First things first, this is the greatest site I have found! Now I am looking to build a 450+hp 302cid Ford engine . Not to hard- yet. No trick aluminum heads and no blower , all the while running lp Propane gas instead of costly gasoline . I am not scared to spend money, but the aluminums are not what I am looking for, and a blower is "too easy" hp. The other stipulation is that this is going to be in a daily driver, and I drive the **** out of the poor thing , so it needs to be bullit-proof . Anyone with any coments or ideas please feel free to throw them at me.

 

You are going to have to have the whole engine assmebly balanced and blue printed by a very good machine shop. Next you are going to have to open up the heads a lot. You can use the 351W heads to help with opening up the valve and intake runner size. Much cheaper then running the 302 heads. You will need to buy a set of special head bolts to use them on your 302 block. They cost just as much as buying the 302 bolts though. Also I suggest converting all of the bolts over to studs to help on holding this thing together. Look into doing a roller cam conversion or roller rockers too. These will help to reduce parasitic drag and lessen the amount of heat and friction your drive train builds. I am unsure of the compression range of LP but I believe if memory serves me right that you are going to be in the 11-15 to 1 range? But anyway, the more your engine breaths and the easier it is for it to rotate the more HP and TQ you will get out of it. Plus the internally balanced assembly will hold together longer. And top all of this off with a kick *** exhaust and ingition system and you will have a very happy motor running in the 450-500 hp range if you chose the right cam and intake system. I will not get into cams because you will hear everyone elses opinion about it. best thing to do is to call a cam grinder and ask their opinion about it.

 

Forged crank, forged 5.4" H-beam rods and forged pistons. Use a main girdle. Powerhouse ported 289 heads or Roush 180's for the small chambers so you can make good compression with flat-top pistons for a unobstructed frame front. You'll almost have to go to a roller cam setup to get an aggressive enough lift rate to make the horsepower you want and still be streetable and I'd also suggest a gear-drive due to the valve spring pressure you'll need to spin the 7000 rpm required.

 

5X5F150,

A streetable, 450HP 302 is not an easy thing to do. Mainly because, depending on final drive ratios, most of your driving is done in the 1500-4500RPM range. To get 450HP, you need very high RPMs, which generally means sacrificing streetability and low RPM torque and horse power. Take a look at these two engine specs, and then look at the graph comparing them and you will see what I mean.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/sizeimage.php?&photoid=10890&.jpg

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/sizeimage.php?&photoid=10891&.jpg

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/sizeimage.php?&photoid=10892&.jpg

If you look at the graph, the Blue and Green are TQ and HP for a 350HP 302, while the Lt Blue and Red are TQ and HP for a 389HP 302. The 350HP engine has a lot more usable TQ and HP in the steetable range than the 389HP engine.

I just thought I'd warn you what to expect, I hate to see someone spend a lot of money and time building a high power engine for their truck only to find out that they now have less 'usable' power than they had with a stock engine. I'm not saying that you shouldn't build what you want, but check with a 'reputable' engine builder and discuss with him what your after to see if it is feasible or even possible before you spend a lot of money. What your after may be possible with LP gas and the right gearing, I don't know.

Anyway, Good Luck and I hope you get an engine you'll be pleased with.

 

5X5

RC351W makes some very good points. If your wanting a daily driver 450 ponies isn't going to always smoke the camaros at the line. I was on the same path as you when I started building my 302 (More horse power is better) When I spoke to my engine shop and they asked me what I was looking for (daily driver that I can drive on longer distances if I want) they talked me down to the 350 HP range. I just ordered my cam and engine kit yesterday and at 4000 rpm I will have 300 Horse with 394 lbs of torque - at 5500 rpm I will have 367 horse with 350 lbs of torque. This is off a desktop dyno and I think the numbers are a little overstated but really do your homework on this.

I watch guys build big horse power motors in my machine shop thinking they are going to buy the trophies at the track and it doesn't work that way. You have to have the right suspension, transmission and power plant to make your truck work the way you want it too.

Good Luck!!

George

47 Pickup - Stock
56 F100 - Building
65 F100 - Stock

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 13-Dec-02 AT 00:49 AM (EST)]What kind of truck is this engine for?

I would say 450HP out of a 302 and keep it streetable is not going to happen.

Now a mild 460 will make 450hp pretty easy and be very streetable.

Or you could build a very good 300hp 302 and put it on a 150 shot, but you better make sure you have a pretty tough bottom end.

 

Your expenditure will not end when the engine is built. If you build put a manual tranny behind it, you will be buying a clutch about every 10k, and probably a few trannys. Also, every time you need gas, it will be Cam2. And every time you look at the price of around $4.60 a gallon, it will remind you of what engine you should have started with.

Jared