turbo 302 vs. NA 331

vladasap · May 11, 2008

hi guys
i've been having some issues with the stang...i did the heads cam and intake (listed in the sig) and its all been great up until a week ago. It started spitting coolant out of the overflow, over heating and so on smoking out the exhaust etc. Im assuming its a head gasket. In either case I am saving up about 3-4 grand and taking it to a local shop now the here's the question....which way do i go?

TURBO 302 or build a 331 ?????

i dunno if the gt40's and the gt40 intake will be sufficient for a 331 or even for the turbo? i feel they'll be ok with the turbo set up but im nota 100%

keep in mind this has to fall within this price range (3-4 g's) and it has to be reliable since it is a Daily Driver...

please give me all your opinions and to do's and not to do's of course !!!

sorry for the long post and thanks to everyone on :SNSign: !!!

hollywoodstang · May 12, 2008

Check out HP performance for their turbo kit. I think the price is fair and fall under your range. They have pic of 94-95 cars with their turbo kit.

Venom351R · May 12, 2008

Id get a 331 and this

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?N=700+115+325386&D=325386

Dont forget with a turbo you have to tune it as well. Im not saying turbos are bad in anyway b/c they rock and I have 2 friends that have the HP turbo kits but if you want the cheaper route w/ less hassle with how it will run and with the tune then stay N/A. Ive always taken pride in the fact that Ive beaten some boosted Mustangs at the track just with bigger cubes.

BlackVert · May 12, 2008

for a daily driver, in the long run, you will probably find an NA 331 to cause fewer headaches. and if you are getting it rebuilt also, then you will probably have a hard time to keeping the build price of the 302 plus a turbo kit and tune in your stated budget.

fwiw, i have a 331 crank, pistons, and rods sitting in my basement from my aborted 331 build. i'd sell them cheap just to get them out of the basement.

i also have some other stuff like a starter and new hydraulic rollers ...

Stanger007 · May 12, 2008

vladasap said:
keep in mind this has to fall within this price range (3-4 g's) and it has to be reliable since it is a Daily Driver...

You just answered your own question I think. Budget and reliable rarely fall into the same sentence.

My vote is to go with a 347 with matched h/c/i combo from a reputable cam dealer.

Wes

ProKiller · May 12, 2008

i wouldn't do the turbo, its going to eat that budget right up and spit out another 2k

the 331 is the way to go.

i got a 302 block that could use a rebuild for cheap, Chris has the internals for cheap... you could spend most of your budget on the top end and walk away with a very potent engine, if you were so inclined.

Killercanary · May 12, 2008

For a reliable DD, I too would opt for the 331/347 route. Your heads and supporting mods are definitely on the small side for the larger cubes, but it'd still run well and it'd be a fun DD with minimal fuss. The turbo will absolutely be faster, but cost and loss of reliability will be more with it.

donkey_punch · May 12, 2008

Killercanary said:
For a reliable DD, I too would opt for the 331/347 route. Your heads and supporting mods are definitely on the small side for the larger cubes, but it'd still run well and it'd be a fun DD with minimal fuss. The turbo will absolutely be faster, but cost and loss of reliability will be more with it.

couldn't say it better myself.

i have a HP turbo kit, and the 3 grand won't get you the kit.

5.0 from 95 · May 12, 2008

If it was not a DD then I would say Turbo. 4g might get you started good. Just my .02

Paul

vladasap · May 13, 2008

the shop where i am taking the car will be able to just a 331 and MAYBE, i have to repaeat MAYBE do some light porting on my heads and intake for the 3-4 grand while they say that they will be able to squeeze the turbo in for the same money and of course fix the head gasket issue

unfortunately i do not have space or time to do all the work on my own so i wont be shopping for the parts either. The car is getting towed to the shop as is and im picking it up once its done...

it seems like everyone votes 331 for a DD.... but just how much will i be suffocating the bottom end with the GT40 top end???????

millhouse · May 14, 2008

Really, it is absolutely do-able to go the turbo 302 route for ~ $3000. Quite often I see base kit's going for ~ $2400 on sale (group purchase) from the likes of B&G….and with the addition of the proper injectors, MAF sensor and a tune…it's not unreasonable to get out of it for a little over $3000 if you’re a frugal shopper. Really, the big problem you tend to see with turbo setups is their tendency to expose the weakest link. There are many guys that have reliable turbo setups on the stock drive train…but they don't beat on them. If you do…your reliability goes out the window, and you'll find yourself replacing your clutch….followed by your tranny…followed by your axles etc.

I've seen it mentioned many times before…and it always seems to hold true:

You can only have two out of the three...

Cheap
Fast
Reliable

95mustang_gt · May 15, 2008

I called b&g 2 weeks ago and they had a sale for their stage 1 turbo kit ,it was going for 2600 shipped.But then you do have to add the tune and then the supporting mods,which will put you close to your budget.

urban96 · May 15, 2008

i say get a s/c kit and keep the motor mostly stock, maybe do the pistons. itll give u great driveability/reliable performance

turbo 302 vs. NA 331

vladasap

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hollywoodstang

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Venom351R

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Stanger007

ProKiller

Killercanary

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5.0 from 95

vladasap

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turbo 302 vs. NA 331

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