Thread: Where do i start?

Tweet

Hey everyone! So i've been looking for a new motor for my 35 ford....I was poking around on craigslist and came across a 302 motor with a c4 trans for $100......i was a little skeptical about the deal at first, but i ended up driving out to take a look at the motor anyway. Well after a quick lookover, i ended up buying the motor. The guy i bought the motor from took it out of his 68 mustang, but he said that the motor originally came from a 79 mustang. He also told me that the trans was slipping but the motor ran good before he yanked it out. Apparently he rebuilt the motor a few years back and he said it should have about 300-375 hp. Here in lies my question... i know that these motors are about 140hp stock....how do know what upgrades, if any the motor has internally? Additionally, considering that i don't 100% that the motor runs.....i'm going to have to check everything out. I don't really know what to look for aside from doing a compression test. Any help/pointers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

For the princely sum of $100, you have to assume that you have purchased a bone stock core. Tear into it and see what's there.

The stock heads were worse than awful, I know, I had a '79 motor that I rebuilt to go into my Mitsubishi truck. If the heads are stock Ford castings, your estimate of 140 hp is probably real close.

Originally Posted by techinspector1

For the princely sum of $100, you have to assume that you have purchased a bone stock core. Tear into it and see what's there.

The stock heads were worse than awful, I know, I had a '79 motor that I rebuilt to go into my Mitsubishi truck. If the heads are stock Ford castings, your estimate of 140 hp is probably real close.

i agree 100% to get 300 or (especially) 375 you will see some pretty obvious parts changes. if it is indeed a 300 plus motor you have there they did a great job making it look like a sleeper. pull a head off and i would have to think the pistons are aftermarket,roller rockers,noticable head work(or aftermarket heads to get you in that hp range. hope this helps,but for 100 bucks i think you probably did alright even if not.

There is one other thing to consider that you haven't mentioned. You say you want to put this in your 35 Ford, and while I am a Ford guy at heart I have to tell you that fitting one of these into your car will not be a piece of cake. Yes, they are narrow, but they are also long. The front mounted oil pump also presents some issues with crossmember clearance.

I have essentially the same engine room on my 46 Ford but when I build that car it will most probably get a 350 Chevy to save me from hacking up the firewall and moving the engine 3-4 inches into the passenger compartment. I know people have put the Fords into these cars, but it is just a lot more work.

You can shorten up the Ford engine with Ford Racing's short water pump setup, and I did that on my 27 to save 1.5 inches. But it requires you to buy a special timing cover, water pump, pulleys, and damper. I think all of that ended up costing me well over $ 1000 by the time I was done.

Just thought you should take out a tape measure and size up your engine room before you commit to that sbf. To show you how long these engines are, look at how far I had to set back the one in my 27, and even with the short water pump kit I still clear the electric fan by about 1/4 inch!

Don

Edit: Ok, I just read your other thread, looks like you are cutting up the car pretty far for the bags and MMII, so I guess you won't mind a little more surgery on the firewall.

Hey thanks for the info guys....just finshed with finals today so I'll be pulling the valve covers off this weekend to take a peak. If i see something cool, i might just take the heads off also for kicks and see what's going on under there. Just out of curiosity, what would it take to $wise to get this motor to 300-400hp? I'm asuming news heads and a rebuild? Going to be n/a obviously.....

[QUOTE=DaDdY's DrEaM;. Just out of curiosity, what would it take to $wise to get this motor to 300-400hp? I'm asuming news heads and a rebuild? Going to be n/a obviously.....[/QUOTE]

Well, in my case about $ 7K.

Don

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

There is one other thing to consider that you haven't mentioned. You say you want to put this in your 35 Ford, and while I am a Ford guy at heart I have to tell you that fitting one of these into your car will not be a piece of cake. Yes, they are narrow, but they are also long. The front mounted oil pump also presents some issues with crossmember clearance.

I have essentially the same engine room on my 46 Ford but when I build that car it will most probably get a 350 Chevy to save me from hacking up the firewall and moving the engine 3-4 inches into the passenger compartment. I know people have put the Fords into these cars, but it is just a lot more work.

You can shorten up the Ford engine with Ford Racing's short water pump setup, and I did that on my 27 to save 1.5 inches. But it requires you to buy a special timing cover, water pump, pulleys, and damper. I think all of that ended up costing me well over $ 1000 by the time I was done.

