Hey all,I’m putting together a 302 for my 1968 Mustang and wanted to post the combo + some questions to make sure I’m not missing crucial

[68_Disgustang]

Goal: fun street car, ~6,000 rpm max, T-5, 3.55 gears. I had a 68 flat tappet 302 in it originally with a gnarly cam, so I want the bay to still have the same look. (V-belts, early timing cover and pump), but using a roller 5.0 short block and better top end. Carb for now, Holley Sniper EFI later.


Short block

- Block: E7TE 5.0 roller (casting 29-E7TE-CA)

- 302ci, stock 4.000" bore, 3.000" stroke, 50 oz external balance

- Crank: stock 5.0 nodular iron, 3.000" stroke

- Rods: stock 5.090" SBF rods

- Pistons: Ford E7ZE-6110-CA forged flat tops

- HO style, ~2–3 cc total valve reliefs

- Head gaskets: Fel-Pro 1011-2, ~4.100" bore, ~.039" thick

- Estimated deck clearance: ~0.010" in the hole (will measure)

- Timing set (planned): Edelbrock 7811 double-roller, 3-keyway



Top end

- Heads: Flo-Tek 203-505 aluminum

- 180cc intake, 58cc chambers, 1.94"/1.55" valves

- Hydraulic roller springs

- Trick Flow thermactor inserts (TFS-51400265)

- Head bolts: ARP 154-3605



- Cam & lifters: Summit SUM-K8900 (303 Plus SBF kit)

- Hyd roller, 220/231 @ .050", .550"/.540" lift, 113° LSA, 2500–6000 rpm



- Rockers: Summit SUM-G6996

- Pro Series stainless, 1.6:1, 3/8" stud, full roller

- Pushrods: 5/16" hardened ball-ball (length TBD with checker)



- Intake: Edelbrock Torker 289 single-plane from old motor, will have to port match intake runners - Intake gaskets: Fel-Pro 1262



Ignition & fuel

- Carb: Holley Truck Avenger 650 cfm (vac-sec)

- Distributor: Performance World 689002 HEI-style SBF — this came off my old ’68 motor

- Spark plug wires: HEI-style wires already on hand

- Long-term plan is to switch to a Holley Sniper EFI throttle body setup.



Front dress – original ’68 look (from the old motor)

The entire front dress is off my original ’68 302 (C8OE-6015-A block):

- Timing cover: 1968 C8OE cover

- Water pump: ’68 style standard-rotation pump

- Belts: V-belt setup



Bottom end is a 50 oz E7TE, so:

- Damper: stock E7TE 50 oz balancer (still on the crank)

- Flywheel: 50 oz flywheel + correct bolts (previously run with this engine/T-5)

(I think i'll need to add a bolt-on adjustable timing pointer so the late-model balancer works with the early cover?)



Exhaust & drivetrain

- Headers: Long-tube SBF (~1 5/8" primaries)

- Exhaust: 2.5" duals, 2.25" H-pipe, two 2' Cherry Bombs, then both pipes merge into a single custom boomtube I fabbed up.

- Trans: T-5 World Class from a ’99–’04 3.8 Mustang

- Rear gears: 3.55:1



What I have kicking around the garage / currently have in my cart

- Fel-Pro 1011-2 head gaskets

- Fel-Pro 1262 intake gaskets

- Fel-Pro 260-1125 full engine gasket kit (pan, timing, etc.)

- Summit SUM-K8900 cam & lifters

- Summit SUM-G6996 stainless roller rockers

- Flo-Tek 203-505 heads

- ARP 154-3605 head bolts

- Trick Flow TFS-51400265 thermactor inserts

- Fel-Pro 1684 header gaskets

- Thermostat housing + 180° thermostat

- Spark plug wires

- V-belts, radiator hoses

- Header bolts

- Flywheel + bolts, clutch bolts, pilot bearing (used previously with this engine/trans)

- Assembly lube, RTV silicone, etc.

I’ll attach screenshots of my Excel sheets so you can see the whole combo broken down by Short Block, Top End, Ignition & Fuel, Exhaust & Drivetrain, and To Buy.



