In my 87 F259 I have a newly rebuilt stock 302 with nothing extra on it. I would like to get more HP out of it and I need a list of things to do to get that power. ANYTING you all can think of. Oh, and will turning my cam up or down give me mroe power?

 

One more question, do throttle body spacers give a good amount of extra power in a 302 or aren't they worth the money?

 

As far as bolt on's that will help out in power you can get headers and a good exhaust system coupled with a K&N drop in air filter, you'll get a noticable gain from this. Bump the ignition timing to 14* btdc, 302's love timing but you might have to use 91 octane fuel if spark knock is present. Electric fans are a great mod and I like mine alot, you get alot of control of your cooling and free up some horsepower. Underdrive pullies, you'll get mixed reviews on pullies but I've had mine for 2 years and have had no problems and they do seem to help out in power. My engine revs more freely with the underdrive pullies. I am using an overdrive alternator pulley to retain low rpm charging.

I know it's not really adding power but gears make a world of difference in the way your truck feels. I'm running Ford racing 4.30 gears and a Ford traction lok differential with 31" tires and my truck will get up and go now were as with the stock ratio it felt like it could barley get out of its on way

 

What we would recommend...depends on your needs/wants/wallet. What are you trying to accomplish....

It wouldn't hurt to use the search function (I know it's down right now, but when it's up...) as you're right...there are LOTS of threads on this

 

Lot of horsepower? Nitrous or supercharger. Minor horsepower? There are a few options.

 

Save your money, I would get headers but that would be only because you could use them on your new 5.8 351w. Otherwise any other bolt on you use will give you a minimal gain in performance for what your paying. Lower gearing sounds like a good choice to me.

As to whether advanceing or retarding the camshaft would make a difference, you would need to do two things, actually measure your camshaft, lift degrees blah blah blah and then call a cam provider, let them figure up your combo vs valve events blah blah blah and they would let you know, otherwise the camshafts vary so it would be a guess. You would get a lot more power by getting an aftermarket off the shelf cam. good luck

 

I disagree with bolt on's not doing much of anything, I can tell you from personal experience that the gains from the bolt on's have been very worthwile and still maintain daily driver reliabilty. Unless your going to be revving the engine up all the time the stock heads and cam aren't that bad. JMO

 

What does reliablility have to do with anything?

If you think 20 hp and spending 100's to achieve it is a good thing, then yeah your right. I have done the bolt on route and it didn't take me long to realize you have to change the internals to make real power. He stated he wants a lot more power, not something to blow cash on and install in a few hours. To each his own.

 

Relaibilty has to with everything, you go building a an engine with a lto mroe power lol there will be alot more maintenance and tuning involved, hell just throw a supercharger on there and call it good. To each his own.

 

Maintenance and tuning? That would depend on a few factors but if using hydraullic lifters and a well matched efi setup, maintenance and tuning would be no greater than any other engine.

 

Changing your gearing in your rear would give you more grunt for the power your 302 has right now. I think that if the truck is something you drive daily, that bolt ons would be the way for you to go. Also, getting your timing adjusted, advanced should help some. I just bought a 53 ford car with an older 302 in it, and i was hoping to see some hints in here...hopefully some advice will start up again, and when 2 people post different suggestions, theres no need arguing over it, just a need to state what you suggest, and why you suggest it.


---JOHN

 

We are discussing a 302 in an f-250, gears would be a real good idea but just how much added power do you think the bolt ons will give? The initial comment was, he wants "alot more power". Do bolt ons make a difference, sure, but the difference is equivalent to how your vehicle feels on a warm day vs a cool day...not worth it IMO and I'd hate to suggest something to someone just to have their pocket lightened and feeling let down.

I take that back, roller rockers might be a good addition, for the same reason as the header I stated previously, it would be something that you could reuse should you go with a 351w short/longblock. later

 

Lighter pockets might make the truck a little faster I see what youre saying...If real power is wanted, spend the $2500 on a blower set up. LOL


---JOHN

 

You might be right.

 

OK..a couple of you make valid points.

A. bolt ons are not going to get you a great power/dollar ratio, esp when considering downtime and installation time. Most of these bolt ons have very exaggerated advertised power increases. The best bolt ons are headers, solid exhaust, good ignition, clean air filters. I've done all kinds of bolt ons over the years...the $250 for a K&N filter kit will net you about 3 hp...forget it (example of a poor bolt-on).

B. A supercharger is not going to work well on an old engine, compression should be 150psi+ on all cylinders and oil pressure shouldn't drop below 20. If you've got those two factors on your side, supercharging wouldn't necessarily be a bad idea (it's probably not going to blow the motor up). However, supercharging is not as simple as slapping it on and going for a ride. There are upgrades that should be done in order to run a supercharger and the entire project would be expensive (probably around $4000). For that money, you could buy a brand new engine that makes the same power naturally aspirated, that situation is way better than a supercharged 100k mile engine that aint gonna last long. Taking a stock vehicle like ours and putting a supercharger on it, is a waste of 2500-3500 dollars until there is a solid engine under the supercharger.

C. Nitrous would blow a stock motor like ours to pieces in a short time.

D. We must know what the user wants to do before we start giving him suggestions. Be careful not to make this thread too technical and get over his head. Lets start with the basics....finding out what his goal is. Once we find a more detailed description of his goal...we can all show him how to achieve it.

So...without further ado....whatcha really want outta this project man?