1968 302 made in mexico

[ox999]

i bought a 74 bronco for parts it had a 302 in the back of it i took it apart and found that it is a 68 302 made in mexico. i did some research and came up with 68 302 made in mexico is a hi po 302 only made in 68? is that true or is this motor junk?

 

[bmc69]

The Mexican 302 blocks are not 'hipo' blocks but nor are they junk by any means..quite the opposite in fact. I routinely search them out for hipo builds because they are acknowledged by most builders to be stronger than the US blocks. Best I can tell, that is due to the improvements that were possible to the old design when the new casting plant was started up in Mexico.

My EB MX race truck engine was built around a Mexican 302 and withstood years of 8000+ RPM punishment before being 'retired' to much less abusive service in my Donzi 16..where it still resides today.

 

[oleguy74]

very valuable.very strong mains.high nickel block.was made for the 350 shelby gt.one year only i believe.build it for your bronco.extra heavy 2 bolt mains.and it was a hi-po

 

[Broncobowsher]

As stated, the mexi block is built better. Main bearing caps look like the big ones on the hipo engines. But they are not high output engines. Just a better built block. From what I can tell, they were a little nervous about the mexico castings so they added extra metal to the block in case the casting wasn't as good. the castings were good so the extra metal made them stronger. Stock US blocks can take 400 HP all the time. How much HP are you going to make? really, real HP, not the on paper it will make HP numbers. The mexi block won't make any more HP then the US block will. Let me repeat that, The mexi block won't make any more HP then the US block will. But if you are on the ragged edge of what a US block will take before it splits in half, then the mexico block is a little extra insurance without the expense of an aftermarket block.

 

[oleguy74]

mex 302

here is some info

 

[Broncobowsher]

Nice documentation, but note that is a shelby engine using a mexico block modified heads, k-code manifolds, bigger carb. not the standard mexico 302.

As I stated before; The block will not make anymore HP, it will just take more before it breaks.

 

[djhudson05]

Mexican blocks had higher nickel content for more strength and the main caps were thicker(like a hipo289) for more bottom end strength. I think you can possibly find these blocks in some vans and trucks into the 80's.

 

[ox999]

mex

i decoded the numbers on the block and it's a 68 block and from the research i did they didn't make a mexican block in 69. so it tells me that it's a 68 block not a 70's or 80's truck or van block. i'll have to check the heads to see what they are i have the complete motor.

 

[bmc69]

very valuable.very strong mains.high nickel block.was made for the 350 shelby gt.one year only i believe.build it for your bronco.extra heavy 2 bolt mains.and it was a hi-po

You mis-read your own source literature..nice piece of history it is though.

All the Mex 302 blocks I have gotten my mitts on came out of Ford trucks..one in particular came out of a '72. The Mexican block was not built to be a hipo block..no way, shape or form. BUT..you can bet that when Ford Coporate breathed a tremendous sigh of relief and internally anounced that not only were the blocks from Mexico OK..but were actually stronger than the US ones, the Shelby project group and Holman & Moody heard about that..well, you can bet they jumped all over them;D..just like I still do

And they are not 'very valuable'..their are still tons of them out there. A virgin Mex block can bring a few hundred whereas you can't give the US ones away, but unless that is 'very valuable', they are otherwise just a little extra insurance in a high performance engine build.

 

[bmc69]

i decoded the numbers on the block and it's a 68 block and from the research i did they didn't make a mexican block in 69. so it tells me that it's a 68 block not a 70's or 80's truck or van block. i'll have to check the heads to see what they are i have the complete motor.

of course they made them after 68...10s of thousands of them. Many if not most ended up in trucks. At least that is the only place I've found them. I have also heard and seen the 'high nickle' casting claim made for the Mex 302s but I, like most who have been building Ford iron for well over 30 years, do not buy it and its never been proven. I..and most..believe that the higher strength (which is not in dispute) is simply due better design details and more metal where it matters..places like the mains particularly:

As I posted earlier, I routinely exceeded 8000 (often even 9000) RPM in the MX truck. The motor power peaked at 486 HP at7300. The block was Mexican and never missed a beat...still hasn't over 10 years on.

 

[broncnaz]

Unless your building a engine thats going to put out some serious power I would sell the block to fund other projects. People will pay $$ for those over hyped mexi blocks.

 

[recoiljunky]

Unless your building a engine thats going to put out some serious power I would sell the block to fund other projects. People will pay $$ for those over hyped mexi blocks.

Yep, sell the block to the mustang crowd and build a 351W.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Yep, sell the block to the mustang crowd and build a 351W.

Best advice so far;D ;D ;D

 

[bmc69]

Unless your building a engine thats going to put out some serious power I would sell the block to fund other projects. People will pay $$ for those over hyped mexi blocks.

Over hyped? Could be I guess..I've seen the blocks starting to go for as much as 8-900 bucks on a couple of 'specialty casting' sites. That is too much for something so common IMHO.

But on the other hand, you cannot argue with success as far as the Mex blocks proving that they hold up better and I'll use one of those over a US block every time if I can. Quite analogous, in fact, to why the C9 351W blocks are widely believed to be the strongest out there. Something to do with 15 pounds of iron that disappeared in the post '74 castings.;D

 

[Johnny]

All I know is I have never saw a mexican block that has a green card, which means they are all here illegally.... So everybody needs to send them to me, and I will personally see that they all go back...

 

[bmc69]

All I know is I have never saw a mexican block that has a green card, which means they are all here illegally...

Good point..and exactly why I removed the Mexican 302 from Nails before you hauled 'er off. Only because I was looking out for your well being as I always do.;D

 

[iwlbcnu]

Mine came out of a 73 Bronco, found another in a JY, but someone else found it while I was going to get the trailer.

 

[ransil]

Bill,

Make sure you find the one on my trailer at the round up

 

[bmc69]

Bill,

Make sure you find the one on my trailer at the round up

Whew! No worries mate. For a moment there I was afraid you were going to have a change of mind after seeing all the $$$ being bandied about in this thread. Worthless scrap they are..really.;D

 

[Bronco73]

I have read much on the mex 302 block and for the most part the higher nickle content is believed to be false. The heavier casting is clear. It was also my understanding that this mex 302 was a truck engine and that's it or that's what it's purpose was, a truck engine. Every one says the best place to find a mex 302 block is in a truck/van.

It's been a couple of years but I had a buddy that pulled one from a scrap truck and couldn't get $300 for it but was offered $200 more than once. Not sure what they are going for now.

IMO most people that build high HP motors don't exceed the limits of the stock block and will never run the engine hard enough to break it anyways. A stock block would be fine. If I found one for scrap price I may use it but otherwise I would never spend big money for one but I don't need an all out race engine either.