""One last thing: If you have a real Boss 302 engine, it will be more valuable to someone who is restoring a Boss 302. You can sell it and then build the engine of your choice (within reason) with the proceeds."" Reminded me I have a B302 +.030 block under the bench; its been waiting for a rotating ***embly for some where around 40 years..
There were 157 tooth also. They took a different convertor as has been noted. 5.14:1 gears would be the real hot ticket that would get you out of the hole and into the power band sweetly.
This article explains it well. http://www.pigseye.com/sadie/trans/c4.htm Ford trivia: a pan-fill C4 can be used behind a 351M/400/429/460 if you have the right bellhousing, which came out of some late 70s taxis or vans equipped with 351M. That's the ticket in a light hot rod that doesn't need the heavier duty C6. The C4 is considerably smaller and lighter than the C6 and eats about 30 less hp. I have this set-up if I ever decide to build a hot rod shop truck.
Sorry but the heads are modified Cleveland and intake is NOT Cleveland . Cleveland has no water in the intake Boss 302 does have water in the intake . get Yourself a C6 from a W powered van , you will be more thankful in the long run .
Being that your engine is a ‘69 it has larger valves than the ‘70 Boss engine so it needs night RPM’s to be happy. Back in the ‘70’s I had a stock ‘70 Boss in the Comet, it was OK but not much low end power. I now have the same block, crank, and rods in the car but switched to special pistons, roller hydraulic cam, and aluminum heads, it has low end power and pulls harder than before. The smaller valves in the aluminum heads helped with the low end power.
I have been taking care of since 1974, and may soon own, a stock 69- it had the factory piston replacement done, but is otherwise stock, white with black like the prototype, wide-ratio trans and 3.91 limited-slip. That car is very easy to drive, not strong but not finicky at low RPM, and loves to rev. I built the engine in another friend's 70 model in 1979, using tulip-shaped valves from a 426 Hemi, an old road racers' trick to pump up a little bottom end, a "Sullivan" cam, and an old set of "spacer ****s" rings that were used in the old days to run ****s rings in a stock groove in NHRA. We drove that one around for 20 years with 2.73 gears in the back, and it drove fine. There is only .004 difference in size between the 69 and 70 intake valves, bupkus. You see all kinds of comments on driveablity from folks who read a lot but never spent much time behind the wheel of one. That 69 goes exactly where you point it, no under or oversteer, just carves corners
I don’t remember my 69 Boss 302 being particularly weak driving around town, but it really woke up between 4500 and 7500 rpm. I’m sure the 3,91 gear helped around town performance, though. It’s been gone nearly thirty years.
I always thought the '69 had 2.300 valves and the '70 had 2.19. The one I drag raced in a Jeep and an Altered was a '70 engine. I had to replace the pistons, with TRW, as the original ones lacked the stiffening ribs inside the skirts. We bored and bushed the small ends of the rods, to make them float. From the factory, they came with a rev limiter, and some guys would disable it, spin the engine 7, 000, float those heavy valves and hit a piston, causing disaster. I ended up running a Crane camshaft, with triple springs, and ***anium retainers. For intake systems, I ran everything from the stock one with an 850 Holley, Shelby dual with 2- 600's, with gear drives and squirters to the back. It really came to life, when I installed a Weiand tunnel ram with 2-660's on cross-ways. It was a wonderful engine, all have left is 1 valve and lots of memories.
It will be fine cammed correctly . Get one for 6500 plus and you will be a sad sack . The stock cam with an AOD would be my choice but , again not Hamb Friendly . Want to brag about low end , run a ***mins
I would not put a C6 behind the Boss, unless you're on a budget and intend to do minimal improvements to the transmission. A C4 can be built to handle all of the power a normally aspirated small block can produce. Dynamic Racing Transmissions, a**** others, will agree.
2.73 gears behind a Boss 302? Why would anyone want to put highway gears behind a high-winding small block? I switched from 3.31 to 2.72 in my 55 Tbird/w 292 putting out about 270 hp. The cam has 214 duration @ .050/2 1800-5000 rpm range, mild compared to what should be in the Boss.Transmission is a C5/w C4 valve body, servos, and torque converter. To compensate for the 2.72 rear gears, the transmission has a Dynamic Racing Transmissions wide-ratio gear set-2.90 1st, 1.60 2nd, and 1:1 3rd. It's doubtful you will expect your Boss to cruise @ 2200 rpm at 65 mph. Do you want it to run, or run like it was designed to run? It was not designed to be a grocery-getter or highway cruiser.
