! i thought to myself...."why didnt ford engineers put 4V's on all the V8 mavericks?" i guess the answer is ford didnt want their lowly maverick to upstage its other muscle cars. my car is quite torquey. it really liked the lil 500 carb. shreds tires in the low end, and snatches 2nd hard. unfortunately, my old car has soot and rust in the gas tank, and an idiot mechanic decided that i had my inline fuel filter on backwards. it was not on backwards, and it held about a years worth of soot. needless to say.. the idiot killed my carburetor and i decided to give a bigger 600 cfm carb a shot. it REALLY likes this. i was stunned, as its a bone stock engine, internally. so i strongly recommend you add a 4V. it idled a little smoother and felt slightly torquier off idle with the 500 cfm, but there is an obvious horsepower boost with the 600. im not a big fan of holley's, but you should experience similar results if you go that route. i just prefer the reliability, and ease of tuning that comes with the edelbrock package.
to 4 or not to 4, that is the question 4 bbl will in most cases give you better mileage, if you can keep your foot out of it. Yeah right. Ford build the Mav to phase out the Falcon. Cheap $1995 and a no freals car. Second car for grocey getter. Insurance was becoming a issue and 4bbl in small cars were starting to get pigeon holed as HiPos. Ford also considered putting the Boss 302 in the Maverick but didn't want it to compete, sales wise, with the Stang and Cougars. Just think of that one on the street. Big factor is money, and do you have the parts handy now.
