why would anybody build up a 302?

[Tailites]

dont you think its a good question?...think about it...the 351w is light years ahead of the little grocery getter 302

& has so many advantages that a lot of car guys know & understand

eg...guy does a 347 stroker on a 302...with copious amounts of cash inside a block that can barely take 500 hp without

puking its guts at the track...sure its been done...but not often

spend the same money on a 351...do a stroker like a 408 or 427...& we all know how the rime goes about cubes

but the biggest plus is the 351 is just more robust in so many areas...

you can turbo them or SC...spray the snot outta em...in fact I havent heard of one splitting

seen some bent rods come outta one...but it didnt break

now I like the 302...its what I have...fun little motor to mod...etc

but its a stock block & internals...if it blows...theres another one somewhere for cheap

most of you guys know the differences between the two motors...pls post your thoughts on where you would spend your loot

ya ya I know...put an LS in it...lets just keep it Ford content for now

[Speedtospare]

Its cheaper so put a 302 in a car that already has a 302. No other advantage.

[hsousa88]

I guess it comes down to what you want out of it... for me, building my 302 will give me more than enough power I need to have a little fun on the weekends.

[b1lk1]

I'm fine with how quickly my little 302 can put me in jail. Also for me, I had it and parts are a dime a dozen. 351 is a bit more $$$ to get done, maybe someday, but realistically I'll likely have a 302 for a very long time.

[Tailites]

well honestly...mine (302) is a blast...but I think if I was going to get serious about racing

& keeping it all Ford & reasonably priced...it would be 351 based

[tulowd]

A complete 351 is a heavy pig in the front of an already nose heavy car, and wont easily clear the stock hood with a real intake. Add in the expense of headers and some other 351 only things that need to be swapped it is a more expensive build. I thought about it, but it doesn't make sense for a road race directed car unless you can go all aluminum.

I think for a budget drag or street cruiser it would be awesome - a low rpm 500 hp motor would likely cost half of what my 333 did.

[onDjuice]

LS ftw.. free post

[Ponyryd]

Probably because it's more readily available and takes less to make that amount of power with boost. If you wanna stay n/a then sure, 351 it. But as stated there are a lot of differences that you would need to account for to make it work in a 302 car. It's not as easy as dropping it into a Mustang and plugging it it, the front accessory drive is different, oil pan, headers, intakes, etc...all this stuff adds up very quickly when you need to buy it, not to mention the extra weight.
If you're really confused about it, think about how many guys actually need more than 500hp from their 302, not that many. It's a lot of work for not that much more useable power.

[Tailites]

LS ftw.. free post

nice...:)...

& your Fox has a...?

[redo75]

Deck height for 351 block is an issue in some applications. Not by much but can be a problem.

[onDjuice]

nice...:)...

& your Fox has a...?

Still has the 5.0 in between the fenders bro. But waiting in the wings is 6.0l with a o/d trans.

[stangabang]

My next block will be a Dart 363. Just wasn't in the cards this year.

[b1lk1]

If you have to buy a harness for a LSx swap and then pay for a tuner/tuning program you will have spent as much as it costs for a dart 302 block.

Only thing cheap about the LSx swap is the motor/tranny combo. You'll still spend thousands getting it to fit and work, you're not saving money. Important upside to the LSx is that even the lowliest 4.8L will make incredible power reliably with a stock longblock, add good parts and the power goes up exponentially.

LSx swaps are for those that have the extra $$$. I do not, a 302 will always grace my fenderwells, not because I wouldn't do the swap, I just realistically cannot afford it. Best part for me is people dumping 302 stuff so cheap I already have almost 2 complete motors and will just keep adding to my stash, lol.

[onDjuice]

^^^ You would be surprised how cheap a LS can be..

[onDjuice]

Used low k motor (2005)and up complete with harness and ecm for around 1200 bucks.

[b1lk1]

I know how cheap they are, I sold 3 of them. I'm talking all the extra bits you need to make/buy to finish the swap. Wiring/tuning alone is $1K+ if paying someone.

If you have the $$$$ I'm definitely a HUGE fan of the LSx swaps, crazy streetable power. Just out of my league. To put my budget into perspective I had to scrape up the $40 I needed for a new bypass hose and coolant.

[TurboFox]

its a whole lot cheaper compared to simply buying a set of aluminum heads for a SBF

[Slope]

its a whole lot cheaper compared to simply buying a set of aluminum heads for a SBF

Go away.

[Tailites]

ok...so whats the general consensus around here?...

we build 302s because we already have em?

[TurboFox]

honestly if you are happy with 300hp then by all means keep the SBF.

But the cost of an LS ECU pales in comparison to all the components an SBF needs to make decent power.

I went the expensive route and dropped 2k on the holley hp efi.

So figure you build a ford set up instead and keep your factory ECU. Well 90% of the people will go need to drop $500 on a tune just to get the thing to run right.

With my ECU, it takes care of itself. :)

[b1lk1]

ANd you obviously got the money to play.

I'm happy enough with 300hp, sure more would be better and I am gonna stroke out my spare 302 and if some day I am graced with 400hp I'll feel lucky.

[Tailites]

honestly if you are happy with 300hp then by all means keep the SBF.

why would anybody be happy with that?...the 302 just needs to be pressurized a tad...

[TurboFox]

why would anybody be happy with that?...the 302 just needs to be pressurized a tad...

then its not worth it.

[TurboFox]

ANd you obviously got the money to play.

I'm happy enough with 300hp, sure more would be better and I am gonna stroke out my spare 302 and if some day I am graced with 400hp I'll feel lucky.

Theres nothing wrong with that. Its when people want 500+hp when the game changes and the SBF becomes an epic money pit

[onDjuice]

why would anybody be happy with that?...the 302 just needs to be pressurized a tad...

Well i just dont like the ideal of splitting my block..

[onDjuice]

Lets get back to the op thread..

[b1lk1]

I'd love to have a 400HP+ 302 someday, even though that almost definitely means a supercharger. I also am jealous and live vicariously through you guys that can both afford and put together some of the rocket ships on this forum. My car will never be up to that level.

I will keep building my 302 because I can and I have parts. But for $1200, I could buy 2-3 302s and maybe even a few T5's, lol.

As I said, if you can do it, you'd be a fool to buy a dart block over a LSx swap. I will never have the money, outside the lottery, to have much more or faster of a car than I have, which still puts a major smile on my face every time I drive it.