i work in a parts store and selling the parts i can say this "huge difference" in price is ****. yes you can get sbc parts a little cheaper but a 302 is not the same as building dodge or a bbc for that matter. +1 for the sbf. im just not a fan of crossbreeding.
Since the 5.0 mustang came out parts for the 302 are almost as cheap as the sbc,a 289 waterpump will get you some more room up front. You will have to cut the firewall with both motors and with the distributor in the back on a sbc it looks like it would be a ***** to get the distributor out if the need would arise. When I was looking for a 4 bbl intake for the 302 I have in my daily driver it was a little more then a sbc but if you are going to cry about a extra 15 to 20 dollars for some parts then you should just sell what you have and never build a car because no matter what you use you will find parts cheaper after you bought them anyway so use what you got and go from there.
True hot rod style dictates that you run whatcha' got. You "got" a 302 with a nice overdrive on it. Run it.
Where do you get your info that a sbc is more dependable than a ford...?? I laughed pretty hard at that statement you must be an expert.....right???
no, its the chevy cars that look goofy. as far as the motor goes with some shopping there is no difference so i would keep the ford. heck you allready have it. as far as the size who cares there is a heck of alot bigger motors out there and people run em all the time. hp wise the ford outguns the chevy all things being equal. check out cam profiles, compression figures etc. and i think you'll find the ford has better tq/hp figures with less, meaning the stock heads outbreathe the chevys. not rocket science you can check it out. sure people will say it aint so but easy to check out. personnaly i have them all and am partial to pontiacs. my personal ride is a 56 ford mainline mild custom with a 300-6. my wife's is a 55 f100 with a buick (buford). just make up your mind and dont look back. ultimately its your car and...angle plugs right from the get go
The "Chevy is cheaper" argument is ****. They are not cheaper. You just have to shop wiser on some items. Another thing, if you were (and I don't think you are) looking at a create motor, if Chevies are cheaper, why do they all cost the same? Look at Blueprint engines catalog and see the Hp/torque figures for the Mopars and Fords compared to the chevies. Obviously those guys can get the parts for the same price. Also consider that you need to put more aftermarket parts in a Chevy to make it as stout as the Ford (or Mopar). Why do so many people use Chevies? It's called a herd mentality. Why build a car to have something different and original, and use exactly the same thing 9/10ths of the population is using?
I've heard the "chevy is cheaper so I'll use it" line so often that anymore when I see an sbc in an old ford my first thot is, "I wonder what else the builder cut corners on?" Go with the 302.
You could what a guy at the alter boys show did. He had a sbc with the ford blue ovel on the valve covers. Hell no one would know the difference
The only people who wouldn't know are the same people who need to read the "hotrod" badge that someone is selling to tell it's a hotrod.
There was a time when Chevy's were considerably cheaper to build than Fords - not any more. Maybe a couple of bucks but not significant. Thats old news! I had a 302 in my Model A with Mustang Steering, 4 bar, I put a 302 in the 29 RPU with a Vega and the front sump pan is fine. My 32 has a front sump 302 with Vega as well, and next week I'll be pulling a BBC out of a 33 coupe to put in a 302. the other nice thing about the small block Henry is it's a little over 100 lbs lighter then the Chevy!
so sick of put a ford in a ford put a sbc in and piss them all off it a hot rod put what you like in it the only ford motor i would have is a y_blockthen it would be driffrent but i be broke
so I got to ask, if you 'picked' up a 331/354/392 HEMI would you have even posted? and you sure as **** would have had more problems fitting it. plenty of ford powered rods here in Australia, you can get a short waterpump for them or and adaptor to shorten it even more. its your car, what ever floats your boat. Sell the motor to a ford guy he will appreciate it. and if your worried on cost, then best not to open up any engine to build they all cost money, and that few dollars you save you will spend else where its a circular arguement
A couple of points to consider rather than opinions, The ford has the dist on the front, you can run a large diameter cap without cutting another recess into your firewall. There are variuos ford cars that came stock with "headers" or tubular manifolds. Cobra mustangs and some thunderbirds come to mind. There is a huge following of 5.0 mustang guys, find some of them and get cast off parts cheap. The ford small block is around 100 lbs lighter than a small block chev.
hmmm...i'm in that club, there are only 6 of us, and for the life of me i can't imagine any of us doing that.
Ford in a Ford...New President just p***ed that law today... Why not be different ? any one can do a copy cat SBC,,,Its a few bucks more for the Ford ,but there won"t be 50 more like it at the outing your attending...
put the sbf in your car ,you can't pay me to put a chevy engine in my coupe. as for power & dependability ford all the way.
