Engine and Transmission Tech

I want about 280-300hp and equivalent torque out of my 302. Want's this going to take? Cam. induction, headers? Will that get me there with older 302? For aesthetics sake I'm considering a tri power carb setup. Any problems here other than carb balance/tuning issues. Not looking for v8 cam rumble but prefer more throaty deep sound similar to the italian jobs/ Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Dan

> I want about 280-300hp and equivalent torque out of my 302. Want's this going
> to take? Cam. induction, headers? Will that get me there with older 302?

In the old 1970s Muscle Parts catalog, Ford outlined 3 levels of changes for the
289/302 SBF: Impressor, Controller and Dominator with HP increments for each
change relative to a stock 289-2V. Adding the C90X high rise dual plane intake,
600 CFM Holley carb and an open element air cleaner was good for 31 HP. Adding
the C90Z-6250-C hydraulic cam with matching lifters and springs, along with a
289 HiPo dual point distributor was worth 40 HP. Adding tube headers was worth
15 HP for a total of 86 HP over the 200 HP 289-2V. With these parts in place,
the larger port and valve '69-'70 351W heads and 10.5:1 compression pistons were
worth 32 HP. Larger GT40 valves added 7 HP more for a total increase of 118-125
HP over the 289-2V. Switching to a Lemans solid lifter cam brought the total
increase to 144-155 HP over the base 289-2V. Going from a 289 to a 302 was
worth 11 HP.

Reprints are still available of the Ford Muscle Parts catalog and the OHO
(Off Highway Operation) tech tips newsletter. Though the parts are mostly
obsolete these days, the sequence of part changes outlined in the Muscle Parts
program is still sound. When Jack Roush built the engine for the 1979 Mustang
Indy Pace Car it was very much straight out of the Muscle Parts cook book.
Several years back, Alex Denysenko updated the recipe using parts that were
then available. Alex co-moderates the MustangsandMore.com forum and holds IHRA
and NHRA national records with his 289 Mustang in the SuperStock L Automatic
class. Prices have gone up since then but the recipe still works to build a
300+ HP small block Ford. Since that time, head options like the GT40 and GT40P
heads (sourced from Ford Explorers or Mercury Mountaineers) are inexpensive and
can make better power than standard small block Ford heads. Hydraulic roller
cams like the E-303 can also be retrofitted to earlier blocks with link bar
lifters but it's often cheaper to source a later hydraulic roller 5.0L block.

How To Build a 289-302 One Horsepower Per Cubic Inch for $1,500
By: Alex Denysenko (MoneyMaker Racing)

"If there is enough interest I can do a small block 289-302 one horsepower per
cubic inch build up on this thread. I can put together a proven piece for $1500
or less so that any member can build their own. You must of course be able to
do your own assembly and R&R labor. It ain't that hard gang.

After researching several machine shops in my area I will assume that these
prices can be duplicated or bettered by most of the USA membership. This build
up is based on a garden variety 65-78 289 or 302 Windsor good condition donor
engine core. You will need to completly dissassemble the engine.

1) Degrease and cam bearing bare block with cam bearings $95.
2) Bore .060 and finish hone $160.
3) micro polish crank shaft $30.
4) Check connecting rods and fit piston pins $40.
5) Valve job $130
6) Mill heads .030 $60.
7) machine heads for screw in studs $80.
Total spent at machine shop $595.

Parts: I opted for a PAW type of inexpensive rebuilder quality engine kit
consisting of rings, bearings, oil pump, timing chain and gears, and a
gasket set. These generally contain decent quality brands such as Michigan,
Muskegeon, Detroit Gasket, Melling, etc. I priced mine through my normal
wholesale supplier at $155. You may pay a bit more.

2) a set of Badger .060 11 to 1 pop up cast pistons from us at $150.
3) Comp 270S cam, solid lifters, and valve springs $250.
4) Steel shim head gaskets $40.
5) Edelbrock Air gap or similar intake $220.
6) A set of screw in rocker arm studs $20.
7) a set of Hedman 4-into-1 headers $90.
total of $925 in parts.

Grand total of $1520 spent to get 300 horsepower at the flywheel.

