Posted by Jimmie from ? (154.11.37.172) on Tuesday, November 02, 2004 at 1:16PM :
In Reply to: Re: 302 vs. 302 H.O. posted by cgrey8 from vpn.automatedlogic.com (68.208.14.2) on Tuesday, November 02, 2004 at 12:03PM :
Registered Ranger
The basic 302 in the mid 80s was a low power unit, around 150 HP or so, maybe less. The Mustang and the HO really woke up the 302. The roller camshaft was a big help and better heads came along too, short tube headers helped as well as real dual exhausts. Fuel injection was a big help with long flow runners. The Mustang really changed the 302. You can make good power from a non HO 302 but the HO is a good place to start. The biggest weakness of these engines are the heads. There are lots of options. You can start with HO type heads, I think they are called E7 or something like that. The 1969 era heads from 351W are good too for low dollar buildups. I have two sets of these on the garage floor. The GT40 heads would be a good next step I guess. The aftermarket heads are a whole different world. The low end are the Windsor Jr. type heads made for the 302 and Windsor Sr. for the 351W. Then there the aluminum heads likely the best are the AFR heads. You can actually loose performance by not building the engine/exhaust/fuel system for the new heads. There are lots of information sources on Ford heads on the www. One is www.fordmuscle.com, all this information is going from memory
The 302 in the Ranger is a fun truck, fair amount of power for the weight. I don't think you should go too far at first. A near stock 302 is lots of fun and may be all you need. You will have traction problems with too much power. Maybe invest in an ODrive trans or a locker rear end before you go too far with the engine. Rangers are not going to beat a similar Mustang etc due to the box shape and traction. You can still have a lot of fun and have the pride of something you build yourself.
Jimmie
: Thanks, I'll look it over and see what there is to see.
: If anybody else has any further comments on one vs the other, I'm interested...
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