intake question

turbinesurgeon · 03-25-2002, 02:17 AM

Ive just got a 79 mercury from a relative that has a 302 ford replaced about a year ago.The tranny is dead and my uncle just got fed up and bought a new car. It runs excellent but it has a variable venturi carb. Ive never seen one of these.Is this thing computer contolled? Anyway I want to put the motor into my 66 Mustang for a daily driver. I looked up that year 302 in my book and it said it only has 130 hp! Kinda tame.
Well I do have a new edelbrock 2121 intake and matching 600 cfm carb but Im sorta hesitant to mess with since it runs so good.Would the edelbrock intake and carb give me any gains over this venturi thing? Is the hp so low on the 79 model due to the heads mostly? There is no smog laws here so stripping the smog pump and cat converters off is ok if that what might be choking this engine down.

Tom B · 03-25-2002, 12:11 PM

Don,t waste your time on this motor. Adding a carb and intake will just fload out this 302 since it has very low compression due to the pistons and heads and a weak bottom end.

MetalHead · 03-25-2002, 07:05 PM

Tom is right. In order to get some real power out of that engine you are not going to be able to simply bolt on some aftermarket mods, you are going to have to gut the whole block. What I suggest, and what i am currently in the process of, is taking a 302 block and stroking it out to 347 cubes. that will allow you to see the full potential of that engine, and with those other parts you have, it would make a powerful combination. but if you're just looking for a reliable daily driver, i would not recommend it. hope this helps.

Jason

turbinesurgeon · 03-25-2002, 09:38 PM

Thanks for the advice fellas. I think I just want to make this motor a little warmer is all. I will eventually give the car to my son. After he gets a some experience driving I have a 72 351w I want to make a stroker out of and drop it in. Right now I would just enjoy cruising it again while its still mine.

thunderbolt · 03-26-2002, 02:24 PM

Ok, I am going aginst the flow here, but let me get it straight, you have a 79 302 you are thinking of putting in a 66? I don't see a problem here. I wouldn't expect much power but I bet you get quite a bump when you get rid of the 79 cat (aka exhaust strangle) and open up the intake. You have a new edelbrock and a 600 cfm carb? The 600 is about right for a 302. Yea, you have crappy 79 heads (maybe, you said it was rebuilt?) but stay out of the 4bbl all the time and I think it would be ok. The variable venturi carb I believe was an attempt to generate some torque (small carb), and get better proformance (big carb) and still retain gas milage. Overall it was only mildly successful if I remember right.
All I am really trying to say is you have the parts, why not give them a try. It is not like they are horribley mismatched here.
(Like "I have a 260 with a crane 306 cam and a 750 double pumper with 2in headers. Why does it always die below 4000 rpm's") It probably won't make great power, but should pep up a bit and is cheaper than most other measures for the short term. Then if you want a new more powerful engine for the car later you can do it.

turbinesurgeon · 03-26-2002, 10:24 PM

originally I had thought about building the 302 that was in the car so thats how I came up with the intake and carb. Also I came up with a set of 289 heads I considered using but I cant find any info on the casting number to find out if they are any good.They are stamped 65 289 c5ae. I did find info on a c5ae-e head but nothing on mine,a plain c5ae head. As you can tell Im still learning about this hobby. If these heads were good heads and I added them to the 302 what could I expect then? Isnt there a trade off for heads using smaller chamber as compared to larger chambers(like early 351w heads).I do have a set of the 72 351w heads which have been redone.How would it perform with those heads? Again eventually I wiil get a stroker built with the 351w I have but Im just kickin around ideas to warm up this 302 with what I have around already and not a large investment.Thanks guys for helping to give me the benifit of your experience.I appreciate it. If you ever need your helicopter serviced drop me a line.(HAHA)

