[78-Ghia]

Hello everyone.
I recently bought a 1978 ghia.It has the 302 and is tired and worn out.

My end goal is to build a respectable streecar.I have never took on a project like this before,so this will be my first one.I know absolutely nothing about motors.But would like to learn.

I'm basically looking for some help on what parts I am going to want to go with for this project.Any help would be appreciated.

Like I said I am new to this scene-So I am not sure on where to even begin...Please help me.

[74stang2togo]

Subscribe to Car Craft and Mustang Monthly. Both do engine buildups with 289s, 302s, 351s, and stroker variants of them on a monthly basis or so. Car Craft just did a 331 stroker that made 500 horsepower and revs to 7000rpm with ease this past month.

Mustang Monthly is the better mag if you only want Ford and Mustang specific info, but if you want to learn how to be an all-around better car guy, Car Craft is the mag to learn from. I actually owe almost all of my automotive know-how to Car Craft and Chevy High Performance magazines, their tech articles are un-matched in the industry... None of the Ford-specific mags teach as much, they're more about showing what is out there instead of what to do with it, but Mustang Monthly is by far the best Ford mag to learn from.

[78-Ghia]

Appreciate the info on the engine-
Looks like I have to figure out something about my rearend before I go building this motor.

[brokenhorse]

Hey guy keep in mind that the mustang ll 302 at most from the factory kicks out about 140 to 150 horse max (stock)Dont't be mis led by the thought of 302 or 5.0 the mustang ll was a gas saver in a time when the gas wars were in force.Thats why it was a knock off of the pinto and mav. If you look close ae the fenders and body you will see the pinto and mav in it.Even the cobra ll it looks more like a pinto on crack..Get the front end out of a good t bird and cut the car some and drop a 460 out of a lincoln into it.that way when you place you foot into it.You know that it will do what you want.I loke to look at the 5.0 as just good info as to how much oil that it will hold..

[74stang2togo]

Originally Posted by brokenhorse

Hey guy keep in mind that the mustang ll 302 at most from the factory kicks out about 140 to 150 horse max (stock)Dont't be mis led by the thought of 302 or 5.0 the mustang ll was a gas saver in a time when the gas wars were in force.Thats why it was a knock off of the pinto and mav. If you look close ae the fenders and body you will see the pinto and mav in it.Even the cobra ll it looks more like a pinto on crack..Get the front end out of a good t bird and cut the car some and drop a 460 out of a lincoln into it.that way when you place you foot into it.You know that it will do what you want.I loke to look at the 5.0 as just good info as to how much oil that it will hold..

Umm... you can make as much (or as little) power as you want out of a 302.

The blocks are pretty much the same from 1967 through 2001, with only minor changes to the lifter valley and the rear main seal being of enough significance to dictate what you do with any particular block.

My 1976 Mustang II is currently running it's bone-stock 302 2-bbl. while I bolt it's new engine together on the engine stand.

The new engine? Well, I started with a 1995 Ford 302 roller-cam block, I've got the short-block together with new forged pistons, all new bearings, new oil pump, and got a new Art Carr flexplate in a box for it so I can run the later-model engine with my original C4 bellhousing and torque converter. I'm just waiting on that big brown UPS truck with my heads from Trick Flow and all my EFI pieces so I can finish bolting it all together and get the car plumbed and wired for it. When I'm done??? Will be putting about 350 horsepower out at the flywheel, and still be capable of 20mpg or more on the highway.

The stock 460s didn't approach either number. Bone-stock the majority of 460s Ford put out only made between 185-220 horsepower. They came out in the early 70s, when horsepower was already going out of style in Detroit, and were choked down even more heavily by emissions gear than the 302s in the Mustang II. I had a 1975 Ford Thunderbird with one, drove that car for 2 years. It only woke up after I ditched all the smog gear and swapped out the stock carburetor for a Holley, and even then she was only putting out about 190 horsepower at the rear wheels (since she had an automatic tranny, that'd be about 230-240 at the flywheel at best).

And as far as getting the front end out of a T-bird to fit to a II... you're dreaming amigo, you could park a Mustang II on the hood of any T-bird that had a 460 from the factory. The cars were that much wider and longer.