Best motor options?

Aw4g63 said:

Well, I'm rather new to the 302 motors. I was a chevy guy and I also was a boosted 4cyl guy aswell.


But now I'm a Ford guy

I have a 302 in my 69 Stang. The heads have a code on them that read 289. I'm guessing these are the heads they put on early 302s.

The motor has no problems, just been sitting for years. About 5 to be exact.
I have around $1500 to spend on everything for the motor. What would you reccomend?

Also what kind of HP would the set up you suggest pull out?
I would like to go naturally aspirated with a power adder like N02 down the road. So thats not included in the cost.

It was a 2 barrel motor so take a carb and intake into the cost if it helps.

Just looking for some suggestions.

Click to expand...

Sounds like you have 289 heads on there, not 302. Thats not teh code # just the size engine they were on. Thats ok though the 289 heads have a little more compression so they will help you out. I would start with cam, intake, carb, exhaust and gears. What do you have in it for a tranny.

for a carb i would go no higher than a 650 cfm. i have a 250 dollar 600 cfm carb but most people opt for holleys. if you want power down low, then the weiend stealth intake is the one for you. call comp or crane cams for a reccomended cam that will match your driving style,gears,tranny and weight of vehicle. be sure to get some new bearings all around. long tube headers and 3.55-4:11 gears are always a plus

might look into getting those heads ported

You can buy a porting kit and do a port/polish and gasket match yourself (don't forget a book for guidance). This will save you money as look as you don't hit a water jacket.

Go with an intake, carb and cam kit.

With what is left over, you can address a number of issues...different rear gear, rebuild tranny, radiator and cooling, new ignition...etc.

Good luck. Enjoy adjusting the timing on a Ford motor as opposed to that whacky chevy stuff.

For less than $1500 you can buy the 88 Lincoln Mark VII ,I have for sale ( and still have $400 change ). It's wrecked on the right side, but the engine and drivetrain are in excellant shape. Has the same 5.0 HO motor the Stangs had, with the forged pistons. Motor has less than 90K miles, never been rebuilt , hell it's never been tuned up either.

Dang I'd be doing what D.Hearne suggested!

(Then you could sell your motor and trans, or the one you get with the car)

D.Hearne said:

For less than $1500 you can buy the 88 Lincoln Mark VII ,I have for sale ( and still have $400 change ). It's wrecked on the right side, but the engine and drivetrain are in excellant shape. Has the same 5.0 HO motor the Stangs had, with the forged pistons. Motor has less than 90K miles, never been rebuilt , hell it's never been tuned up either.

Click to expand...

Might be cheaper to just buy the Mark VII and fix it up.... nothing wrong wilth tooling around town in a Linclon!

On a more serious note... you should first be certain the 302 block is good and solid. If you plan on using a power adder, you really need to rebuild with forged internals... guys with 50 shots, quickly become guys with 250 shots and thats when things get ugly... Cylinder honing/rebore and forged internals should eat up the $1500 pretty quick, with enough change to get a decent cam. Then you can start saving for some good aluminum heads.

I'll bet that Lincoln is looking better all the time...

Aw4g63 said:

Well, I'm rather new to the 302 motors. I was a chevy guy and I also was a boosted 4cyl guy aswell.


But now I'm a Ford guy

I have a 302 in my 69 Stang. The heads have a code on them that read 289. I'm guessing these are the heads they put on early 302s.

The motor has no problems, just been sitting for years. About 5 to be exact.
I have around $1500 to spend on everything for the motor. What would you reccomend?

Also what kind of HP would the set up you suggest pull out?
I would like to go naturally aspirated with a power adder like N02 down the road. So thats not included in the cost.

It was a 2 barrel motor so take a carb and intake into the cost if it helps.

Just looking for some suggestions.

Click to expand...

Pull the heads, gasket match them to get flow up. Have a head shop put bigger valves in or Chevy 350 valves, also to get more flow. Then do an intake; Performer RPM or similar is good. A decent cam, like the Summit 3600 (just like the Performer grind, but less expensive), a Performer 600 carb, Hipo exh. manifolds with Flowmaster mufflers with 2.25" pipes and a cross tube. Deeper gears (get the whole pumpkin {cheap in Hemmings Motor News and not hard to put in}, around 3.40s or so. A Pertronix points replacement, a higher voltage coil, and a Crane dizzy recurve kit would be good starts. Also, KYB shocks and GT rated springs all around would be good together with antisway bars ( 1" front, 3/4" rear) and you'd be good to go. If you do the labor yourself you should come in under or at your budget. Do one thing at a time to test you results. HP? I am right 300HP. But you might get a little less if you don't tweak the recurve.