I have this 302 of dubious lineage sitting around the shop. Its comprete with computer and wiring harness.
I do know that it is not a roller cam.
Considering that I would want to do a rebuild with new heads and a new cam, is it worth it as a starting point or would I be better off to keep looking for an HO engine out of a Mustang (Mustang stuff in Canada is expen$ive)
I think the FI is also less than ideal, so since I do want the final result to be FI, should that be the defining factor?
not enough information
is it a truck engine? if so, check and see which heads it has on it- i believe the castings you want are "E7TE".. if it has those, then it's a simple matter to make it into a roller cam engine with a drill, tap, and all the oem roller parts..
Being a roller isn't all that important you just have to run a solid lifter cam
What kind of HP and Torque are you looking for in the final build?
Sorry, forgot to attach the picture.
I want this to be a long legged cruiser, something that can move a 2400lb car down the highway at a relaxed 2300-2500 rpm, and still be able to get out of the way if required.
The plan calls for a set of 65 cc AFR heads to keep weight down and help with breathing.
My wild-ass thought is that if I can build a 300 hp 300 ft/lb engine that works in my cruising range, it should do the job.
that's got a Mustang oil pan on it.. i think they used the same oil pan in the full size cars- LTD, Marquis.. looks like a passenger car intake- i bet it's got a roller cam in it.
Doesn't really matter if it has a roller or not one can be installed by just getting the required parts from a Pick-N-Pull and adding the cam of your choise! Take any set of aluminum heads that are available, add a cam with near 0.500 inch lift, headers and any aftermarket intake and you're at 300 HP. Just make sure that the cam you use is designed for FI.
Just an FYI. I owned a 1993 Cobra. With just a bigger Mass Air meter, ported Cobra intake, GT40-X aluminum heads, and LT headers my 302 made 275 HP at the wheels. That's about 325 at the flywheel. Stock shortblock and cam.
NOHOME wrote: I want this to be a long legged cruiser, something that can move a 2400lb car down the highway at a relaxed 2300-2500 rpm, and still be able to get out of the way if required.
I have a roller 5.0 in front of a T5 and 3.73s in the Mustang and a truck 5.0 in front of an E4OD and 3.55s in the Bronco. 2400 rpm isn't relaxed cruising with either.
With stock gearing these motors were designed to cruise at 1500-1700 rpm.
From the sounds of things you are looking for more torque than HP. Everything you want to do is easily done with just about any 302. add a cam, heads, intake and headers. Your RPM range is a tad high though V8's like to basically idle down the highway.
In reply to dean1484:
No issue with lower rpm!
All my experience with road cars has been 4 cylinder.
Used to play with drag cars and offshore boats, theycertainly were not low rpm toys!
ReverendDexter wrote:NOHOME wrote: I want this to be a long legged cruiser, something that can move a 2400lb car down the highway at a relaxed 2300-2500 rpm, and still be able to get out of the way if required.I have a roller 5.0 in front of a T5 and 3.73s in the Mustang and a truck 5.0 in front of an E4OD and 3.55s in the Bronco. 2400 rpm isn't relaxed cruising with either. With stock gearing these motors were designed to cruise at 1500-1700 rpm.
an itty bitty 2400 pound car could be geared to get you down into the 1500rpm range at cruising speed without lugging even a stock 302.. at 2500rpm, you'd be giving up a bunch of fuel economy and making a lot of extra noise..
NOHOME wrote: I want this to be a long legged cruiser, something that can move a 2400lb car down the highway at a relaxed 2300-2500 rpm, and still be able to get out of the way if required. The plan calls for a set of 65 cc AFR heads to keep weight down and help with breathing. My wild-ass thought is that if I can build a 300 hp 300 ft/lb engine that works in my cruising range, it should do the job.
I've got a 302 with around 200 hp hauling it's own big ass self (a good 2 tons) along with a couple extra tons from time-to=time. With all the torque, there's no problem when I get on it, of course that could depend on what 302 you have... Soooo....
Alister91 wrote: Considering that I would want to do a rebuild with new heads and a new cam, is it worth it as a starting point or would I be better off to keep looking for an HO engine out of a Mustang (Mustang stuff in Canada is expen$ive)
what is this engine out of? figure out what it is before deciding whether to use it or not..
most of the parts in an LTD or truck 302 are the same as the Mustang, with a different cam and maybe different head castings and different calibration in the ecm.
i'd use it as a base and go from there. we did this when we swapped a friends 4 cylinder 89 Mustang (that he paid $300 for) to a 302 out of an 88 Grand Marquis (i was given the whole car for free..). he threw away all the efi stuff and went with a carb, got a set of junkyard E7TE heads that we put a set of Ford Motorsport valve springs to match the Ford E303 cam he put in it. we reused all the factory roller lifters, pushrods, and rocker arms. other than running a hone thru the cylinders and putting new rings, bearings, gaskets, and timing chain set in it that's all that we did and it's a beast that has held together since 2004. it ran 9 second 1/8th mile times and gets close to 20mpg with 4.10 gears and a T5 trans..
I'll see if I can get any pictures. My friend had a 302 HO bored out a little bit in a Crown Victoria LTD. Rumor was, it was pushing around 400 hp. I don't know how true that was, but I'm pretty sure it was on a dyno before it left the shop. The neat thing was how clean it was... before it was wrecked. I had to tow it to the shop after that one.
My neighbor had a stroke recently and walks over while I'm working on one of the vehicles to share some cheap rum, which is usually. If he needs a ride, I drive him up to wherever and he gives me some beer. I don't mind. Poor guy has trouble getting into my truck. Hes an old drunk. Used to stand on the porch and watch traffic after he got fired from Advance. His late father was a great customer of mine at RadioShack, back in the good ole days. Anyway, to get to the point, hes got this sweet LTD Interceptor with a 429 just sitting in the garage. Hasn't been licensed in years. I've been trying to get a hold of that old thang, but I have too many cars already and Wifey would probably have my head on a platter. My uncle is already on me because my S13 is in his barn. Hell its probably the only thing holding it up. 
Durrr.. Uhhh... /thredjack? Carry on.
Our 95gt convertibe mustang only has CAI and exhaust and the stock 3.08 gears in the rear and we average about 28mpg highway and something like 18mpg city
It has a stock t5 out of a 2000 v6 mustang and cruises at around 1600rpm at 55mph
novaderrik wrote: an itty bitty 2400 pound car could be geared to get you down into the 1500rpm range at cruising speed without lugging even a stock 302.. at 2500rpm, you'd be giving up a bunch of fuel economy and making a lot of extra noise..
Doesn't even need to be that light. A stock foxbody cruises a 80mph at ~1800 rpm without any issue at all.
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