So, today i think i bent a pushrod, or messed up a rocker in my 302 i have in my 53 Ford. I also blew the velve cover gasket, and now everything in the engine compartment is covered with oil. The P.O. bolted off the PCV port on the valve cover, and put the wrong breather in it, which is why the gasket blew.

Anyways, i figure that if i gotta tear it apart, i wanna change it to get as much power out of it when i put it back together as i can. Does anyone know what components, as far as cams, lifters, heads, intake, carb, ignition, etc i can use to get in theballpark of 400 hp, and 390 Ft. Lbs? Ive found articles about it being done, but they dont give specifics about components that were used in the build.

The engine will be used mostly for street/ cruising, and strip/ racing. Fuel economy about 15 MPG is desireable, 13 is ok, 12 is as low as id like to go. Also wanna keep it pump gas, running premium to prevent ping is fine with me. Its a 68-69 engine, and is still points ignition and all.

Spending around 3K would be ideal, and i have a shop that will do any machine work i need, and i can put it all together and assemble it all. Any input on setups that have worked great for any of you would be appreciated also.

Thanks in advance...

--JB

BTW, tried the search function, and didnt get anything relevant.

 

I don't know 400HP is pushing it for a 302. But I'm sure it can be done. You would be better off going to a 351 for that amount of HP. And 15mpg on a 400HP motor???? I don't think so. But here is a link to some huys that will ship you a long block already built to the hilt and delivers 380HP and is for a carburated engine. Its a little more than your budget, I think around $4k but they do have a 300HP 302 carburated version for $2k. Check them out.


http://www.proformanceunlimited.com/ford.html

 

11-1 pistons, aluminum heads w/ 2.02, 1.60 valves, a choppy cam around .550 lift and 245 duration@ .050, victor jr intake, 750 DP holley, and a tough bottom end with a msd ignition also flow it through a set of long tube headers w/ 1.75 primaries and a dual 3in exhaust w/ flowmasters and an x pipe. i just spit that out cause theres no question that combo would make 400+ hp and tq.

 

If you want to stay with the 302 block, why not go with a stroker with a good set of heads and cam. Have seen streatable versions dyno at 450 hp. Summit sells a kit for $1295.

 

I am running a stock 94 bottom end with Trick Flow Track Heat heads, X303 cam and a 750 DP Holley carb in my 65 mustang. I talked with wnother fellow mustang buddy from another site I visit and he punched in some numbers and the combo we both have is suppose to put out 400HP. I have no why to verify this but all I can say is the car is fast. I have the Z303 cam and plan on installing it this spring.

Either way to get good HP numbers you need a good set of heads and cam, carb and exhaust to match. Do some research and you will see that Trick Flow and others say the HP will increase a fair amount just by installing them on a stock motor. Start adding a bigger cam, carb, exhaust and your there.

 

if you want to run pump gas, your gonna have to stay around 10 to 1 on the compression. but like everyone said your gonna have to get a good set of head to even come close to 400hp.

 

stroking is your only chance of getting those kinda numbers. your gonna have to run forged internals and a stud girdle on the bottem end to help strengthen the block. personally i think its playing with fire and wouldnt expect it to last to long. but it can be done with enough time and money

good luck

 

You can believe what you wantm but a 400 horse 302 is pretty easy. Here is a link to see where one was built. The stock bottom end will take it, as long as you don't get crazy. It's a simple matter of choosing the right heads, rocker arms, and exhaust. http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/116_0307_ford/ Copy and paste this into your browser if it won't work. Contrary to what people have just told you, it's done with a stock cam, pistons, and everything except the parts I mentioned.

 

well first off that motor is rated at the flywheel not the rear wheels thats a big difference. also look where the power is made 405 hp at 6,200 rpm and 380 lb-ft of torque at 4,300. these are great numbers for a car but not for a truck which is almost double in weight. also there is no claim as to how long that motor would even last. anyone can make a motor reach certain numbers but if it only last 20,000 miles whats the point. he is shooting for rw hp/trq and with a truck he needs those numbers much lower in the rpm range. but thanks for showing that article im sure it will help out some car nuts for sure.

 

Well, he has a 53, which isn't very heavy. And he wasn't specific as to what rpm range he wanted to run the engine in, but he did say that he was to use the truck mostly for street cruising and strip racing. And he SURE as heck didn't specify that the power was to be 400 at the rear wheels. Sorry Kemical, but I gave him exactly what he was looking for. As far as how long that engine will last? I've seen 302's with blowers putting out well over 500 horsepower, make run after run after run after run..... This is much harder abuse then what would happen on the street. You see? I specialize in building Ford smallblocks, so I know of what I speak. Experience is the best teacher. That horsepower isn't a whole lot more then what Ford designed the engine for. The 68 crank and block that he has, is a tough unit. If built and maintained correctly, that engine in 400 hp trim will last 100,000 miles or more. Provided of course, that it isn't held a max rpm's for extended periods of time. The girdle on the bottom end couldn't hurt though, and balancing is key for long life. If you think about it, 6,200 rpm's is not that high for a Ford small block. Even if used in a truck, the correct gears can make ANY engine feel at home.