If you already have headers you are money ahead. The same with an intake.
351W heads woould be a bonus and add about 20 to 25 HP stock. You will need
a good 600-750 max CFM carb. A 4100 series 1.12" Autolite is nice or a 700
CFM DP Holley is better. Anything in between is OK also except a Jimmy Carter
POS carburrito. If that's all ya got then so be it! What ever electronic
ignition you have (like a FoMoCo Duraspark) is fine. This engine will make
300 HP @ 6000 RPM at the flywheel on a dyno guranteed if assembled correctly.
Does it sound familiar? Well it should as it is basically a higher compression
289 HiPo. Add a bigger carb, tube headers, an efficiant intake, more
compression, more cam and you have got 25 to 30 more HP than the 271 easy.
The best part is that it will last and take lots of abuse. These babies are
very forgiving if the time is taken to assemble them right. Enjoy!

You can go .030 if you like. The .060 over bore being too thin is an old wives
tale. We go .070 over on 289/302 blocks all of the time on our race motors.
The pistons have valve reliefs. There is no economical similar piston for a
351 unfortunatly. You will need a steady diet of 93 octane with careful timing
adjustments. The 270S cam will allow the high compression. Loosing 2 full
points (of compression) will cost you 25 horsepower.

I always adjust the timing on street cars by the trial and test method. Keep
advancing it until it pings then begin to retard it until it stops. It should
still handle 32-34 degrees total on 91 octane. The SS gaskets are not
mandatory. They are worth another 1/2 point in compression. They hold up very
well and are cost effective. I don't like Fel-Pro head gaskets on SBF's and
the (his favorite) 3428SG Victor Rienz head gaskets are $65 a piece (note:
Rock Auto has these much cheaper now).

The 48 cc heads with SS gaskets will garner closer to 12 to 1 and the 53's will
be closer to 11 to 1 and the later model ones will be around 10 to 1. Remember
that we are cutting the heads also. Smaller chamber heads will get closer to
320 HP. Regardless, the motors will make AT LEAST 300 HP. The Comp 282S cam is
a bit TOO radical for a daily driver as far as I'm concerned. Roller rockers
are nice, but they just didn't fit into my buget. The sky is the limit as far
as options are concerned. This is a tried and true combo with GUARANTEED results.
NO BRAG, JUST FACT!

The 351W heads are a straight bolt in. Shouldered bolts is all you need as the
351 heads use 1/2 inch bolts. No cons, all pros. You loose a bit of compression,
but gain a bunch of air flow. Head gaskets are the same. You will use 351 intake
gaskets though. Exhaust manifolds will fit but they will cost you 25 HP!!!!!!!!
That's why you will use 351 intake gaskets, or better yet just get some #1250
Fel-Pro's."

Alex also likes the 600 CFM Summit carb for the engine above. The Summit carb is
based upon the Holley 4010 which, in turn, was based upon the Autolite 4100 carb.
A Boss 302 style windage tray is an inexpensive optional part of the recipe.
There are versions availble for the fornt sump and double sump oil pans.

> For aesthetics sake I'm considering a tri power carb setup. Any problems here other
> than carb balance/tuning issues.

Alex ran one of the tri-powers back in the 1970s. He did a comparison against the
Ford aluminum high rise C90X intake (the intake developed for the Ford Muscle Parts
351W head swap). Here's what he said:

Tri-Power vs C90X. Here is what I can tell you from past personal experiance
on MM circa 1972 or so. With stock 20k mile HiPo short block, well tuned by
me Tri-Power, C7FE cam, Hooker headers, 5.14 gears and a 4 speed I could run
13.0's driving the car to the track in the morning air. It would slow to
13.20's as the summer day progressed. Over the winter I did a competition
valve job and installed GT-40 valves in the otherwise stock HiPo heads, and
used steel shim head gaskets. No other changes were made. I was rewarded
with my first 12 second time slips and ran a best of 12.79 @ 109 MPH. (clocks
and timers used a different method of calculating MPH in those days) I picked
up a C90X from my friendly Ford dealer and purchased a 4779 Holley 750 DP
carb on the urging of smarter than me (at the time ) mentors. I made the
swap and drove the car. It actually felt a bit slower seat of the pants
overall, but was much more responsive in the lower RPM range. A trip to the
track the following Sunday netted me a 12.50 @ 111 MPH time slip on the first
pass. I ran 12.50's all day and won my class convincingly. I never looked
back again. I loved my three dueces as they worked well and looked very cool,
but they were never as good as a C90X and a good DP single 4.

The C90X is similar to the Edelbrock Performer RPM high rise dual plane.
There are a bunch of similar intakes and, based upon his dyno and drag
testing, Alex ranks the high rise SBF dual plane intakes as:

Best: FoMoCo C90X
Good: Edelbrock Air Gap, Edelbrock Performer RPM, FoMoCo Shelby
lettered, FoMoCo Cobra lettered, Weiand Stealth (current version)
Fair: Edelbrock F4B
Poor: Weiand Stealth (original version), Colt 65

Alex claims the C90X still bests the latest intakes like the Edelbrock
Air Gap Performer RPM in making power over a wide RPM range. Note there
have been several copies of the FoMoCo C90X dual plane that didn't work
quite as well. If looking for one, I can show you where to look to verify
if it is real or a reproduction.

