Well recently I decided to replace head gaskets on my 302 cause it was losing water. Well, i took the heads off and there were several pistons that were definitely shot. So i am gonna get it bored hoping to do it .030 over and be done. But being this motor has at least 110,000 miles on it it possibly needs a crank which i was hoping to reuse. So because im gonna be replacing pistons bearings crank and all that good stuff i may as well do rods and all. Which leads me to the decision. Should i stroke it? If i do 331 or 347. 347 kits are a bit cheaper from my research but some claim i may have oiling issues. Some say that is a thing of the past and they have fixed that. What is the truth? Keep in mind this will be some what of a daily driver but i want as much performance as reasonable with a part time to daily driver. Because of my budget i cant do anything fancy but i am wanting to reuse the top end aside from the cam. In the not so distant future i am planning on aluminum heads roller rockers ect. I just am not wanting to do that right now since im boring and replacing the rotating assembly. I have found balanced kits with everthing including flexplate and balancer at Summit for 950-1200. The quote i got for boring is 25 per cylinder and 180 to clean and replace CB FP and galley plugs. Is that a good price?

 

Have you tried posting in the small block forum?

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum55/

 

All my experience is with the FE engine so guessing it translates to SBF's. No harm in stroking a motor. You'll want to find out the max stroke before interference becomes an issue.

BTW, I believe in only boring a block the minimum amount to clean up the cylinders in order to save metal. You can get custom sized pistons for any bore size, dial in the compression ratio and get modern rings to reduce friction and get better seal.

I'm a fan of the roller cams...no worries about break in, can use regular oil (i.e. don't need high zinc), and IMO you can get a more desirable power curve with a custom roller cam.

I recommend finding a builder experienced with SBF's even if you want to assemble yourself. At least you'll have someone to walk you through key steps and recommend part combinations.

 

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...+ford&_sacat=0

 

Find an explorer or mustang 302. Carb, ignition cam upgrade, plenty of no fuss power. See the sbf forum for discussion.

 

You can probably get by fine with having the crank turned .010 under. I have built a lot of SB Fords and I would rather put my money in good heads and camshaft than in increasing cubic inches with the stock heads. I feel like the heads are the biggest gain on these engines. I would have the oil holes on the crank chamfered and have the machine shop install milidon rod bolts and check the rod size.

If you are replacing the pistons I would go with flat tops. Try to stay around 10:1. I have had better luck with small runner single plane intake manifolds like the old Holley Street Dominator and a 600cfm carb..

Just my opinion.