03-25-2002, 02:17 AM	#1
turbinesurgeon Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: virginia Posts: 9	intake question Ive just got a 79 mercury from a relative that has a 302 ford replaced about a year ago.The tranny is dead and my uncle just got fed up and bought a new car. It runs excellent but it has a variable venturi carb. Ive never seen one of these.Is this thing computer contolled? Anyway I want to put the motor into my 66 Mustang for a daily driver. I looked up that year 302 in my book and it said it only has 130 hp! Kinda tame. Well I do have a new edelbrock 2121 intake and matching 600 cfm carb but Im sorta hesitant to mess with since it runs so good.Would the edelbrock intake and carb give me any gains over this venturi thing? Is the hp so low on the 79 model due to the heads mostly? There is no smog laws here so stripping the smog pump and cat converters off is ok if that what might be choking this engine down.

03-25-2002, 07:05 PM	#3
MetalHead Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Monterey, CA Posts: 76	Tom is right. In order to get some real power out of that engine you are not going to be able to simply bolt on some aftermarket mods, you are going to have to gut the whole block. What I suggest, and what i am currently in the process of, is taking a 302 block and stroking it out to 347 cubes. that will allow you to see the full potential of that engine, and with those other parts you have, it would make a powerful combination. but if you're just looking for a reliable daily driver, i would not recommend it. hope this helps. Jason __________________ 67 Coupe 289, 2 1/4'' pipes w/ Flowmasters Edelbrock 600 cfm 4bbl carb, Edelbrock Airgap intake Hooker headers, MSD Ignition system Next: new tranny, T5 or Toploader

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03-25-2002, 12:11 PM	#2
Tom B Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: HarrisburgPA, USA Posts: 6	Don,t waste your time on this motor. Adding a carb and intake will just fload out this 302 since it has very low compression due to the pistons and heads and a weak bottom end.

03-25-2002, 09:38 PM	#4
turbinesurgeon Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: virginia Posts: 9	Thanks for the advice fellas. I think I just want to make this motor a little warmer is all. I will eventually give the car to my son. After he gets a some experience driving I have a 72 351w I want to make a stroker out of and drop it in. Right now I would just enjoy cruising it again while its still mine.

03-26-2002, 02:24 PM	#5
thunderbolt Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1998 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 380	Ok, I am going aginst the flow here, but let me get it straight, you have a 79 302 you are thinking of putting in a 66? I don't see a problem here. I wouldn't expect much power but I bet you get quite a bump when you get rid of the 79 cat (aka exhaust strangle) and open up the intake. You have a new edelbrock and a 600 cfm carb? The 600 is about right for a 302. Yea, you have crappy 79 heads (maybe, you said it was rebuilt?) but stay out of the 4bbl all the time and I think it would be ok. The variable venturi carb I believe was an attempt to generate some torque (small carb), and get better proformance (big carb) and still retain gas milage. Overall it was only mildly successful if I remember right. All I am really trying to say is you have the parts, why not give them a try. It is not like they are horribley mismatched here. (Like "I have a 260 with a crane 306 cam and a 750 double pumper with 2in headers. Why does it always die below 4000 rpm's") It probably won't make great power, but should pep up a bit and is cheaper than most other measures for the short term. Then if you want a new more powerful engine for the car later you can do it.

03-26-2002, 10:24 PM	#6
turbinesurgeon Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: virginia Posts: 9	originally I had thought about building the 302 that was in the car so thats how I came up with the intake and carb. Also I came up with a set of 289 heads I considered using but I cant find any info on the casting number to find out if they are any good.They are stamped 65 289 c5ae. I did find info on a c5ae-e head but nothing on mine,a plain c5ae head. As you can tell Im still learning about this hobby. If these heads were good heads and I added them to the 302 what could I expect then? Isnt there a trade off for heads using smaller chamber as compared to larger chambers(like early 351w heads).I do have a set of the 72 351w heads which have been redone.How would it perform with those heads? Again eventually I wiil get a stroker built with the 351w I have but Im just kickin around ideas to warm up this 302 with what I have around already and not a large investment.Thanks guys for helping to give me the benifit of your experience.I appreciate it. If you ever need your helicopter serviced drop me a line.(HAHA)