In a lightweight car like yours, I would keep the Ford. The distrubiter is on the front where it belongs and you cant beat the sound of a sbf exhaust. Now on the other hand if you are looking for all out horsepower I would go with a 409 Chevy. JB2wheeler
I had always been a Chevy guy,,, and in a lot of respects I still am, about 2 years ago my son got himself a Mustang, this was my first Ford performance build after lots of Chevy builds. We did a stroked 351 to a 408. I was impressed enough with the little Ford that I yanked the BBC out of my 39 for it's latest incarnation. In my opinion the stock 4" bore of the 289/302/351 is an area where the ford is one up on the SBC. I also think that especially regarding the aftermarket variety, the head design is marginally better on the Windsor also. Yea, a sBC is a little cheaper to build, but the difference ain't much to write home about. And yea, there are a few more pieces and parts to match up with the Ford, but still it ain't a big deal to figure out... In spite of my screen name here, I am pretty much a Chevy guy, but for this build I am stepping out against the status quo for old Fords... My .02
I am running a 302 in my 31 Tudor. The reason is because i am more of a ford man than chevy. Everyone has chevy motors. Yea they are easy to work on and parts are everywhere. BUT!!!! Arent mustangs like A-Holes everyone has one????? so parts cant be that hard to find and they are great on gas. and you can find 302 parts at any autozone. So if you spend an extra 100 dollars to buy an intake and headers does it really matter??? I say go with the 302 because more people will give you comments on putting a ford in a ford opposed to a chevy. Be different!!! But is putting a ford motor in a ford different??? thats how they came right?? hahahah lol
i'm sorry i did not mean one of you guys. It was a roadster at your show. No you guys would not do that.
I have a build 302 (347) in by '32 3W and I love it. The best advice is... do what will make you happy. If you are trying to make a period correct '50s era hotrod, the 302 is not the right engine obviously considering it did not come out until the 60s. As far as engine length. The SBF is longer. That is a fact. The SBC 350 if I remember correctly is 27" from the rear to the water pump pulley stock and the SBF is 27.5" with the short water pump. Without the short water pump you need to add another 1.5" to the Ford. If you get the short water pump, make sure you get a pulley that will fit. Ford racing makes the pump but does not make pulleys to fit it. Don't ask how I know. However, on the Ford, you can slam it really close to the firewall without having to cut away for the distributor. There's a plus. As far as parts prices. I have found that they are close to the same these days. However, you may find it difficult at times to find things made for the Ford. For example, at one point I was looking for a v-belt kit to put AC on my car (it get very hot where I am) and I could find them for the Chevy but not the Ford. Not a big deal. I will just make my own. I have mine mated with a Tremec 5 speed and have Sanderson longtubes on it. Let me know if you decide to go with the 302 and need any help getting the steering or anything to fit. There are some challenges... but hell... that's hotrodding!!! If I wanted to do what everyone else did, it would have been easy to put a SBC in it and I would have a belly ****on just like everyone else! No offence, but that just isn't me.
I went with a 289,in my model A plenty of parts and deals to to made at swapmeets. my whole engine is a swapmeet,just cleaned up!!! http://
been running the same 302 in my heavy '59 ford ragtop for 22 years with no internal problems. water pump, fuel pump...normal stuff that wears out yeah, but you cannot beat the sbf for lasting dependability.
I am going with a 302 and 4 speed and will not even consider a Chevy motor . They are a dime a dozen and if you want to look like everyone elses ride then fine . I go by the old rule where Chevy into Chevy --Ford into Ford --OLDS into OLDS--Pontaic into Pontaic --Mopar into Mopar and so on . The only exception to my rule is a Mopar 440/6 PK will fit into anything ! It's your ride so do what you want to with it . It cost a lot more money to start over again . I am a Ford guy and love "Y Blocks" so try to find speed parts for that one cheap ! Have fun with your ride that's all that counts !
Through the years...we probably built 5to7 times as many SBC's as we did SCF's; while on the streets, the ratio was real very close to even...why you ask...they just kept breaking the Chevy's........IMHO....the MOPARs were even better. I still say this.. 'if it says Ford on it; put a Ford in it" ...the same goes for all !! That's my 2cents for what it's worth.
302 and AOD because it is what you already have, IMO. 1995-early 1997 5.0 Explorers and Mountaineers have desireable heads which can be found in JY's, and later 1997's had great heads. Look for GT or GTP below #1 ex. valve. Even the E7TE heads are better than what ya got. Junkyard budget, still cheaper than buying a SBC and matching trans. Also Lokar makes an AOD to carb adapter for the TV cable. But it's totally up to you.
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