Just thought you should take out a tape measure and size up your engine room before you commit to that sbf. To show you how long these engines are, look at how far I had to set back the one in my 27, and even with the short water pump kit I still clear the electric fan by about 1/4 inch!

Don

Edit: Ok, I just read your other thread, looks like you are cutting up the car pretty far for the bags and MMII, so I guess you won't mind a little more surgery on the firewall.

Hey Don, be careful about telling people to put in SBC motors; Dave may be watching and you'll never hear the end of it.

Hey everyone....it's been a while since i've been on, but I've gotten pretty far along with regards to which route i'm taking with my 302 motor. I've decided to go with an edelbrock top end kit....it'll give me about 360hp which is a decent # for the price. I've also established all the additional parts that i'll need. So the good news is that I have plan finally!!! My major concern right now is establishing the production date of my engine. Originally i was told that the motor came out of a 1979 mustang, but I can't verify that is correct information. I've looked online in various places and all the sources say that i should look above the starter for the engine codes.....i've looked for hours and can't find any numbers on the block that match any of the 302/289 casting #rs. The only clearly visible # that I found was one that was visible after i took off the intake manifold and is located on the side closest to the firewall. Here's a picture of it....

Any help would be greatly appreciated....I'll also check out SBFTECH....thanks!

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

There is one other thing to consider that you haven't mentioned. You say you want to put this in your 35 Ford, and while I am a Ford guy at heart I have to tell you that fitting one of these into your car will not be a piece of cake. Yes, they are narrow, but they are also long. The front mounted oil pump also presents some issues with crossmember clearance.

I have essentially the same engine room on my 46 Ford but when I build that car it will most probably get a 350 Chevy to save me from hacking up the firewall and moving the engine 3-4 inches into the passenger compartment. I know people have put the Fords into these cars, but it is just a lot more work.

You can shorten up the Ford engine with Ford Racing's short water pump setup, and I did that on my 27 to save 1.5 inches. But it requires you to buy a special timing cover, water pump, pulleys, and damper. I think all of that ended up costing me well over $ 1000 by the time I was done.

Just thought you should take out a tape measure and size up your engine room before you commit to that sbf. To show you how long these engines are, look at how far I had to set back the one in my 27, and even with the short water pump kit I still clear the electric fan by about 1/4 inch!

Don

Edit: Ok, I just read your other thread, looks like you are cutting up the car pretty far for the bags and MMII, so I guess you won't mind a little more surgery on the firewall.

That's right, be different. Put a 350 Sheby motor in a Ford, and be sure to paint the Ford red, you will have something really different, one of a kind

Ya...no thanks on the sbc or the red paint

check into a trick flow kit,comes with heads cam intake etc and will get you close to your 300-400 range your looking for. i picked my heads (alum. edelbrock) up used for 450 with 1.6 rollor rockers. now thats the only time ive heard of a deal like that and thats why i snagged them up but you can find them used for around 800 with rockers alot of times. just keep your eyes open and you can find a great deal every once in a while. same with intakes and cams if money is an issue. will this be carbed or injected?

Thanks for the info venom.....I'll be running a garb set up.....but once again my inexperience has me feeling like I don't know what parts to get.....even picking out a kit will be like shooting in the dark for me considering that I don't have a clue about compression and differences in cam size ext... I'm. Thinking hat perhaps it's best for me to educate myself on the subject before I go out and start buying parts.....anyone know about any online resources hat can school ne on basic engine internals info of build guides?

sbftech.com they are well versed out for beginners and pros at this site . Start at the beginning and read on and a lot . They have a forum just for rookies to ask so look for it and dont be afraid .

No offense, but if a 400hp SBF could be built for $1500 and still survive any sort of real usage, everyone would have one (most people just think they do).

If It was me in your position, I would get the engine running first and figure out what (if anything) is wrong with it. Minor adjustments may get it running suprisingly well.
Save money and build the lil critter right at a later date.


SBFtech is a great resource, tho mildly sycophantic and of the "Use the best parts, or go away" mentality, so bring a grain of salt.

Grain of salt is a great idea . Last time I was there , been a while I think they had put up a couple threads on building a SBF with different horse ratings .