Hello. 1974 Maverick in SOCAL, 250 auto. Planning to do the 302/T5 swap. First time engine build, first time doing anything of this magnitude, so appreciate any and all help! I bought this 302 as a short block. The seller wasn't sure what car it came out of, and he told me it was a roller block, but the more I poke around the web I'm starting to think maybe it's not....? Anyway, live and learn, Now I need to button it up, but it will help to know (or guess) what model/year it was in for finding parts, like damper, front cover, pan, fuel pump, etc. I'm pretty sure that code "8B5" means mfg date 1988Feb05, correct? I forgot to picture the partial VIN code on top of block it is: "8- 217501", where the 8 is kind of stylized, like an hourglass. I doubt this partial VIN can tell me anything... Next question will be, were a lot of the main long block parts universal, or was there a lot of variability depending on the car model? Thanks!
Parts for 302 - 5.0 are very much the same in that they can be bolted on. There are differences you should be aware of. Early 302's were 28 oz imbalance and latter are 50, so you need the correct balancer and flexplate/flywheel for the particular engine. Oil pans are interchangeable, but for a Maverick/Comet it must be front sump. Timing covers changed through the years. Front seal installation from the front or the back. Mechanical fuel pump and oil dipstick tube accommodations or not. Passages for reverse rotation water pumps or not. All heads and manifolds are interchangeable, but different in specs. Exhaust manifolds can be very model specific. Timing chain gears and fuel pump eccentrics must be a matched set. Some eccentrics are single piece, some are 2 piece. The timing gears are different to accommodate for the correct eccentric. Distributors are interchangeable but the distributor gear needs to match the cam. Most are cast iron gears, but factory roller cams were steel and so was the gear. There were 2 different firing orders used, based on the cam. Heads are interchangeable but vary in cc size and rocker arm mounting. Early heads used shaft mounted rail rockers, later were pedestal mount. I think those are the main differences but others will fill in the blanks. Yes that is a roller block, it has the accommodation for the spider in the lifter valley as well as the XXX stamping. The block is E7TE which was the 5.0 H.O..
Make sure you have the location on the block for the clutch Z-bar. If I recall correctly, 5.0 blocks don't have this. I have a stroked EFI 5.0 and an AOD in mine. Pictures in my build. Micah
I have a roller cam block in my car with a 5-speed manual transmission that replaced an automatic. During the conversion, I unsuccessfully tried a hydraulic clutch, unsuccessfully tried the aftermarket bracket but it didn't like the Hooker #6901 headers. To be fair, I had most of the clutch linkage except the factory Z-bar from a previous car. I determined the engine-side pivot location with quite a few measurements on the original 302, located it on the roller cam block an carefully drilled it and tapped it. I bought my fabricated Z-bar from site member Maverick Maniac and it has been working fine since 2002.
Thanks so much for all that! Seems like every component requires 3-4 hours of internet research to make sure I find the right one! Block: Thanks! I had seen some posts that led me to doubt that it was roller, but you and hours of web cross-checking today confirmed that it is....thank goodness! I was thinking I'd have to buy the link-bar roller lifters at $690+ a set! Now that I know for sure this block and its original cam (which I had reground by Crower) are in fact Ford roller, I can get lifters, dogbones and spider from Summit all for about $275. Oil Pan: front sump, noted; I think pretty much any old SBF front sump pan will do, right? Timing cover: JEGS carries one they say is compatible with all Windsor blocks from 1965-95, has hole for dipstick, mechanical fuel pump, standard or reverse water pump (JEGS Timing Cover - Timing Cover for 1966-1995 Small Block Ford 289-302-351W - JEGS). I probably need to research more before getting this one, but it looks to be a good option. Distributor Gear needs to be Steel: noted, thanks Firing Order: Crower told me this cam is a 351W firing order; noted Timing Chain and Fuel Pump eccentric: local machine shop installed this one, they do boatloads of SBFs so I'm confident they got it right.
Good point. I hadn't got very far with my research on clutch hardware yet, but I kinda assumed (hoped) I would find a workable hydraulic or cable option. I intend to mockup the entire drivetrain in the garage before installation, and if I find I need to do the mechanical linkage setup, I'll drill/tap the z-bar shaft hole then....or aftermarket bracket, whichever works.
https://www.moderndriveline.com/ These guys are the go to for modern 5 or 6 speed conversions. Definitely go with the suggested cable or hydraulic set up.