## Questions

1. Flo-Tek 203-505 springs vs .550" lift


- HR spring specs (per Flo-Tek): 130 lb @ 1.750", 310 lb @ 1.250", coil bind 1.160".

- With .550" lift, that puts them at ~1.200", only .040" from bind if installed at 1.750".

- From what i've read elsewhere i should have them set up for .050–.060" coil-bind clearance and check retainer-to-seal and piston-to-valve.

→ Anyone running these heads with ~.550" hyd roller (E-cam+, 303, SUM-K8900)?



2. Stainless vs aluminum rockers on these heads

- Flo-Tek often recommends Blumax aluminum 1.6 / 3⁄8" stud rockers.

- I already have Summit stainless SUM-G6996 (1.6, 3/8 stud, 5/16 pushrod).

→ Any issues with retainer/spring or pushrod clearance on Flo-Tek 203-505s at ~.550" lift with stainless rockers? Any reason to prefer the lighter aluminum setup for this setup?



3. Old-school timing cover + 5.0 damper + bolt-on pointer

- E7TE block, C8OE cover and water pump from my old motor, standard-rotation pump, V-belts.

- 50 oz E7TE balancer and 50 oz flywheel.

- Plan: use an adjustable bolt-on pointer, ignoring the original cast pointer.

→ Anyone else made this change? Any “gotchas” with clearance or pointer location when mixing early cover and late damper?



4. Performance World HEI + roller gear

- Distributor is PW 689002 (run-ready HEI) from my old motor. I’ll be swapping the gear to a steel/melonized gear for the hydraulic roller cam.

→ I believe I have to swap the gear to a PW#684039 for a .467" shaft or a PW#686212 .491" shaft. If anyone’s run this exact distributor on a roller 5.0, did you have to do any fitting/shimming?



5. Oil pump: reuse or replace?

- The short block came as a complete used 5.0. I can replace the oil pump/pickup/shaft while it’s apart, but I also know plenty of people run them as-is if oil pressure was good.

→ For this kind of build, would you:

- Reuse the existing oil pump/pickup if they look fine, or install a new standard-volume pump, pickup, and hardened shaft while I’m in there?


I apologize for the information overload, and if some of this doesnt make sense as it's the first time i've went this far down the rabbit hole. Thanks in advance for any feedback on spring setup, rocker choice, reusing vs replacing the oil pump, the early/late front dress mix, and distributor gear details.

 

[LILCBRA]

Welcome to the site!

So that's probably the longest first post I think I've seen! I'll go ahead and give you a couple things that I noticed - one that didn't quite add up, one would definitely need changed.

1st, the part that will definitely need changed is your oil pickup. A 68 will require a front sump pan whereas an E7 5.0 from a Mustang has a dual sump. You never said what the new engine is from, so this is a bit of an assumption, but I don't know of any 5.0 HO engines that used a front sump pan. As for the oil pump, you might be ok without replacing it, but they're cheap insurance if you don't know the engine's history.

Your exhaust doesn't make much sense to me. 2-1/2" dual that you're planning to neck down to 2-1/4" then downsize again into 2" inch?! Then into a single that's an unknown size? All I read there was restrict - restrict - restrict. I'd recommend using 2-1/2" from the collectors all the way to the tailpipes for dual exhaust, or 2-1/2" to probably 3" if you're dead set on having a single exhaust exit. You could probably get away with 2-1/4" to the "Y", but I'd be sure to increase the tailpipe section's diameter, not decrease it! Otherwise I think you'll end up negating most of the benefits from the proposed build and would probably be better served by just giving an old smog engine a stock rebuild and leave everything as-is.

One other thing that I'd suggest - if you're wanting to go with a Sniper at some point, I'd look into upgrading the fuel system now if money allows. Then when you go to install the Sniper, that part is ready.

