It's become a standard joke around here, and you big block turkeys seriously had me convinced I needed to throw my 302 right in the dumpster. Admittedly, I was skeptical when Jet Jock started talking big power numbers. But............ then I started frequenting some Mustang forums. These kids are getting insane power numbers from smallblocks. Most, but not all are injected. But I'm talking 300+ HP and the torque to go with it from a 302/5.0. Stroked 351s will do 400/400 like it's nothing. Either can be driven to the grocery store and get nearly double the mpg I'm getting. I've seen some dyno slips and dragstrip tickets. This ain't your daddy's LTD motor. Where have I been? The good ol days are right now. I'm doing a 5.0 Mustang first, but the Effie's getting the treatment after that. One of them will be a stroker.

Purple, you better start planning your Lincoln's motor mods or your goin down.

 

I've been reading the Mustang mags for a couple of years now and they have lots of stuff to build up 5.0's including articles on 5.0 strokers and 351 strokers. They also gotten in to the mod motors which may be the next engine upgrade wave. I've indexed these articles because of their application as alternate Effie powerplants and they should be in the index on John Niolons website. There was a really good series of articles on bench and dyno testing aftermarket cylinder heads a while ago. Unfortunately its all high end horsepower stuff for drag racing and I'd just like to enhance midrange on my 5.0.

They also done articles on 8.8 upgrades sufficient to handle these high horsepower motors.

Regards, John

 

All I'm gonna say,is......
bring your pink slip to Knoxville,
or leave your "girly" 302 in Iowa!

 

I've got several friends who run the 5.0 in their Mustangs. it doesn't take a whole lot to tweak them to run like a bat out of h-ll. As far as putting a 5.0 in a Effie, I wouldn't mind having the power and engine in my truck, but I wouldn't want to mess with having the computer in it, or wiring it up and chipping it, etc. Might be easier to put a big block in it.

 

I have run a 302 in my 67 mustang....and yes, it DOES perform....in the high RPM range. Down low, it was not much on torque. I'm currently putting a 460 into my 53 F-250. Mainly because I want to use it to tow with and on occasion race. When I tow, I want some guts...not the little engine that could. I want to blaze past all the travel trailer guys on the mountain passes. I certainly dont want to be the guy every one is all mad at going up the hills. The 302 or 351w are good motors for hauling JUST the truck around....but not much more....They get 3000lbs down the 1320 pretty good...but add an extra 5000lbs, and all bets are off, gotta go big block.

 

Having been bored by the tedium of big v. small, Ford v. Chevy, stock v. rod... I seldom enter this type of discussion. Happily, I'm sure some of you think. But I'm here now, boys, wondering what in the heck has taken you so long, Dewayne.

You've been staunchly defending your girly engine since I first signed on here... and, I've been amused, abused and confused by all of it. Fuel injection. If we could have found an FI 327 for the '55 back there in '64 we'd have used it. We had to settle for the 340 horse. Still wouldn't be up to the driveable little 5.0s you've been reading about.

I'm guessing that going "modern" with chips and 'puters is a far cry from your rodding roots but not as far as Vern's or Ferg's or some of the other old busters around here. I'm not in a big rush to lose my Y-block and multiple deuces but if I had a mind to go fast nowadays, I'd have already been down that soulless, but very fast little 5.0 road, and, disabuse you of the notion that I'd have trouble keeping up.

I haven't the inclination to go fast anymore... nor the mazuma... but I'd sure like to hear all about how you build hp and torque into the engine formerly known as "girly". 4speeds age, himmelberg

 

oh well, im still stickin with my girly EFI, all i want to do is drive around, and the way its geared ill be able to do it cheaper than most of you....it will spin the tires when i want to, and do 85+ if i feel like it...my girly little 302 is still my weapon of choice.....when one day it decides to give me grief and throws a rod out the side of the block, ill go for the 428 cobra jet...until then, this is what i have, its treated me good, and thats where ill stay......

besides, somebodies gotta "staunchly defend their girly engine," and i guess Dewayne isn't with me anymore...

 

Hang in there! I think small block Fords rule! (Unless you are hauling sand from the gravel pit)

 

go the small block -i'm aiming for 700hp out of my 302 so if any of you boys want to bring your truck down under i'll show you wat it's all about - seriously i'm a long way off kicking the thing in the guts let alone being able to drive my truck - big blocks down here are a lot harder to come by - so most guys end up using fords of the windsor or cleveland persuasion - some sinners fall foul to the c***Y - there abundant- - we don't use the pink slip thing down here - that sounds girly - wat's pink doing in a truck

 

Even though I don’t have my tiny tinny 289 tweaked yet, it was and is my engine of choice, I actually turned down a free Ford big block from a school bus. Oh well. My thought, IF YOU GOT GOOD SHOW,,, YA DON”T NEED ALL THAT EXTRA GO.
LOOKS GOOD SOUNDS GOOD.
Unless you’re going to the track, then it’s a different story.
Just my thoughts
Mike

 

A couple things I found interesting or amusing in my latest web browsings.

