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I am in the process of a 67 Bronco build. I had a 74 302 to build. When I tore it down one cylinder was beyond repair. I have a 289 block from a 1967 Cougar. Can I use the main caps, rods and crank from the 302? Can a machine shop line bore the mains to make sure they are strait?
i think you can........should be ok just make sure you get it line bored. it's not cheep either...might be cheeper to get a motor from the junk yard. get a rollor block you will be way ahead of the game....
Just put the 302 crank, rods and pistons in the 289 block, there's no need to swap the main caps. I second Hemi's idea about a roller block. They're dirt cheap as are the cams for them. Add roller rockers and you have a smoother running engine with more power.
The 302 block has a little bit deeper cylinder wall skirts for the longer stroke, but putting a 302 crank, rods and pistons in a 289 block is no problem. Ford engineers added the extra cylinder wall depth mostly to help stabilize the piston at BDC which helps it to run quieter but the swap has been done many times.
Definitely don't swap the main caps from one block to another. Keeping the same caps on the 289 block, you shouldn't really need to line bore it. Have it checked, and maybe just go for a line hone if needs be.
Hmm, I didn't get that, but if that's so, then he would definitely have to have it line bored...probably be cheaper just to find another good block. Now that roller block looks way more attractive!
First find out what the machining costs are before deciding to put caps from one block on another. Might be cheaper to use another good block. Or take the caps from the 302, put them on the 289 block, along with the crank and rods, then take it to your local reman engine dealer and use it as a core for exchange.
Hi Deputy, what exactly does "one cylinder was beyond repair" mean?
If it is just too scored to clean up in a rebore, perhaps it would be reasonable to have that one cylinder sleeved if this would save the engine.
Sleeving would probably cost as much as line boring the other block. Not really worth it to sleeve a block unless it's a rare or desirable block like a Boss 302 or 289 HiPo.
I think I'd just look for another block. 302 blocks are so plentiful that it's no real problem to find a good one. Just go with the original suggestion of finding a roller block. I picked up a complete roller motor from the wrecking yard as core for 125 bucks, just had a bent rod and bad piston (hydraulic'd the rod). I can replace the rod and piston, throw in a set of rings and bearings and have a darn good engine for very little money. (No ring ridge, factory crosshatch still visible on the cylinder walls...)
Or for a bit more money, use you old parts as a core as Baddad suggested...
Last edited by TigerDan; Jul 18, 2007 at 08:29 PM.
I built a nice roller 5.0 a few years back from a $350 reman roller short block with Silvolite Hyper pistons. Swapped the overtorqued stock rod bolts for ARP's, changed the "base" 5.0 roller cam for a B303, also swapped out the cheasy single rox timing set for a double row roller set. Topped it with home ported E7's and a Ford A321 intake. Whole build cost me about $1200 for everything. Dogged on it for over a year then swapped heads and intake to make a 7500 rpm screamer. Ran this for 4 months before a cylinder wall developed a 1/2" long crack midway in the wall. The rotating assembly held up fine.
I ran a 302 in circle track for a couple years, TRW forged flat tops, stock 289 rods (but reworked) with ARP bolts, balanced, true roller timing set, solid lifter cam...ran it all night long at 7200 RPM with the occasional blast up to 7500 and it never missed a beat. Only thing that ever happend was that I threw the fan belt one night and overheated it, got it hot enough that it scorched the paint on the block just below the deck (probably from the headers...I would imagine they were glowing red.)
When I tore it down, everything looked beautiful inside, except that the #4 main cap had a hairline crack all the way through it. It came apart in two pieces when I removed it or I wouldn't even have noticed it. The bearing still looked great...