the machine shop says my 88 ford 302 block needs to be bored past 40 over, perhaps to 60 over. any feedback on whether this is a good idea? will it overheat...are these blocks good for 60 over? any feedback will be appreciated. wish I knew now what I thought I knew then.
Well, Generally no... However, it depends on which block you have. Some blocks have a thicker wall.... like mexican blocks... I've got a 1986 5.0 H.0. which is somewhat kinda similar in its nickel content blah blah.. to the mexican block..makes for stronger block. My walls checked at .60 over thicker or as thick as a stock 302 bored 30 over I think?? cant remember its been a few years... but, I've had no issues what so ever with it over heating.. I ran hyper eutectic pistons.. moderate cam.. and a stock h.o. crank. If I were you I would find a good engine builder who knows ford.. and I dont mean o yeah I can build a ford.. find a ford guy.. it makes a difference. Get him to sonic check and get it checked for cracks.. I paid 50 bucks to get it done.. and im glad because I had a bad block.. and had to get a new one .. and since he was a ford guy he told me what would be best... some guys dont go through the trouble.
Over heating is one problem you can have going more than .030" over, the other problem going over .030" is that the bores may not be able to hold their shape (I've seen one where you could light between the rings, and cylinder wall). if they checked your block like 65fordguy had done it could show up thick on one side, and thin on the other side because of core shift during the block casting process (and core shift happens alot). If the cylinders wont finish up at .040" get another block.
yeah, core shift is one of the problems with my original block.. I couldnt go 30 hardly on one side and be safe.. it could of been done... but eh.. who wants to do that. Building a good motor comes down to who does ... check around local shops and get their opinion... or suggestion of a good builder. My guy is the rebuilder for NAPA ... he does the heads and blocks for them. he also builds racing motors for a couple of big names around here. You can ***ume if a guy will trust your builder with a 15 to 20k motor you can trust him with your 2k build... Do your homework and background check on your builder... thats the ticket. the right one wont send you on a wrong path.
a friend who has a salvage yard is going to sell me a roller motor on the cheap so hopefully that block will be rebuildable. hope I don't have to try too many blocks to find a good one! cram the wheel both ways & floor it.
not sure the later blocks like mine will take the 60 over, so I'm going to try another block. thanks for the info. acting smug is usually a mask for incompetence.
Good choice. 5.0 blocks are plentiful and easy to find. No need to chance it. You can get just the block for next to nothing.
You ARE making the right decision,the earlier blocks were thicker but even those were limited to a max of .040" anything over that and you are rolling the dice!
tore apart a junk yard motor last night only to find out it was junk. so, I decided to have the shop sleeve the pitted cylinder ($140) & go 30 over with the block I have. rotsa ruck!
Thin cylinder walls cause hot spots, often referred to as running hot, BUT; you will never see it on the gauge. Unless, that is, if it actually breaks through! The sonic checker is your friend.
I just got one thing to say to ya, Blocks are cheap. I've never had a problem hawging a Grenade Motor out to the max. But one I was planning on driving cross country isn't one I'd want to take to the outer limits. You can buy an aftermarket block for less than a grand or find another seasoned block for a hundred or so and your back in business.
I agree that I can find another block fairly cheap, but I figured thus...1) I have to get another motor & tear it down to see if it's rebuildable. 2) the machine shop has to hot tank it & mike the walls to see if it's boreable (time & expense). 3) if I add this time & expense I'll probably be up to $140 or so. (also, if I'm not working on my own stuff in the shop I can make money on other people's projects, so....) may not be the way for everybody to go, but seemed best to me. thanks for the feedback! whaddya call a boomerang that doesn't work? ....a stick
NAPA ended up going 40 over on the bore, so I ordered a 40 over kit from Summit w/ hypereutectic pistons (whatever in the world they are). now I need to select a roller cam for mild street. any good suggestions for a reasonable cam with good low end & reasonable mileage? I appreciate any feedback you may have. thanks just wondering...do gorillas have such big nostrils bc their fingers are really big?
I run the equivilant of the E303 Ford cam...lots of torque, a little choppy, and is easy on the vavletrain...
your early model blocks will have a date code under the starter at the back of the engine your better blocks are 1968 to 1971.sixties blocks start with a C so C8,C9 high nickel from hell 70 D0 you get it. the early years are your better bets I've never blown one up and they last forever.Fords cost a lot more to build than a chevy but they last .Also comp for ARP bolts through the engine and a probe main stud girdle.
my 5.0 gets with a 3 speed auto gets 16ish if I drive 50 55 everywhere.. 17 18 if I drive 45. Now, If im showin off around town... I might get 10mpg. but, I run it with a 500 edelbrock.. its the performance tune.. not the economy tune.. whatever that is. but its pleanty for driving and ripping up the gears.. just dies out in the top... I rarely need the extra juice. I have driven a similar 302 with a larger carb.. but it wasnt as responsive.. and quick to the touch.. which I like. and he got far less mpg
mine is in a 55 f100, an 88 roller motor with factory FI and an AOD ******. hoping to get mileage somewhere in the 20's.
what does anyone out there think of a mustang 303 cam for my 40 over 302 w/ mildly ported gt40 heads? sound like a streetable performance option? thanks. I pulled the pin, Sarge...now what do I do?
don't know anything about your cam, to get gas milage you need a tall gear; the aod will be a help, i have a 351 with a c6, and a 2:83 gear, on the road i get 22-23 mpg, thats running 80 on the interstate and 60 on the back roads, my motor has a little cam with a 750 holley, good luck, it sure is good to see a ford in a ford.
The specs on the E303 Duration 288* on intake, and exhaust Lift at the valve .498" (with a 1.6 rocker arm) Lobe center 110* on intake, and exhaust You will need a higher stall torque converter to run that cam. That cam will only work on a m*** air efi system (if your going to run efi).
Yep, it's a hyd roller cam. if your 5.0 had hyd rollers all you need is the cam, plus you dont have to break-in the cam, and lifters like you have to like a flat lifter cam.
scored an unused e303 cam on ebay. now just looking for some gt40 heads & I'm complete. (or rather the engine will be...don't guess I'll ever be complete)
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