sixt9stang

Barnett, it is possible you missed it earlier in the topic. The engine hasn't been in the car for a little more than 11 years when a lobe rounded off the cam. The cam that was in it was an Edelbrock Performer. The engine had 69 302 cast heads on it with screw in studs and unknown valve springs. It also had the Edelbrock Performer intake. The engine would float the valves at anything about 5800 rpm. This was all in the original 69 302 block bored .030 over. I now have a 302 roller block bored .030 over that I will be using for this build. I had the machine shop shave the lip off the back of the 69 crank so that I could use it in the newer block. This way I could keep my balanced rotating assembly. I have all ARP hardware for the engine but it does have a stock crank and rods. Would just stepping up to the Performer RPM intake be better or would there be another intake in that price range work even better? I have never calculated compression ratio before but have read up on doing it a bit. I will have to check into what I would be at with the pistons I have and the ARP heads. Adding the ati crank damper and rollmaster timing chain to my list. Thanks again for all the wisdom!

Gotcha. I guess then I should just stick with the 302 block since it is already machined to save money. I have a possible 351 block I could grab to build down the road. Don't want to rev to 8k lol. Just around 6k safely. I am guessing I just need to have the right springs for the cam. So if I go with the AFR 165 heads, any cam recommendation? I'll have to check if the rocker studs that come in those heads are the correct size for my rockers.

Ya. I was reading some older comparisons where they said the heads we're about $1,200 thinking to myself that I really missed out.

I am guessing I should go with the 58cc chamber AFR heads for more compression? There are some decent priced used sets of 165s on eBay. Still looking around though.

Good info. I would say that the biggest thing the car will be used for in the immediate future will be spirited driving on the country roads near where we live and cruising to get togethers. I plan on putting an overdrive trans in at the same time whatever engine I do goes in. I definitely loved the sound of my 302 revving at close to 6000 rpm so I would like to safely rev it to at least 6k. I want to get quality parts when it comes to the cam and heads so I will probably base this build around the AFR heads. That is if I decide to build vs buy an engine. I would just be looking for advice on the size of AFRs and then what cam to match the heads with. I was thinking that I would get the AFR 185s as they are still under $2k and could possibly be used on a 302 or future 351 if I wanted more cubes.

Thanks. I will check them out too. Didn't think about them before. I am sure they are quite expensive though.

Just started checking out Keith Craft's site and their engines are very close to prices of other crate engines that I have been looking at. If I decide to go crate I will probably go there since you give them the thumbs up. If you were to put together an engine for cruising and possible road racing how would you build it? Would you start with a 302 or go to a 351 block?

Thanks, will check his site out as I have seen it recommended before.

Thanks Barnett! I have checked out Ford Racing but all of the engines I was looking at still use the alphabet cams. Everything I have been reading makes it sound that those cams aren't the greatest anymore. I will check out Keith Kraft too. I knew you had recommended another builder before but couldn't remember who. I will definitely check if any I am looking at have been bored more than .030 over.

So I am having trouble deciding on what I want to do to get my Mustang back on the road. I am trying to decide if I want to build another 302 with parts I have plus extra parts I need/want, or if I just want to buy a crate engine to get the car together quicker and have a warranty as part of it. I am by no means an expert engine builder but have built a few. Thanks for any advice in helping me decide. Parts I currently have: 302 roller block - bare Pistons: Speed-Pro SLP-L2482F30 Intake: Edelbrock EDL-2121 Rocker Arms: Harland Sharp 1.6 ratio CSP-S4003 Holley 600 carb --> Will most likely will be going with FiTech Hedman hedders I would be needing bearings, gaskets, other small items. Big items would be aluminum cylinder heads and a cam. I am leaning towards a set of heads from AFR. Thinking their 185 heads. As for the crate engine option I was looking at something like this: https://www.tristarengines.com/performance/ford/351/351w-ford-380-hp-410-torque-street-dressed-longblock-hp-crate-engine-with-hp-aluminum-cylinder-heads I know this engine is a 351 but for the price I figure why not go with the 351 vs a 302. In the future the car will have an 8.8" rear end with either 3.55 or 3.73 gears. I am also leaning towards a 4r70w transmission. Car will mostly be used for cruising but would like to get into a bit of road course racing in the future. Please let me know if there are any questions. Barnett if you reply I appreciate your wisdom but please go easy on me.

Just checked out my albums that I have on there. I have some that have 0 views from June 2017 so they must have removed the delete after 6 months rule at some point. I will have to try from my Linux machine to see how much different it is. Maybe I can help out in some way. One thing is, I only use Imgur for when I want to post images on a forum or Reddit. If people want a good option for backing up their photos online I use OneDrive. There are other options like Google Drive, Amazon, and probably a million others. If you use OneDrive or Google you can share the images from there also but last time I did that it wasn't very smooth.

I will have to check. I sort mine in albums. You can share the whole album or single pics. You can also attach comments on each picture easily. For sharing, the album can be set so that it can be viewed with a link but not posted publicly on the imgur website.

Makes me want to just buy a used engine so that I can drive my car instead of waiting to acquire all the parts to build my 302.

I just use imgur for hosting images. Way easier than trying to host them at each individual forum.

Just wanted to say I got my template in the mail and it looks great! Thanks Terry.

Yep. A lot of people install rear ends from late 90's explorers. They are 8.8", disc brakes, and usually 3.73 gears. They are plentiful and can be found cheap. I picked up one a few years ago for 75$. I haven't installed it yet but hope to this summer. It isn't something that just bolts in either though.

Thanks for the info. So some different choices would be cheap Chinese heads like Blueprint and check them over closely, Edelbrock e street heads that are decent bang for the buck, or save up for some AFR heads. I always see them get good reviews. Or as others have said you can put some work into stock heads.

barnett, any experience with BluePrint heads such as the HP9009? I was thinking of getting a set as they have an Intake runner volume of 190cc which other manufacturers charge quite a bit more for. Their intake valve diameter is also 2.020 in. These heads are also $505 each through Summit. Also barnett, do you build your own heads? Can't remember where I seen them but I seen a set of Ford aluminum heads advertised as Barnett heads.

Yep. Meant the second part of my message for Tos. Wondering if it is a good idea to have the template set the holes back a bit at the same time as doing the drop? I might just make my own template since I have access to a drill press.

Are you volunteering to make more? :-D It does depend on your budget though. Your car will handle and ride great with stock parts that are new. Replacing all of my 40 year old parts with brand new parts years back was a night and day difference. And I didn't even replace the front springs.

Yep, can do that too. I just figure it is usually easier to start with a small hole and then work your way up to the correct size. I'll get one from Tos though and help you out in your new venture.

Your template looks great but how would you suggest making a divit or pilot hole to get started drilling the new holes? Forgive me if there is an extremely simple solution.

I don't have answers to all of your questions but those are the same lifters I am thinking about using when I finally get around to building my engine. For the cam though I have read a lot about the Ford alphabet cams and people say that there are a lot better profiles out there from other manufactures.

Never heard of the oxalic acid. Going to check it out. Thanks!

Thanks! I will check with some of the other shops.