1. One builder was describing the need to use a main stud girdle on a built 302. "To make it more like the Y block from which it evolved". Ouch!

2. You can get quite respectable torque from a 302, but it's not a slam dunk. One false move and you suddenly have a 350HP motor that has no torque down low. I'll do my homework, and I'll be bouncing it off John and a few others before I make a move.

3. My last fast car was a 454 Nova. It got no traction and you had to drive it correctly to run 13s. 8 mpg at best as I recall. A 90s Mustang will run like that after a weekends worth of mods, and I'd guess still get respectable fuel efficiency.

4. I know John's been into stangs awhile. Because he mentioned some very specific aftermarket pieces I should consider during the 03 nats. Unfortuantely it was too late. I'm seeing these same aftermarket pieces pull down 300HP on a very uncomplex, and streetable engine. I might be pulling down 225HP. Maybe.

5. At first I assumed these low ETs must be because a stang is so light. Wrong! The 95 GT I want weighs the same as my truck.

6. The 351W strokers are the real torque monsters. 400# at low rpm from a smallblock that isn't built much at all. Wouldn't that be fun in a truck so light in the rear.

My engine runs well enough, but it's boring and nowhere near what it could be. I'd hate to know what it would be like if I pulled the 3.90s out of the 9 inch. I know that's what's saving me. I just went too conservative, and used Edelbrock pieces that were engineered in the 80s. The biggest error was my cylinder head choice. There is no possible way my engine can make good power. The truck will likely remained carbureted, just to avoid the wiring nightmare on a truck that's already rewired. There is aftermarket injection of course, but the price is just ridiculous.

And I do love bigblocks. I always will. But the chance of accidentally building a gas hog is VERY high. I do want to tour a little with my truck.

Purple,

We could race for slips, but I really don't have any place to park your truck.

 

ok, I guess im not alone....i mean, dont get me wrong, i love the 360 in my 69...its a snotty motor, but if im lucky i can get 10mpg out of it....i want closer to 30 out of my 302...which isnt much out of reach....see the difference?
if i decide to use a big block, ill more than likely do another pickup, and put it in there....theres allllwwwaaayyys more toys to play with...

 

There is a guy in town running a 5.0 Fox Body Stang with a turbo Charger, running 3 pounds of boost he's getting 600 hp/550 Torque. He's running 3 pounds because he can't keep a tranny in it if he goes higher. It was in a recent 5.0 Mag
My Nephew works for Ford SVT, they are going after the the "After Market" business.

 

"My Nephew works for Ford SVT, they are going after the the "After Market" business."

Dick

Which aftermarket do you refer to? 5.0 EFI? 302 EFI conversion? or the modulars? The aftermarket is great for the 5.0 already. It could only get better with more competition. There are tons of heads and intakes available for 5.0. And the dyno says you can hardly choose the "wrong" brand for most of it. You just have to get the right combo of matched components for your intended use. That's were she gets complicated.

And I was referring to an Edelbrock FI conversion for a carbed engine. $2500??? I don't think so.

When EFI first came out, we tried modding, and it was just an exercise in futility. Give it a little cam and the ECM could not cope with it. We often ended up retrofitting an older carb and dizzy so we could go fast. I haven't been paying attention, and had no idea how much more mod friendly a MAF system is. I've got some catching up to do.

 

Im a huge fox body stang guy myself, my last 93 coupe put down 575hp and 644ft lbs tq at only 4200 rpm. The car would just anialate the tires over 4200 so it wouldve made over 600hp easily. Even with 4 people leaning on the back and 3 in the rear seat it wouldnt hold the dyno. This was my daily driver too. The car wouldve made more hp if my heads werent so big. this was also a fuel injected motor with all off the shelf parts. My 55 now is getting a 355 stroker 302 based block, with AFR 185 heads, a very streetable cam and fuel injected also. Im also building it as a twin turbo setup. Ill have all the power and tq ever needed in that lil motor. Ironicly, the big block is going into my lil coupe. Its a 545 cube stroker and carbed, Seems a lil backwards huh fella's.