302 Rebuild Tips Anyone?

[bubobronco]

I picked up my new '74 on the cheap but she's got some issues. Biggest reason I bought it though was because it came from out West and hasn't seen any salty MN winters so very little rust.... Anyway, the original 302 does run but she's in need of some TLC to say the least. I found a good reputable engine guy that specializes in rebuilding fords and dropped it off a couple days ago. To make a short story long, he's planning on a new cam, edelbrock intake, edelbrock carb (he says hollys perform a little better but get finicky if they sit very long without running, and I won't be driving it Dec-Feb to avoid the salty roads) to increase the performance a bit. He's not starting it until the end of next week and I'm looking for any advice on things to do while he's in there to avoid the old "well if I'da known that I woulda had him......." Thanks guys..

 

[Rustytruck]

I wouldn't build a motor these days unless it has a roller cam and lifters.

 

[bubobronco]

Ok Rustytruck....care to elaborate? I'm just a dumb farmboy. Explain it to me like I'm an 8 year old plz...

 

[ScanmanSteven]

When the engine was built in 74 there was zinc and other additives available that aren't anymore. The cam you now have is called a flat tappet because the bottom of the lifters are flat. Without the zinc and additives the cam lobes wear much quicker nowadays. A roller cam has a roller on the bottom of the lifter that rolls on the cam rather than riding on the cam. The roller cam is more efficient partly because of less drag. If the mechanic regularly builds Fords he should know about cams. It will cost a little more, cam is about the same but the lifters are a little more, you need guide plates because you're changing from a non-roller motor, I think stronger valve springs, new push rods. You can stay with your old rocker arms or step up to roller rockers also which will require some extra head work but then you have the equalivent to a modern engine lower end. Good luck.

 

[gr8scott]

Valvoline™ VR1 Racing Oil's high zinc provides race-level protection for high performance engines on the race track and is compatible with passenger vehicles. Additional product benefits include:

*High zinc/phosphorus for anti-wear protection, including push-rod and flat tappet applications
*Formulated to increase horsepower
*Enhanced anti-foam system protects engine during extreme stress
*Recommended for engines burning gasoline and full or partial alcohol fuels

Just sayin'.....

 

[savage]

I just rebuilt my 302 and the builder had me use VR1 racing oil plus a break-in additive for engine break in. Now I'm running this oil just for flat tappet cams.

 

[Ourobos]

A nice pre-98 explorer short block is a roller block, and comes with GT40 heads, another cheap HP upgrade while you're in there

 

[blubuckaroo]

I wouldn't build a motor these days unless it has a roller cam and lifters.

There are lots of flat tappet motors being broke in and running successfully.
With the information out about the necessary oil additives and break-in procedure, we shouldn't see the failures we did when this oil issue happened.
Most of us aren't using very radical cam lifts that require lots of spring pressure. Sure a roller cam is nice but it doesn't gain you that much in our application.
Just follow the engine builders start-up recommendations.

 

[broncosbybart]

Any good engine builder will do it right. Nothing tricky on a 302 other than the talks of keeping the bore size as small as possible to keep engine temps down. For initial starting of the engine, you will need to break in the cam. And FYI, Rotella T also has zinc in it.

 

[broncobilly72]

For increase in hp have you guy work on the heads, like stainless steel valves to handle the unleaded gas. The more air you can get into the cylinders the more hp gain. I had my 302 rebuilt a few years back and with your above mentioned upgrades plus the gt40 rebuilt heads, I now have a 285 hp engine with no drop in mpg.... as long as I keep my foot out of it.