Hopefully this summer I will have a nice stockpile of cash so I was hoping to build a 331. I have never built a motor before so bear with me. I am on a budget so I am looking for quality parts for cheap. What kit would you recomend for the 331? I plan on using a 1975 302 block, which from what I understand will work. I have an edelbrock performer rpm intake and a 600 cfm holly on the motor right now. Also, what heads would be ideal for the motor that I can get for decently cheap? Also the car has a C4 with a B&M shiftkit and a 3000rpm stall B&M torque converter.
I have found great prices on 302 Ford parts at www.cnc-motorsports.com What is "decently cheap" by your definition? AFR165's are awesome heads but cost about $1200. What compression do you want? What cam are you gonna run? Are you gonna run roller rockers? Also a '75 Comet falls far outside the HAMB guidleines. Be preppared for a verbal beating.
I'm building a 331 stroker now and it cost about $1400 for the kit from Flatlander Racing. They were recommended over at the Ford Small Block Windsor Forum http://www.network54.com/Forum/119417/ If you look at the cost of a normal rebuild (new pistons, rings, and so on) it is not that much more and the 331 is really loved by the SBF guys. There are dozens of good heads that outflow the factory jobs. I bought new World Products heads for a few hundred on Ebay. The 5.0 guys are always changing something and dumping their old stuff there. Good luck with the Comet.
I thought I was the coolest thing to come out of 1975. Now I realize it's actually a hot rod Comet. Bitchin'.
He hangs out with me, who has a 57' Chevy... So does that cancel out that his car is too new for this place... maybe. He needs as cheap as he can get, but better than his setup right now. It has a cam that is less lopey than the stock one is... very torquey at low speeds. He has the 302 from an 86 Econoline too, very similiar but the heads are different in appearance. How are they compared to the stock 75' heads?
The car is a daily driver so could someone recommend me a cam that has a nice balance of performance and steetability. The car has to be able to run on pump gas also so I can't have really high compression heads. I haven't really given roller rockers a thought, would they be the way to go on a budget motor? It may take awhile for the money to come in but I figured I may as well get an estimate as to how much the 331 will cost.
If it helps you any, 289 heads will give you a higher compression and you can have your machinist put Small Block Chevy vlaves in them for better breathing.
I have a 331 in my Comet. I got the stroker kit from CNC motorsports. They seemed to have the best prices. Good to work with too. I have a cast eagle crank, eagle rods (I actually cant remember which ones) and KB hyperutectic pistons. I used the Trick Flow TW heads that I had on my 289. Shaved .050 to get it down to a 54cc chamber (that was the stock size on the 289). So its 10.3:1 comp now. Weiand Stealth intake and a Carter 625 AFB. I called all of the cam companies and asked their recommendations for my setup and what I planned to do with the car. I ended up going with Cam Research. Its a hyd roller (89 5.0 block). I can dig up the specs if you want them. I didn't realize it till I got them, but the KB pistons don't have as tight of a ring package as some of the other pistons out there, so the pin is in the oil ring groove, like on the 347. 75 302 heads are not that great. After pricing screw in studs, new valves, good 3-angle valve job, new guides and seals, springs, and surfacing at the machine shop, I realized aftermarket heads are not that much more. Especially if you can score a sweet deal on a used set. Also have a C4 with a 3000 stall TCI converter and 3.55 gears (with 24.5" tall tires). Used a http://precisionoilpumps.com/ too. Good insurance. They start out with a lot of 12 pumps. Mix all of the parts so they are within their specs. Out of those 12 they said they might only get 10 pumps that are up to their standards. The insides are coated too. Works good so far Havent had it to the track with this motor yet. Maybe this year.
Shortblock machining and the stroker kit are gonna run you a minimum of almost $1500 I'd estimate. The stroker kits are about $1000 and you will need to have the block bored and the mains align honed (I would not recomend skipping this). Have you thought about a mildly rebuilt 351W? You can build one of those for almost the same money as a 302 (probably less than a stroker 302) and you would have 49 more cubic inches right from the begining. Plus the 351W is much stronger than the 302. 351W's need heads, an intake and a cam just the same as a stroker 302 would and the cost is identical for all but the intake which is only slightly more. Just something to think about and consider.