 

If you went that route and put those heads on, you would most definately have to improve the Crank/bearings and the Pistons/rods. The factory ones will just not hold to that abuse for very long. Lets face it, if you got that HP under your hood your gonna use it all the time. And in a full size Bronco w/36" tires, its just gonna strain to move that horse.

 

We're not talking about a lot more power here. The stock rods and crank are strong enough for 6,500 rpm's all day long, if you install ARP rod bolts. When you rebuild an engine, you install new bearings anyway, so that's a moot point. I also balance the complete reciprocating assembly, chmfer the oil holes in the crank, and then polish it. Even cast pistons would hold up to 400 horsepower, but I always use hypereutectics. Not much more money then regular cast. Read the original post people. It isn't for a Bronco. It's for a street and strip 53 pickup. And even if it was for a Bronco, did you see where I mentioned using the correct gears? With the correct gears, a washing machine motor can move a freight train. I'm 44 years old, and have built dozens of good running, long lasting engines. The only hard part in this situation, will be getting it done for 3 grand. I could, but my machinist is also my good friend.

 

I too am 44 yrs old and have built lots of 302's, but I don't know what age has to do with it. I belong to the Mustang Club here in Tucson and we race our stangs ever year at the Family Ford event. I see guys who have built their 302's with lots of aftermarket add-ons to produce high Hp with stock cranks,pistons, and connecting rods, only to spin main bearings because they didn't maximize their bearing crush by sizing the big end bores on the rods to the low limits of the manufacturers tolerances, or throw rods because they didn't think about using good rod bolts like ARP's for the added HP.

When adding HP to any small block motor it is reasonable to get 1HP for every cu inch. Usually to go beyond that ratio means you need to use a longer duration cam and this would become less efficient in the lower RPM range which would reduce low speed performance.

You are right, gearing would be a major factor in performance.
Hyper-Eutectic Pistons would diffenately be the way to go, they permit very small skirt clearences which reduce blow-by and gives better ring seal, and they also reduce piston slap.
But if some guy were to read that article from car-craft and just add the heads, carb and headers and not take into account the afore mentioned, and check the rods to make sure they were straight. He could possible be looking to do a rebuild again real soon. Thats why I mentioned that going with a 351 would be a better choice, stronger journals, better HP/Cu inch ration and a longer stroke will increase torque at a lower rpm.
I would really like to see what RW-HP that engine could produce on a dyno, my gut tells me it would only be in the 360-380HP range.

 

See Car Craft Magazine July 2003 for a 400 HP Build Up. Total cost was $2800.00

AFR Cylinder HeadsP/N 1472, CompCams 1.7:1 Rockers P/N 1054-16, ARP Head Bolts P/N 070-154-3601, Fel-Pro Hea Gaskets P/N 375-1011-1, Fel-Pro Intake Gaskets P/N 925-8020, Road Deamond Jr. Carb P/N GPT-6282010V, Doug's Tri-Y Headers P/N HEA101C

Engine was out of a 91 Mustang, Stock 302 HO

 

If rebuilding then one should always go with better bolts and so on. I have a buddy that bought a 12 to 1 rotating bottom end at a swap meet for $125, few years back. They had stock 5/16 rod bolts. He had a set of 69 351W heads proted and so on, very nice set of heads. I have sat in this car when he was free reving 9K. He broke every trans he tried to run. I am not saying this will work for every one and it's better to be safe than sorry. He didn't care because he didn't have much in the motor. he still has it sitting in the garage. He ended running a 460 and tubbed his car.

I also have a buddy running a SC in a 95 cobra with TF heads and an X303 cam. It has pulled 480 rear wheel HP with the super charger slipping at 4k and a stock exhaust. He and I both know it's only a matter of time before the block splits in half.

Just wanted to share a few off the wall cases with everyone. I am not trying to say do this or do that. If I was building a motor I would go with a 351W as well and even more so in a heavier car/truck. The 351W is a very good engine to work with it cost the same amount to build as a 302 so why not go with the 351W? And a 351W motor can be built with the stronger 351W rod which has the football rod bolts, just like the 429SCJ rods.

Good luck in what ever you choose to do. bob