> Not looking for v8 cam rumble but prefer more throaty deep sound similar to
> the italian jobs/ Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

You'll need some idle rumble to meet your HP goals but it will be moderate.
You can get some of that Italian sound if you fit an X-pipe cross-over in
the exhaust.

Dan Jones

Dan
Thanks so much for this response. I am looking for a straightforward, line item way to get there and the info is very helpful. I appreciate the details you provided and the time it took. This should give me all options to get there.

Thanks again

Dan

As far as a 300 HP street driven 302/5.0L recipe goes:

10+:1 compression ratio
Summit 600 CFM carb (4010 Holley style) or similar
Edelbrock Performer RPM dual plane intake manifold
4-into-1 long tube headers (1 5/8" primary diameter, 2 1/2" collector)
Comp 270H (hydraulic flat tappet), Comp 270S (solid flat tappet) or FRPP E-303 (hydraulic roller) camshaft
springs to suit camshaft

You can make your goal with standard production Windsor SBF heads but most are quite restrictive ad will leave plenty of power
on the table. The worst of the lot are the low compression open chamber heads of the 1970s with thermactor bumps in the exhaust
ports. Also there were several different rocker arm/stud arrangements to be aware of. The GT40 and GT40P cast iron heads are
decent, have hardened seats and pedestal mount rockers, are inexpensive on the used market and are worth 30 HP or so. I've got
a 289 with GT40P heads. Heads were like new and cost $200 for the pair, much less than it would have cost to rebuild the 289
heads. Depending upon budget, lots of cylinder head upgrades from there. Alex sells a lot of the Flo Tek aluminum heads for
$800 per pair new. We used a set on a friend's 5.0L with E-303 cam and EFI. They are similar to the Ford Motorsport GT40X
aluminum heads. I run the more expensive AFRs on my stroked EFI 5.0L (347 cubic inches, 10.5:1).

Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Ford used to offer rebuilt 5.0L HO long block engines. These were the standard 9:1
compression 5.0L HO long blocks fitted with a B303 camshaft (224/224 deg @ 0.050", 284/284 deg seat duration 0.480"/.480" lift,
112 deg LSA). Heads had the thermactor bumps ground out. Here's a magazine dyno test article from back in the day:

[www.carbdford.com]

Baseline engine with 1985 Ford Mustang low rise dual plane intake manifold, Holley 650 CFM double pumper, 2 1/4" dual exhaust,
OEM shorty headers and 36 degrees total timing but no accesories, the engine made 244 HP @ 5250 RPM and 296 ft-lbs @ 3500 RPM.
1 5/8" primary Hedman 4-into-1 long tube headers made 253 HP @ 5250 RPM and 307 ft-lbs @ 3500 RPM. Adding an Edelbrock
Performer RPM dual plane netted 282 HP @ 5500 and 315 ft-lbs @ 3750 RPM. Finally, adding a set of large port and valve
Dart II iron heads (smaller chambers increased compression ratio by 1/2 point) made 330 HP @ 6000 and 334 @ 4000 RPM.

The 5.0L roller cam blocks used from 1985 1/2 can show minimal wear if oil was regularly changed. It's not uncommon to find
short blocks with the original hone marks and no ridge at the tops of the bores, requiring only rings and bearings. 5.0L HO
engines got forged or hypereutectic pistons. Hydraulic roller cams don't have the cam lobe wear issues that flat tappet cams
can have with modern (low ZDDP content) oils. There are more aggressive lobes available (like Comps XE or Lunatis Voodoo) than
the suggested cams above but they may come at a price: noisier valvetrain, higher required spring pressure or higher wear rate
(for flat tappet cams).

For this level of power, I prefer a smaller collector diameter (2.5" or 2.75" versus the usual 3"). It varies by the chassis
(classic Mustang, fox body Mustang, truck, etc.) if the smaller collectors are available but in cases where they are not,
you can cut the collectors off and weld on a pair of Flowmaster scavenge collectors (p/n C150200250, 4-2-1 style with 1 1'2"
inlets and 2 1/2" outlets, 23" long).

If the budget allows, 1.7:1 roller rocker arms, windage tray, under-drive pulleys are worth considering.

Dan Jones