Thanks for the replies guys, I may end up either building up my 302 or finding a 351W to build. I didn't even think about the 289 heads, that would be so much cheaper. Also, I have two other sets of heads from a mid 80's grand marquis and from a mid 80's ford econoline van. I will look tonight and see if I can find any numbers as I know that the motor in the van is a rebuilt motor.
If you already have a 302, Id build that. I wouldnt bother seeking out a 351 if you already have the 302 due to the MASS AVAILIBITY of parts easily accessible for the 302.
for the street, when cost is a factor, skip the stroker. save up a few extra pennies and go with aftermarket heads. the work is already done. the money spent on good flowing heads will more than make up for 29 cubes. open a summit or jegs catalog to the 5.0 section. look into midwest motorsports, they have consignments (sometimes hot) parts. once you get a good set of heads, look into a match set of pistons. work with a good machine shop and don't go cheap, it will only cost more do do it twice. don't over-cam it. .480 lift is a good place to be, but it has to be a match set. big cam, small bore, small valves won't work. it might be easiest to copy a crate motor's specs. the combination has been proven.
If you want cheap, high flowing heads for a 302 and you have a pair of good E7TE OEM Ford heads (87-93 Mustang, 5.0 HO, 302/351W truck and maybe van heads) you can get ported heads from this guy in Florida for like $600 bucks. Great value. His website is www.thumperoforangepark.com His heads flow good numbers through small ports and valves. So they have real good velocity (and that means throttle response).
Convential wisdom about cams has been thrown out the window by the quality of aftermarket heads. If you get any aftermarket head you can easily and safely run lifts up to around .550" lift. Duration and overlap are the things to be most concerned about. I say sell the 302 and find a 351W. But that's just me
I have a 351W crank ready to go on the FS board. Try to find some early 351W heads, bigger ports and smaller chambers. to use them you will need special stepped head bolts though.
http://www.coasthigh.com/here is a good place to deal with on the 331. As far as heads go start looking for late model mustang sites for your area. There is an abundance of stuff out there from the production of the fox-body mustang. Same goes for cams. If I was looking to build one I would be on the look out for a late-model 302 and go with the hydrolic roller. Just a thought.Hope this helps
FRPP # M-6065-D289 Head bolt kit with stepped washers. They are 12 point ARP bolts. $73 bucks at Summit.
Me and a buddy have built several of these motors for his car. He keeps steppin' up his nitrous shot though and eventually popping them! Real cheap motors that move his mustang to 11:30's on juice. 200hp shot is the max for these motors. After 150hp of juice they start loosing head gaskets and cracking the mains. Don't bother with the stroker kit for a low budget build. Spend the bux in the heads to make power, because the bottom end of these motors is pretty tough. I would go and get a roller cam block. For the few extra bucks you can run an inexpensive factory style hydralic roller cam. Its worth 25hp over a flat tappet. If you can, get an entire mustang short block. Pre 87-92 IIRC have TRW forged pistons stock. These are the ones you want. I can get them for around $300 around here for a low milage short block. Make sure it has the cam, lifters, and spider in it. In a low milage engine you can get away with a good freshening, just rings, a hone , and bearings. Have it clearanced to the loose side, and make sure you have GOOD ROD BOLTS! The stock ones are 5/16" and weak. Get some ARP's in there, and run main studs. A good oil pump drive and a high pressure pump are all that is needed. You will have a pretty much bulletproof bottom end that will survive 7000+ rpm blasts at the dragstrip and reliably take 150hp shot of spray. Now here is where you will make power. Spend the stroker money on a set of aftermarket heads. You will be far far far ahead. If you are still looking for a budget built, go and get a set of GT40 heads off of a late model explorer from the wrecking yard. Much better than any other factory windsor head. You can get them for a few hundred dollars easily. Get them milled to up the compression if needed. Porting them really wakes them up - especially on the exhaust side. If you are going to rev the motor, get a good valvetrain. Then call the cam manufacturers and get a good cam for the engine. Go one step hotter than they reccomend. They always will be conservative. Match the springs to the cam. Run a victor jr intake and a 600-750cfm carb. Depending on what heads, you will have at least an easy 300hp engine.
I reccommend you take a look at the capability of a roller cam 302 HO and read this article. http://carcraft.com/techarticles/116_0307_ford/
As it is looking now, I think I will build up a 302 as I have three of them just sitting around. Which would be the best foundation for the motor from the vehicles that I posted above? I will have to ask the parents for the exact information on the cars and the motors.
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