Breaking down the 302 out of my 1969 Mustang to get it ready to begin my 400HP budget build , I find some good news but also a very interesting car part lodged inside the engine for years!!
Ford Explorers are the development platform for Mustang parts. GT40P heads are a good junkyard head upgrade, capable of 400HP. Chambers are a bit larger than those original heads, but you won't care about the slight loss of compression because they'll still make more power everywhere, apples to apples. Choose pistons wisely to get the compression you want while still allowing good valve clearance with the (rather big) cam you're going to need to hit 400HP. You mentioned KB pistons in other comments, below, which I am familiar with, but I suspect there are other (possibly better) choices out there for a combo like this. I don't build a lot of Ford small blocks. Hypers are fine for N/A combos (even the KBs with the top ring WAY up near the piston face), but if you're gonna tickle it with a little sauce, forget about them and go with (more expensive) forged slugs.
The production date of the engine (not casting) should be hand stamped on the block the drivers side right in front of the head (four numeric)😮. 17:34 - that’s the casting date of the block and not necessarily when the engine was assembled. My 1973 302 did not have a windage tray.
Looks like it's going to be a nice engine. I would skip the junk yard GT40P heads and go with some AFR 165s or something similar. By the time you have rebuilt the GT40P heads with a valve job, springs, and surfacing a new pair of aluminum heads are not much more money and will perform much better. Remember if you go with 2.02 / 1.60 valve heads to get pistons that have bigger cut relives so that the valves will clear the pistons.
@abodyal72 Yea, I had a 70 340 Duster w/ 727 8.75 w/ 3.23 posi and a 72 340 Demon with the same setup. Got rid of Both of them when I got a New Dodge Daytona Shelby Z w/ 5 speed. And then found a Dodge Omni GLHS Turbo. Had Both Turbo Card for Many years but they became Money Pits! They were Very Fast but Big $$ to keep alive. I'm 66 now and just want a Push rod motor I can Hot Rod without all the high maintenance. I will be following your progress on the Mustand too. It's near impossible to fund either of the Cars you have so I'm going to have to settle for, I think it's called an N95 Mustang so I can relive my Youth!
Cool! Done a couple of these. Some tips from past experience with the 302 and strokers. 1. A 347 would make a little more power, but if you want to wear the cyl less, go with a 331. 2. by the time you get done rebuilding those gt40 heads, you could be in an LMR SVE 175 head that will make more power than the gt40. Under a grand and ready for a hyd roller.. 3. Call Nick at clay smith cams. Get a cam recommendation from him. You wont be sorry when his cam runs circles around the 80's technology of that ford motorsports cam..They grind every cam for the customer anyway, so custom is the same price... Let me know if you have any questions and cant wait to see this thing rip! Thanks for sharing
GT40P chambers are 60cc, those early 289/302 heads are 54cc or 53cc, GT40Ps flow better but reduce compression and have a different spark plug location that won't work with a lot of headers. The GT40 non P (3 bar vs. 4bar) heads have bigger valves and with minimal home porting will flow very well and they don't have spark plug problems. The 2v and 4v 289s used the same heads (except K-code) Ford raised the compression with different pistons 9.3 vs 10.0. This is a cool project, subbed and stoked.
Thank you, still piecing a puzzle together before I make the stab of buying parts up. Someone stated to deck the block, considering some options to bring up the conpression
Wow, good to know.. I’ve got a set of 289 heads on my bench, 160/190 valves, ported, polished, screw in studs,PR guides.. Picked them up YEARS ago from a guy that did head work for a local race team.
So far I have a edelbrock 500cfm 1403 carburetor edelbrock 289 intake hei distributor and stock 87-93 5.0 headers with dynomax super turbo mufflers on it
Time for a pair of AFR heads and a Vic Jr. Intake + a solid roller 😊. Just picked up 6 engines last week myself to add to my SBF collection, four 302s and two 351W's.
Pulled the original 318 out of my "Malaise" Valiant sedan; the plan was a cam, Edelbrock intake, Thermoquad, and 2.5" dual exhaust. It only had 88K & change and ran great, figured it would be 'easy-peasy.' Well, two cam bearing looked a little 'meh," and then when the crank came out- we found a bearing that had a couple scuffs. Now, I also have a '70 340 core short block so I robbed the crank out of it along with the windage tray, bought '68-spec higher-compression pistons and new I-beam rods. Heads? Since the compression was getting a bump, a pair of '90 '308' heads and a set of 25 year-old, but new & thermal coated, Flowtech headers (with Remflex gaskets & Stage 8 fasteners to keep the leak chances lower)...so watching this is cathartic in a way
the Gt40P heads do flow well on the intake for a stock head - still not enough for a healthy 302. 400hp will be a chalenge, but for a budget build portwork, a 1.90 intake valve and the bowl work to match. as for compression, the L2488F30 has a 1.619 compression height and will help get the piston up to the deck or even a bit above. shave the heads down to 56cc ish, run a .039 gasket. the KB pistons I do not like, the top ring is too high up and makes the piston top fragile to heat & detonation. Wiseco, SRP both have good 2 valve relief forged pistons for not a ton of money. for a good cast piston, find some H120cp pistons. thinner ring pack, no dish, 2 valve reliefs, light. budget is relative, a hydraulic rollier conversion is great but the link bar lifters are spendy. for 400hp you will need a cam with 224 degrees duration @.050 or more, .500" -.550" lift and about 110 lobe separation. it will be lumpy. the intake is good, I have run them. an Eagle cast crank, Eagle I beam rod, Mahle forged piston stroker kit is listed for $1343 at CNC-motorsports. Mahle makes some very nice pistons so that will work well and give 10.5:1 easily if that's what you want. looking forward to it!
The hose clamp in the oil pan wouldn’t hurt anything at all. It’s probably still trying to adjust to the light!😳 Oh, did you check the contact surface of the lifters? The cam lobes looked about like I’d expect for as many miles that are supposed to be on it.
I was going to do the 347 but read into it and apparently it will warp the cylinders. I decided I'm going with 331 stroker kit since it apparently won't do that.
If you want reliability and 400+HP then forget the 347 spend the money on TF 11r heads and a comp XE274hr cam. GT40P with a FMS cam is going to stretch to get to 400HP maybe make your goal 350HP? FMS cams are ok at best and not worth saving a few dollars on them look at XE266HR for that combo.
The more digging I did The 347 isn’t the best choice. Popular yes but not for my idea. The 331 would be better but still a tad radical But you have good taste in parts for a builder
@@69fasttimesgarage72 as someone who is currently battling my mistake of using gt40ps, use anything that's not gt40ps. Next 302 I build is gonna have a trick flow 11r 170 top end kit (for a cobra kit), hoping I can do a scat 327 stroker but if I gotta punch it out it'll be a 331. My truck has been just sitting, incomplete, primarily due to the gt40p heads I used. Honestly I should have just did the same work to a set of e7s or waited and found some 3 bar gt40s. I used to highly recommend gt40ps but that was before I ever actually messed with them. I no longer recommend them.
Dang karen! What exactly is "that? The dirt or grease or maybe the 7oz. Of soluble degreaser? Where is he suppose to wash it? hes inside his garage! washing toward the inside! bathtub? lol.
