Hey Greasers, Can you help with ID info for a 302 (68, from Farelane/Torino - I'm really stuck on the heads and knowing what to look for. Photos are the best I have so far, been looking and cannot find any numbers besides the obvious 2V and the 0820 which I understand is the date-code for the casting. Any help you 302 experts can provide would be a huge help - thank you!!! More scoop - I bought this and was told the engine was rebuilt but not running because they were swapping to a new distributor. I've not had it running yet, needed electrical help first. Trying to decide if I trust the "rebuild" story or if I would be ahead to pull it apart and rework from scratch
Yep, '68 302. As far as the 'rebuilt' bit, if it supposedly hasn't been run I'd say that's a backyard rebuild by the amount of crud in the nooks/crannies, so I'd invest in a gasket set and see what's inside. None of the '68 SBF heads are anything 'special', with only minor differences between them.
So I understand, you're saying pull the heads and see what's underneath, right? I've never pulled heads before, how big of a project is it and what special tools do I need? My real question is where is the bottom on checking things out? Should I pull the water pump, the fuel pump, the intake, the cam..... sorry for basic questions and being noob wanna do things right
Well, I was probably hoping for good news and not a major project. What should I budget, and plan for in expenses to rebuild the engine? How big of an undertaking is it to rebuild the 302? I've never rebuilt before and don't know if it's too much for a newbie or something to tackle
You'll need a good engine stand & Torque wrench. Get a copy of Tom Monroe's "How to rebuild a small block ford". Good basic rebuild book for beginners. look at a Jegs or Summit catalog for prices, gasket kit, pistons & rings, Main & Rod bearings, ect. plus talk to a machine shop about block & head work.
If you've never been inside a motor before, attempting a rebuild will probably be too much for you. Not saying impossible, but if you have questions on how to remove the heads you'll have a steep learning curve. And how 'rebuilt' do you want it to be? That can vary from no more than rings/bearings, probably a valve job, and at least a timing set and oil pump all the way to a full-blown rebuild with all of the above plus pistons with an overbore, cam/lifters/cam bearings, hardened exhaust valve seats and valves, valve springs, resized rods, and machining the crankshaft. And what's your budget? A bare-bones backyard 'light' rebuild will cost at least $400 with questionable longevity. From there it's a 'bulk rebuilder' long block (around $1100) with no performance options, up to a 'crate motor' long block for about $2000. The more 'stuff' it comes with, the more it'll cost. You may be able to do a bit better on price if you have a local machine shop do the work, assuming you have one locally with a good reputation. Does it need rebuilding? My first order of business would be to run a compression check on it. If you have the flywheel, bellhousing, and starter it's not difficult to spin the motor out of the car and check compression. If compression is good, you may be able to just 'freshen' it, which for me would be a timing set, oil pump, and maybe a mild cam/lifters for a bit more zip. The suggestion of getting a book and thoroughly digesting it is a good idea, I'd do that before tackling this. If you give your location, there may be a HAMBer locally who could help guide you. It's not rocket science, but there's myriad details to attend to. If you're really on a budget, you might think about looking for a good running late 302 out of a boneyard. The late Explorer 302s have better cylinder heads, feature roller cams and don't need much to convert them to carb/conventional ignition.
If you lived within a 20 mile radius of me I would come over and in a few hours you would know what you had nd what it needs. I would also teach you how to do your own work and help save you money. As others said without tearing it apart you don't know if it was just re-rung and new bearings popped in or if any machine work was done or needs done. Where are you?
George's advice to get Tom Monroe's book is good; one of the first chapters is something like "Do I Need a Rebuild?". It will walk you through the tests you need to perform to determine this. I always give this advice, but I would buy a cheap borescope so I could look into all the cylinders before taking things apart. When I bought my '63 T-Bird a couple of months ago, I pulled a plug and used my borescope to verify the seller's claim that the engine was recently rebuilt: it was. The hone marks on the cylinder wall were still fresh.
Jeese! It's just a 302.... Don't take it apart.... Is this in a car right Now? If it is...do a compression check.... wire up a oil gauge and see if it builds pressure.... Crank it up and run it. If it's a loose engine... build a cranking stand and try it... Do get Tom Monroe's book.
This book would be a big help for you. http://www.mre-books.com/interchange/index.html Click on this section to start. http://www.mre-books.com/interchange/interchange5.html
You can pull the pan and look at the bearings and look up in the cylinders. If you don’t see the cross hatch pattern in the cylinders, it may have new parts and it may not.
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