Im kind of new to building engines. i've worked on plenty of them just never from ground up. I have a 88 f-150 and i want to build a new engine to go in it. i have a 302 block i got out of a wrecked truck and i want to get as much horse power as i can out of it. i have a about 3 grand to spend on it. does anyone have any ideas on how to get the best bang out of my buck. i was thinking of maybe building it into a stroker. good idea or bad?

 

first thing most everyone here will tell you is swap the 302 for a 351. Main focus on the 302 or 351 would be heads, cam, intake, carb, depends on what level of hp/tq you want. Nothing in the world wrong with the 302. Whichever you decide get some good heads that are designed to make torque as well as mid highend hp. Afr 165 or edelbrock performer would do the trick. One thing on your side is there are tons of mustang crowds so finding good used heads won't be a problem. Get a cam designed for your engine that was recommended by manufacturer. Go forged pistons flattop, but know your cc on the heads as well as deck height. Keep in mind you don't necessarily need 400 hp to have a nice street truck think torque. There are many ways to accomplish X amount of horsepower and torque what do you want to accomplish. Good luck

 

I was already leaning towards the edelbrock performer heads.since my truck is fuel injected i was going to get the performer intake manifold from edelbrock also. Also looking at getting an edelbrock accu-drive camshft drive gear. Im not sure on the cam yet.As for torque maybe a b&m holeshot torque converter. What do you think?

 

I would stay away from gear drives unless you plan on converting to MAF. They screw with the knock sensor and retards your timing.

Since your wanting to go with good heads and intake I would switch to MAF anyway (about $700). This will allow you to retain your EFI and make the mods your after while also eliminating the knock sensor, so you can have the gear drive too.

So far good plan with the heads/intake and cam, as long as you also upgrade the exhaust to handle the added airflow. If you stick with the 302, even with MAF, stay on the conservative side for the cam. You don't want a cam that's too large that starts making power at your cruise RPM. I would call your favorite cam manufacturer to let them help with the selection for your setup and intended use. After they make a recommendation they will tell you what compression to build the motor to work with the cam.

The cam you choose will play the largest roll in what converter you will need, so I would wait on that.

As jwtaylor said, most would choose the 351 for the low end torque gains the extra cubes give you. But the 302 can be made to work rather nicely. Just remember, build it for torque in the 1800-3000RPM range and let the HP fall where it may.