Girdle???????????

[mustangfan1990]

Ok I have A BUNCH of different people telling different things. A few guys that I work with tell me if I put a girdle on my stock block that the block will hold more than 500 HP. I have others tell me that a girdle is a safty measure to keep everything together if the block does spilt. I was thinking if it wa as simple as buying a girdle then why would people even buy aftermarket 302 blocks so I am not sure. I would like to get a girdle though anyway but was wondering if it would help me with the numbers that I will be putting down to keep the stock block in one piece

 

[88mouse]

It will just help hold ever thing together.

A valley girdle would help more than a main. The block try to split from the top to the bottom.

 

[Bullitt347]

My Aunt wore a girdle to keep her dress from splitting from the top down Sorry, could not help myself I have a main support on my engine because it is a stock block.

 

[enyawix]

My Aunt wore a girdle to keep her dress from splitting from the top down Sorry, could not help myself I have a main support on my engine because it is a stock block.

where did you get your engine support? do they make a 351 support?

 

[Bullitt347]

D.S.S. makes the main support. Yes they make one for the 5.8L engine. Mine was for a 331cid stroked 5.0 and it fit perfectly. Very good quality. Worth the $$.

 

[blueblazes]

something to keep in mind here the valley girdles are a joke they do absolutely nothing when the block splits other than add 1 more thing to take apart. Just look at how they bolt down if you need more proof.

2nd.. your lower intake manifold if anything is a valley girdle at least it bolts on both sides

3rd.. only thing a main girdle will do is help hold the pieces together when the block splits. If you dont have the money to build a good block then you might as well tone it down some and realize what your doing. Your trying to squeeze every little bit of hp out of a motor thats not gonna last long with you raping on it at the 500 level. Then your gonna have to build another motor to put back in the car and your going to be in the same boat. Main girdle will help with crank walk since the 302's dont have as many crank bolts holding the turds together.

If you want 500hp on stock block then you need to fill the water jackets with concrete and hope she holds and pray it stays cold out side lol. Otherwise you need to invest in a good block such as dart, windsor, r-block, a-block, or boss.

 

[Bullitt347]

I took a 302 block had it cryogenicly frozen along with the cast crank, 78' vintage if I remember, and that combo was good for almost 700 h.p. for 2 seasons of racing before it broke. And the reason it broke was because the vent tube from a dumb ass Holley carb vibrated out and went down the intake at 8,000 rpm. Not bad for a 2 bolt block with a main support. Maybe I was lucky? If I had to do it over again, I would have spent the $ of a R-302 block, (they did not have the Boss block back then) but even then it was cheaper than buying the race block, and we tend to run what we have, or what we can afford. The R-302 block back then was not machined at all, except the main line. The bores were unfinished at 3.950". So you had to look at the machining cost as well.

 

[enyawix]

If you want 500hp on stock block then you need to fill the water jackets with concrete and hope she holds and pray it stays cold out side lol. Otherwise you need to invest in a good block such as dart, windsor, r-block, a-block, or boss.

I do not see a 351 splitting at 500hp unless bad tune.

 

[Bullitt347]

I do not see a 351 splitting at 500hp unless bad tune.

Thats right, we were supposed to be talking about a 5.8 NOT the 5.0.. my bad.

 

[blueblazes]

I do not see a 351 splitting at 500hp unless bad tune.

even a bad tune would be hard to split a windsor you would be more likely to chew the pistons or destroy the bearings on the rods/crank from detonation before you split the block

we were talking about 302's not about 351's. If this guy had a 351 i would be telling him a higher # before hed have to worry about block splitting lol

I should also mention there are a few older blocks during 70's that were mexican blocks they actually had a higher metal content <wanting to say nickel but cant recall its to late> and they are a little more friendly at 500hp level than the standard 302 blocks that came in mustangs. Theres a local guy with a 347 with s trim on conservative tune in high 400's on mustang dyno but he still is wary about how far to go with it considering it sucks to have to replace stroker parts.

 

[Fast63]

I have never been a believer in the girdles of any kind. I bought a 347 crate engine that was never installed by someone, and it had a girdle on it. I took it off and replaced the studs with ARP bolts because the girdle wouldn't fit under my oil pan. I don't lose sleep over it, that's for sure.

 

[S&B]

My girdle heald all the pieces together so we could get the engine out of the car in one piece. snaped on the dyno at about 560hp and a bit more torque. IF you want a girldle PM me Ill sell you my old "parts holder" its in the garage