 

[68_Disgustang]

My apologies for the inconsistencies, My brain has been fried lately due to returning to trade school and trying to figure out what to do with this car at the same time. The new engine is from an 87 mustang, I'll attach a picture of the cast # on the block. As for the exhaust setup i worded it very weird, ill attach some pictures as well. please don't judge my welding and fit up haha, I threw it together in a day or so before heading off for work, now that i have the motor pulled I'm going to clean up the welds and re paint it. I used 2 1/2" pipes for the whole exhaust except the H pipe, cant remember where but through research i determined reducing to a 2.25" H pipe promoted better scavenging and low end torque compared to a 2.5" H pipe, used a paint marker to determine where to place it as well. the 2.5" exhaust pipes merge into the boom tube, i just reduced the height to ~2.25" so it fits better, so width is around 5.5" at the base of the boom tube.

After some more research I believe I totally jumped the gun on picking a cam, going to go with the flotec thumper 185's as well. i'm now leaning towards a comp cams sk35-351-8 as it seems to work better with those cyl heads, and i'd like to hang a little lower in the rpm range compared to that 303 cam, will be switching to a different intake and bumping up to a 3.73 gear ratio. I found with the thumper heads the exhaust flow compared to intake flow is around 64%, from what i understand the longer exhaust duration will compensate for the exhaust flow. good idea on upgrading the fuel system now, last year i installed an american autowire harness so i already have the wiring for an electric pump. Also, I didnt even think about the different oil pans between the 2 motors! curious if it'll clear my steering rack now.

thanks for the reply! i greatly appreciate it, sorry it took me a while to get back on here haha.

​

 

[Noobz347]

I used 2 1/2" pipes for the whole exhaust except the H pipe, cant remember where but through research i determined reducing to a 2.25" H pipe promoted better scavenging and low end torque compared to a 2.5" H pipe,

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvMBbojZpII



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tZYJHtXG9s

 

[gray owl]

Goal: fun street car, ~6,000 rpm max, T-5, 3.55 gears. I had a 68 flat tappet 302 in it originally with a gnarly cam, so I want the bay to still have the same look. (V-belts, early timing cover and pump), but using a roller 5.0 short block and better top end. Carb for now, Holley Sniper EFI later.


Short block

- Block: E7TE 5.0 roller (casting 29-E7TE-CA)

- 302ci, stock 4.000" bore, 3.000" stroke, 50 oz external balance

- Crank: stock 5.0 nodular iron, 3.000" stroke

- Rods: stock 5.090" SBF rods

- Pistons: Ford E7ZE-6110-CA forged flat tops

- HO style, ~2–3 cc total valve reliefs

- Head gaskets: Fel-Pro 1011-2, ~4.100" bore, ~.039" thick

- Estimated deck clearance: ~0.010" in the hole (will measure)

- Timing set (planned): Edelbrock 7811 double-roller, 3-keyway



Top end

- Heads: Flo-Tek 203-505 aluminum

- 180cc intake, 58cc chambers, 1.94"/1.55" valves

- Hydraulic roller springs

- Trick Flow thermactor inserts (TFS-51400265)

- Head bolts: ARP 154-3605



- Cam & lifters: Summit SUM-K8900 (303 Plus SBF kit)

- Hyd roller, 220/231 @ .050", .550"/.540" lift, 113° LSA, 2500–6000 rpm



- Rockers: Summit SUM-G6996

- Pro Series stainless, 1.6:1, 3/8" stud, full roller

- Pushrods: 5/16" hardened ball-ball (length TBD with checker)



- Intake: Edelbrock Torker 289 single-plane from old motor, will have to port match intake runners - Intake gaskets: Fel-Pro 1262



Ignition & fuel

- Carb: Holley Truck Avenger 650 cfm (vac-sec)

- Distributor: Performance World 689002 HEI-style SBF — this came off my old ’68 motor

- Spark plug wires: HEI-style wires already on hand

- Long-term plan is to switch to a Holley Sniper EFI throttle body setup.



Front dress – original ’68 look (from the old motor)

The entire front dress is off my original ’68 302 (C8OE-6015-A block):

- Timing cover: 1968 C8OE cover

- Water pump: ’68 style standard-rotation pump

- Belts: V-belt setup



Bottom end is a 50 oz E7TE, so:

- Damper: stock E7TE 50 oz balancer (still on the crank)

- Flywheel: 50 oz flywheel + correct bolts (previously run with this engine/T-5)

(I think i'll need to add a bolt-on adjustable timing pointer so the late-model balancer works with the early cover?)



