...Can I ask another question? In general, were there any differences of consequence in Mercury 302's compared to those in Ford vehicles either back in the days of Cougar/Mustang or later Cougar/T-Bird or Mustang/Capri, etc.
Zippo.........other than heads, pistons and cams. The 302 was pretty lame from the mid 70's till they started with the roller cams and fuel injection. But all the smog motors are in the items above, not the basic motors. If you are really going to rebuild one then you get to choose all the guts. Depending on what you are trying to build, you want to be very careful on head selection. They are all interchangable but some of them are real dogs.
If you have specific questions about what components to choose to accomplish a specific goal, this is the place to ask. These people live and breath SBF's
Sounds like I'm going backward in wanting an older engine. If everything is interchangeable like people have said, I guess it doesn't matter and there is no reason to want an older engine unless you're looking for serial number matches or some such.
Can I ask another question? In general, were there any differences of consequence in Mercury 302's compared to those in Ford vehicles either back in the days of Cougar/Mustang or later Cougar/T-Bird or Mustang/Capri, etc.
Bingo and no differences I've ever heard of with the mercs. The last Capri to share a frame with the mustang was 1986 so it would be hampered by a poor head design (swirl quench or something like that) as compared with 87 and up E-7s and even worst than the explorer Gt40"p"'s. To clarify, there are two GT40 heads. They are not the same. The "p" series came on explorers and had the "explorer intake" which was an unmarked 93 Cobra intake (this is why you want that engine/ intake for trade material). The "p" series head is a great little performance bump over the E-7 which came in 87-93 5.0 mustangs (30 hp or so). The "p" series head does require special headers but I put on MAC shorties which at that time were the only headers for the "P"series. The regular GT-40 series came factory on the 93 Cobra ( I think it had 1.84/ and 1.54 valves) . In modified form the GT-40 is capable of using a higher lift and duration cam. The "p" I believe has smaller valves but a better combustion chamber design (hence the need for special headers) and stops at .500 max lift which is what makes it a great little engine for a mildly modded street car. Should provide good power and great reliablity. I got my "p" heads NIB (Ford motorsports boxes) and new motorsports rockers for $500 on craigslist (where's the bandit/thief icon Lol). Pull a part should be loaded with Explorers and mountaineers, just don't accidently get a cash for clunkers car.
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Your typical Terminator with all the usual mods Ford meant for you to do right after you left the showroom.
+1 yep. Roller motors began in 1985. The last carbed motor was the first roller cam. In 86 fuel injection began but the head design actually went backward....until 87. The 87-93 cars have the roller cams and E-7 heads which put 5.0 performance on the map. The 87-88 cars (unless you had a California 88) were speed density. The 89-93 had mass air which made them so darn loveable.
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Your typical Terminator with all the usual mods Ford meant for you to do right after you left the showroom.
......I got my "p" heads NIB (Ford motorsports boxes) and new motorsports rockers for $500 on craigslist (where's the bandit/thief icon Lol). Pull a part should be loaded with Explorers and mountaineers, just don't accidently get a cash for clunkers car.
the "P" heads are super duper for boat engines. Unlike all the other head's plug placement, I no longer have to use a box end wrench to get my plugs out.
Marine exhaust manis sweep upward. With the "P" head plugs having been rotated down and straight out, now a socket will slide right on to them. Plus they breathe oh so good when you bump the anemic marine compression up from 8.0:1 to 9.0:1; Voila, a late, now carburated Explorer motor.
Were the heads/intake you're discussing limited to the Explorer or would they have been installed in some Ford trucks at the same time as well?
I never hear anyone discussing grabbing truck heads of that era. Your other source would be mercury mountaineers but in the forums you will eclusively hear references to "explorer" heads or "explorer" intakes.
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Your typical Terminator with all the usual mods Ford meant for you to do right after you left the showroom.
I picked-up the "Rebuilding The Small Block Ford" book this evening. Looks like a TON of information with lots of color photos, charts, references to after-market sources, etc. I can't put it down! I have a couple of options on a 302 or 5.0 engine and I'm going to pick one up in the next couple of days. Between the stuff I already know, the book, and this website I should be in good shape and can't wait to get started! Thanks again for the help.
Zippo.........other than heads, pistons and cams. The 302 was pretty lame from the mid 70's till they started with the roller cams and fuel injection. But all the smog motors are in the items above, not the basic motors. If you are really going to rebuild one then you get to choose all the guts. Depending on what you are trying to build, you want to be very careful on head selection. They are all interchangable but some of them are real dogs.
If you have specific questions about what components to choose to accomplish a specific goal, this is the place to ask. These people live and breath SBF's
The 302/5.0 is a wonderful motor. For the most part Ford never maximized it's potential. Kinda like closing the barn door after the cows have wandered out, but the aftermarket has gone nuts with improvements for this lightweight powerhouse. Even Ford Motor Sports has jumped into the game.
IMHO, this motor will last as long as there is oil to power it even though it is now long out of production. The sky is certainly the limit and they are eating the shorts off of SFC's these days.
I picked-up the "Rebuilding The Small Block Ford" book this evening. Looks like a TON of information with lots of color photos, charts, references to after-market sources, etc. I can't put it down! I have a couple of options on a 302 or 5.0 engine and I'm going to pick one up in the next couple of days. Between the stuff I already know, the book, and this website I should be in good shape and can't wait to get started! Thanks again for the help.
Keep us informed of your progress. Hopefully once you build it you will put it in a mustang chassis. Ask before you buy a chassis because I'm sure we can be beneficial there too. Best of luck. This will be something your son will cherish in later years and hopefully will pass down.
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Your typical Terminator with all the usual mods Ford meant for you to do right after you left the showroom.
and no differences I've ever heard of with the mercs. The last Capri to share a frame with the mustang was 1986 so it would be hampered by a poor head design (swirl quench or something like that) as compared with 87 and up E-7s and even worst than the explorer Gt40"p"'s. To clarify, there are two GT40 heads. They are not the same. The "p" series came on explorers and had the "explorer intake" which was an unmarked 93 Cobra intake (this is why you want that engine/ intake for trade material). The "p" series head is a great little performance bump over the E-7 which came in 87-93 5.0 mustangs (30 hp or so). The "p" series head does require special headers but I put on MAC shorties which at that time were the only headers for the "P"series. The regular GT-40 series came factory on the 93 Cobra ( I think it had 1.84/ and 1.54 valves) . In modified form the GT-40 is capable of using a higher lift and duration cam. The "p" I believe has smaller valves but a better combustion chamber design (hence the need for special headers) and stops at .500 max lift which is what makes it a great little engine for a mildly modded street car. Should provide good power and great reliablity. I got my "p" heads NIB (Ford motorsports boxes) and new motorsports rockers for $500 on craigslist (where's the bandit/thief icon Lol). Pull a part should be loaded with Explorers and mountaineers, just don't accidently get a cash for clunkers car.
Plus they breathe oh so good when you bump the anemic marine compression up from 8.0:1 to 9.0:1; Voila, a late, now carburated Explorer motor.
