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Some 302/351 questions and some advice

2K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  TruBlu351 
#1 ·
Hi all,

Ok Ive got a XE Wagon "Pride and joy" that I'm going to pull the 6 out of it and pop in an 8 that Ive got here.

Ok firstly I'm no expert here, ive played around with engines before "4cyl Toyota's" and have helped mates with theres, but this will be MY first real on my own rebuild and am looking forward to it. just thought id run some ideas past you guys and ask some questions.

Now i just striped down a 302 and all is good and original, so I'm at the stage where ive got the block ready to go to the shop to be dipped and so on then i started thinking..... "always a mistake ;)" about a mate with a friend who is always playing around with ford V8's.. anyway long story short i picked up a 351 crack, rod and piston's of him and was thinking i could pop the crank and rods in into my 302 block which if I'm correct would give me a 351 cube's, and more compression due to the 302 heads.... any pit holes that i should be aware of before i fall in to them??

Also what do you guys class as a always replace item when rebuilding a 302/351, other than bearings and timing gear. is there anything thats particularly bad in these that always cause problems ?? id rather replace them now then in the car later.

Thanks guys sorry for the dumb questions "My first V8 rebuild and loving it"

Oh yeah, I'm not trying to make it a quarter mile high rev machine, just a good rebuild for everyday driving and to have a bit of go.. "either way it will be better then 6 in it now :rofl2:

Thanks again

Ben
 
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#2 ·
This is exactly what I did to the 302 that I found in my 73 Mach1 & the whole job turned out very well, the 302 heads make for a pretty high C/R but I don't seem to have any detonation issues as long as the car is run on PULP, which over here in the UK is 97/98.
Really on a rebuild you want to replace as much as possible, recycling components can turn out to be a real fools economy, I mean how would it feel having to tear the engine down again just to replace a component that only cost you a few $? But important things to me would be the oil pump & its drive shaft.
 
#3 ·
G'Day to thechief...."How" ;) Welcome to ff.

This beast is going to be a real sleeper, literally. You'll definitely enjoy the results.

As above and I'd also fit a new camshaft (stage 2 or 3), lifters, pushrods. New pistons & rings for your 302 rods (short deck type). Fresh valve springs wouldn't hurt either.

Consider hardened exhaust valve seats so you can run unleaded without addatives.

Depending on what gets done to your heads (skimmed and freshened up), you should be OK with the comp ratio. The engine rebuilder will probably deck the block a little. With a zero deck height, you'd be almost 11:1 so keep an eye on it. You won't need it that high. For a mild streeter, 10:1 CR with OC heads work great.
 
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