[motogpfan]

OK, please be gentle. I'm new at this.

I want to rebuild a Ford 302 with my son to help him learn. Ideally I'd like to get a 60's or early 70's engine in need of a rebuild, put it on the stand, and go to work (I've done this before, just not with a 302). I want to build a no-smog, no electronics, carbureted, and distributor V-8. At what point is an engine "too new"? For example, can I get a 90s 302 and put an old style intake manifold and carburetor on it? Can I put an old-style distributor on a newer 302 or is there no provision for that? Would I just save myself a lot of headaches by making sure I get a 60's or early 70's block/heads/etc?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[cindys_sn95]

all the parts interchange. with the later block you do have the advantage of hydraulic roller cam, you just get a distributor with steel gear for it.

[Thecapitan08]

The only dumb question is one not asked. Id go with the late 80's early 90's blocks for the cam as stated about. all you need is an upper intake for a carb and the distributor.

[2oo5GT]

I carb'd my 95GT 302, +1 to what they said.

[Snake Pliskin]

+ 1 on going for a roller motor. 85-95 should get you there. I would try for an explorer motor if you are using stock heads. That way you get GT40p's and the cobra intake. Sell the intake and recoup some of the cost of your intake and carb.

[ti8589]

i even traded the efi setup off an 89 for an edelbrock intake and carb with a guy on craig's list. I think i got the better deal

[Dave]

Lots of good advise above. The Explorer heads need special headers no matter what chassis it's going in but they are good heads. If running a manual with the mechanical clutch linkage, that takes a special bracket with the later engines. Avoid any '73-76' 302 because of all the smog related things done to the motor. Other than that, glad to see a father and son working on a project that I'm sure you'll both be happy with. Any problems pop up, just jump right back in with the questions. What chassis/year is this going into by the way?
Dave

[Snake Pliskin]

Oh yeah, Great idea dad!

[motogpfan]

Well, thanks a lot for all the responses so quickly. I think I might stick around here for awhile......seems like a great resource.

I'll try to answer a couple of the questions with a little background. I'm a 50 y/o Dad of two, one of who LOVES cars, bikes, etc. Worked on Formula Ford, Formula Ford 2000, and Formula Atlantic cars, road-raced motorcycles, and worked on road-race motorcycles. My son and I currently road race minis (me: Honda NSR50; him: Yamaha YSR50). When I was a lot younger I had '67 Mustang convertible and a '68 hardtop that I worked on with my Dad. My son has done a lot of bike work with me through the years and some car work. He started at Vo-Tech this year for auto mechanics and I'm thinking that tearing down a pushrod V-8 would be a good winter project along with rebuilding the bikes. I don't know where it will lead.....I'd love to get into it and move toward a full-car restoration starting next year if the interest and money is there. I'm open to all kind of ideas but still have a soft spot (like a lot of other folks!) for the 65-68 Mustangs and '69-'70's as well.

Thanks again for the warm welcome and all the information. I think I can pick-up a fairly complete 1995 302 pretty cheaply and close-by....I'll probably just go for that, get an engine stand, and start disassembling, tagging, reading, etc.

[Boomyal]

Whadya plan on puttin it in? To keep things in perspective, you should refer to any roller cam motor as a 5.0. The critical difference is the (im)balance between the 302's and the roller cam 5.0's. The prior is 28 oz and the latter is 50 oz. This will make a difference in the front damper and pulley selection as well as the flywheel.

[motogpfan]

Thanks for the clarification in terminology. If I understand what you're saying, I should refer to a flat-tappet engine as a 302 and a roller as a 5.0? In what year was the switch made? I don't think I understand what you're saying about the 28oz/50oz difference. Are you talking about the tappets?

[cindys_sn95]

it refers to the harmonic balancers. up to i think 79 they used a 28 oz. and after a 50 oz. imbalance. but they are ALL 302s....

[Boomyal]

Originally Posted by motogpfan

Thanks for the clarification in terminology. If I understand what you're saying, I should refer to a flat-tappet engine as a 302 and a roller as a 5.0? In what year was the switch made? I don't think I understand what you're saying about the 28oz/50oz difference. Are you talking about the tappets?

I believe that 1985 was the year they went to the 5.0 liter roller cam motors. The balance factor relates to both the front damper and the flywheel. When they made the balance change, they also changed flywheel sizes and the front pulley/damper configs.

So many people are using the later 5.0's in earlier vehicles, now all the suppliers (jegs, summit, etc) carry conversion flywheels and dampers so that you can fit earlier clutch and trans requirements and still accomodate all the early pulley configs that need the earlier size/shape damper but still have the required 50 oz balance.

[motogpfan]

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.

[1978CobraII]

Question. What type of cam came stock in a 70 302 then?