A 302 Cleveland is an Aussie made engine that's a destroked 351C. The BOSS is a 302W block. I had a 302C that, according to the machine shop guy, had 351C4V valves in the head, seemed to run fine.
Actually, the point being is that hot rodding ALWAYS looked to the newest and best and never stagnated. We crow about tradition here. However, the tradition of hot rodding is always looking and seeking. It was never meant to be a museum. I can't tell you how many of my posts have been removed for being "one step over the line".
I concur. My post concerned cost. The baby C-6 is the budget route for durability. The race-built C-4 is preferred for weight and power savings if you have the $$$$. Joe
True. I'm running a set of aluminum heads that outflow the Boss head and it loves to cruise @ 2500-3000 rpm. Idle to 2500 runs like a VW. Lay down the pedal and it jumps like a rocket ship to Mars Joe
It would be interesting to see a few pics of what the owner actually has. If it is in fact a genuine Boss engine it should have a partial VIN on the rear left side of the block.
The Aussie Cleveland heads have 2-bbl Cleveland valves and 4-bbl Cleveland combustion chambers. Years ago, you could find articles for building a Clevor, which required a custom intake manifold. Those parts might still be available in Australia. An automatic/w overdrive might be useless if the torque converter's stall speed is significantly higher than your cruising rpm in overdrive. Determine your cam's rpm range for your particular application. Your cruising rpm and stall rpm should not be lower than the lower cam-range number. There are online calculators that will help you to determine optimum gearing that will work with your cam and tc stall speed. Keep in mind that advertised stall speed often is for big-block applications; small-block stall speed will be lower. Also, a heavier vehicle will have a higher stall than a lighter vehicle. Rather than buying an off-t******lf converter, you might want to consult with a custom builder.
You might want to take a look at this: camresearchcorp.com/wp.content/uploads/2013/09/mod_mustang_01.pdf.pdf According to the article, the OEM Boss 302 cam has 228 duration @ .050 and net valve lift of .477 (.500 before subtracting lash). Although Ford rated it at 290 hp/290 tq, the actual numbers were 373 hp/325 tq. Just looking at the cam numbers, I think they're very similar to the 289 K-code cam's. However, the Boss heads flowed much more than the K-code heads, which were stock 289 heads/w screw-in studs.
The parts are still available, we just built the exact engine a few years ago for our racecar. We purchased a new intake manifold from Edlebrock. Bones
Valve size for 69 is 2.230 and 70 2.190, same exhaust sizes. The 69 head is a totally different head then the 70. They were much improved. I still have several Boss 302's sitting around here. I use to run my 68 on the highway with 5.14 gears and a close ratio top loader. I have run one with a C4 and did have a loose converter, ran real well when you have them wound up!
A 10" converter/w 3000 rpm stall speed should put you in the ballpark, so looking for gearing and tires that will put your cruise speed at/above 3000 rpm.
There used to be a pair at Fremont, an early Mustang and a Maverick, that would run together and launch at 10K+, those engines have a howl all their own when revved up. It was kinda wild when the 69 Trans-Am cars ran twin Dominators on the B2s- and they were compe***ive. The 70 1x4 setups worked better. The 70 TA cars had a powerband from 4500-8500, pretty much zilch below 4500
Not all Boss blocks have a number. Quite a few Boss engines were replaced under warranty because of the bad piston skirt design/failure. The block in my Comet is a “Service Block”, when I bought the Mus**** back in ‘72 it had the factory heads, intake, pan, etc. but the block itself did not have the DOZ numbers. Yes, it has screw in freeze plugs, four bolt mains, windage tray, and 3/8” rod bolts.
I can not remember what the specs of my X grind cam are but I think it’s greater than a OEM Boss 302 cam . I have for many years given thought to closed chamber C heads , but why ? I never stab the throttle anymore . After all I ride a Shovel that’s AMF built . What’s does that say for need for speed !
Holman-Moody supposedly has OEM-spec K-code cams. Their website list 3 cams, 2 of which are mechanical. A couple of people claim that the K-code cam will "wake up" a Boss. However, if you're considering replacing the cam, I would look at modern roller cams, but you'll need the linked lifters.
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