Exhaust & drivetrain

- Headers: Long-tube SBF (~1 5/8" primaries)

- Exhaust: 2.5" duals, 2.25" H-pipe, two 2' Cherry Bombs, then both pipes merge into a single custom boomtube I fabbed up.

- Trans: T-5 World Class from a ’99–’04 3.8 Mustang

- Rear gears: 3.55:1



What I have kicking around the garage / currently have in my cart

- Fel-Pro 1011-2 head gaskets

- Fel-Pro 1262 intake gaskets

- Fel-Pro 260-1125 full engine gasket kit (pan, timing, etc.)

- Summit SUM-K8900 cam & lifters

- Summit SUM-G6996 stainless roller rockers

- Flo-Tek 203-505 heads

- ARP 154-3605 head bolts

- Trick Flow TFS-51400265 thermactor inserts

- Fel-Pro 1684 header gaskets

- Thermostat housing + 180° thermostat

- Spark plug wires

- V-belts, radiator hoses

- Header bolts

- Flywheel + bolts, clutch bolts, pilot bearing (used previously with this engine/trans)

- Assembly lube, RTV silicone, etc.

I’ll attach screenshots of my Excel sheets so you can see the whole combo broken down by Short Block, Top End, Ignition & Fuel, Exhaust & Drivetrain, and To Buy.



## Questions

1. Flo-Tek 203-505 springs vs .550" lift


- HR spring specs (per Flo-Tek): 130 lb @ 1.750", 310 lb @ 1.250", coil bind 1.160".

- With .550" lift, that puts them at ~1.200", only .040" from bind if installed at 1.750".

- From what i've read elsewhere i should have them set up for .050–.060" coil-bind clearance and check retainer-to-seal and piston-to-valve.

→ Anyone running these heads with ~.550" hyd roller (E-cam+, 303, SUM-K8900)?



2. Stainless vs aluminum rockers on these heads

- Flo-Tek often recommends Blumax aluminum 1.6 / 3⁄8" stud rockers.

- I already have Summit stainless SUM-G6996 (1.6, 3/8 stud, 5/16 pushrod).

→ Any issues with retainer/spring or pushrod clearance on Flo-Tek 203-505s at ~.550" lift with stainless rockers? Any reason to prefer the lighter aluminum setup for this setup?



3. Old-school timing cover + 5.0 damper + bolt-on pointer

- E7TE block, C8OE cover and water pump from my old motor, standard-rotation pump, V-belts.

- 50 oz E7TE balancer and 50 oz flywheel.

- Plan: use an adjustable bolt-on pointer, ignoring the original cast pointer.

→ Anyone else made this change? Any “gotchas” with clearance or pointer location when mixing early cover and late damper?



4. Performance World HEI + roller gear

- Distributor is PW 689002 (run-ready HEI) from my old motor. I’ll be swapping the gear to a steel/melonized gear for the hydraulic roller cam.

→ I believe I have to swap the gear to a PW#684039 for a .467" shaft or a PW#686212 .491" shaft. If anyone’s run this exact distributor on a roller 5.0, did you have to do any fitting/shimming?



5. Oil pump: reuse or replace?

- The short block came as a complete used 5.0. I can replace the oil pump/pickup/shaft while it’s apart, but I also know plenty of people run them as-is if oil pressure was good.

→ For this kind of build, would you:

- Reuse the existing oil pump/pickup if they look fine, or install a new standard-volume pump, pickup, and hardened shaft while I’m in there?


I apologize for the information overload, and if some of this doesnt make sense as it's the first time i've went this far down the rabbit hole. Thanks in advance for any feedback on spring setup, rocker choice, reusing vs replacing the oil pump, the early/late front dress mix, and distributor gear details.

****NEVER ABSOLUTELY NEVER put a used oil pump on a new build !!!