Hi guys. I plan on building a sbf. Probably 302. I don't have a motor, I am starting from scratch. Looking for about 375hp when done. What is the best motor that I should be starting with, and what would it have come out of? A gt 40 head equipped motor? Probably want to use stock crank, rods, pistons and maybe heads. I will go with a carb. So, what do I want to look for, and what do I want to stay away from? Thanks Peter
At that power level, any 302 or 5.0 block will do fine. Beyond that, a little more info is needed. First of all, what's the budget? Second, what do you expect this engine to do? Is it going in the truck? Will it be expected to haul/pull anything? Will you ever race it at all? Third, is economy an issue? Fourth, do you plan to run any accessories with it (A/C, power steering, power brakes, etc.) Without knowing anything more about it, and assuming that it is going into that '56, I would be more inclined to look at a 351W than a 302, for a couple of reasons, but a 302 built correctly would work...though a bit more high-strung, so to speak.
Budget is a few grand anyways. Yes the engine is going in my truck, but it is not going to haul anything, just a daily driver. No real racing just fun. I would like the best fuel economy that 375hp will give me. I have no plans for AC but yes it will get power brakes. If I get any 302 then I need to buy heads right? Are any blocks odd or harder to find parts for? Thanks Peter
I am with homespun1 Use a 351. Plenty of them out there. Heads are better overall. Now I like 302s but in this case I would use the 351 since you are starting from scratch.
If it were me, I'd score a complete mustang GT 5.0 to the tune of about $500, and add a nitrous setup to it... Cheap, reliable, complete, decent MPG's, and extra horsepower at the touch of a button. Save your "few grand" for now, and build the motor of your dreams later.
Here's another vote for 351W. You get 49 cubes more for the same money. 375 hp from a 302 is a fairly tall order. Fairly easy and cheap to get 375 in a 351W. With an engine bay as big as a F100, there's no need to limit yourself to a 302.
I'd go with the 351 too. If you put aftermarket heads on it World Products cast iron Windsor SR would work good. Cheaper than aluminum and the cast iron is supposed to hold compression and heat better. Makes more power for a street engine. You could bore and stroke it to a 408 or 427 if you wanted more easy power down the road.
Hmm. Some thoughts- I think your goals are both achievable & realistic, with a few caveats. I know of three guys with 302-powered Effies, and all are very happy with the combination. All three are semi-daily drivers and/or distance drivers, so reliability & economy are most important. All of the owners will freely admit that the trucks aren't particularly powerful, and they don't really care. All of them are simple 302 rebuilds with aftermarket carb/intake/cam/headers, nothing exotic. I would guess that each engine is somewhere around 200-225 net horsepower, maybe a bit more but not much. The problem we have with these trucks (I own a '55 F-100) is both weight, as they are around 3300 lbs. with a full stock gas tank & no driver, and aerodynamics, which...well, they have none. To build a 302 with 375 hp, as you surmised, it will take either GT-40 heads or aftermarket heads. Earlier stock 302 heads are very restrictive, esp. on the exhaust side, and they can be improved...but frankly you would be throwing good money after bad. SBF heads are so cheap now- some aftermarket iron heads are under $500 each- that by the time you have the stock heads ported, machined, good valves, etc. you will spend more money for an inferior head. You will also need a fair amount of compression and a fairly snotty cam profile to make 375. It won't be unstreetable, and you will have enough vacuum for power brakes, with a vacuum reservoir. It will need a fair amount of accelerator pump shot to get decent throttle response at lower rpm (i.e. city traffic), which affects mpg. You are also going to need rear axle gearing somewhere around 3.70 or so, which also affects mpg. Keep in mind that it won't have a great deal of torque until somewhere around 3000 rpm, depending on the cam and the cylinder heads. With an automatic you would probably want to use a mild stall converter to help things. All things considered, I am more inclined to suggest a 351W; the extra stroke solves a lot of problems, and you are still getting the benefit of the small SBF: easy to swap, lots of parts availability, easy to find, not too much $$ to rebuild. At a rough educated guess, if you compared a 302 built to make around 375 net hp, to a 351W using the same heads, carb, cam, etc., you are going to see the 351's power peak around 1000 rpm lower, torque peak around 500 rpm lower (which is good because the 302 is going to produce max torque around 4500-5000), and the 351 torque curve is going to be much flatter....plus about 50-75 ft.-lb more torque from 1500 to 4500 rpm. In other words, the 351 is going to take things in stride; the 302 is going to have to work quite a bit, and rev fairly high, to accelerate the truck equally. One advantage of the 302 is that most later car engines after (I think) '85 have the blocks which are set up to use hydraulic roller cams. The 351W got the hydraulic roller blocks only in (I think) '94. You don't necessarily need a hyd. roller, but they do have some advantages, at a higher price, naturally. Also, if I recall, '95-early '97 Explorers have GT-40 heads; Explorers of late '97 on up to 2001 have the GT-40P heads which are slightly better in stock form. If you do go with the 302, that's what I'd look for...although all those late Explorers use an electronically controlled transmission, so you can't easily or cheaply swap the Exploder trans, too. Another option you might consider is to build a 347 stroker out of a 302, although it will be more expensive than just buying a 351W. 347s work well for the later Mustang guys, for a couple of reasons, but I don't see an advantage in your case....unless you found one at a good price. So far as that goes, you might look at crate engines, too, though a GOOD one will probably hurt the budget. Just some stuff to think about.
No replacement for displacement Since the core cost of a 302 and 351 should be the same, the 351 will always end up making more HP per dollar. The only reason in the world to run smaller cubes on a performance motor is if you're burdened by the rules of a racing class and seeking loopholes
I put a 302 in my 68 F100, wish I had put a 351W in it instead. Build you a 408" 351W (the stroker kits are cheap), a decent set of iron or aluminum heads, should make 375-400 hp easy, and tons of torque (that's what I'm planning on putting in my 68 next time).
HHHHHmmmmmmmmmm........... 351W huh? OK. So if I decide to go 351 route, is there a motor out of what to look for? Probably want to use stock crank, rods, and pistons. Does some model have the good heads? Thanks guys, you got me thinking. Peter
Look for a 302 block/engine out of a V8 Explorer. These are Mexican blocks and the nickel content in the block is higher. Good starting point.
the '94-'95 Lightning would be a good start as they are set up for a roller cam. The rods got better in 76 with spot faced bolt seats. Otherwise they are all about the same. 69-76 heads have bigger valves than later heads, but they aren't going to make 375 without a lot of work. You will be farther ahead with aftermarket heads. You aren't going to get that kind of hp with just a cam and intake swap.
The 1994-1998 351W roller cam block is the way to go. The casting number should start with F4TE. You can find these heads in late 1994-1996 F150's and late 1994 1998 F250'F350s and ford vans. I pulled my short block out of a van and didn't even use a hoist. Budget heads are the 1996-early 97 Explorer GT40's, you can make 375 HP on a 351W with these heads, a performer RPM intake and a decent cam. You can also use the GTP heads from a 1997 1/2-2000 Explorer, in stock form a little better HP and gas mileage but the revised spark plug angle can cause header issues. If you have a little more money the new budget Edelbrock heads wouild be nice. Stay away from the cheap chinese heads, there is a reason they are that cheap.
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