How much power will a stock 302 block hold
 

Hey what kind of power have you all seen a stock 302 block hold up to. I have a 302 built to around 500 hp but am kinda scared to really get on it hard. Im just not sure if the mains will hold. Plus I would like to add NOS and that really scares me. I was thinking about upgrading to a sportsman block but havnet heard really great things about them either. Then there is the dart iron eagle block but thats about 2000 $. Anyways I was just currious what you all thought

thanks

kc

My lasted about 3 months with 750 flywheel hp

I wouldn't push one much past 550 with a girdle. I had mine making about 500 and didn't have a problem with it. Of course it was never shifted above 6500 (usually, lol) and only ran about 15psi.

The problem the way I see it is there isn't an in-between block out there......something rated around 800hp. It's either a stock block (the sportsman aren't much better in my opinion) or a full bore race block.

I opted for the Dart piece. It's a killer piece and the integrity is awesome, but they need a lot more machine work than they claim. The Ford R block is good too, but needs even more machine work than the Dart.

302 block
 

yeah that is exactly what i was thinking. I had read where the sportsman block will not hold much more than the stock block. The price just does not justify the block. I had not really heard about the R block. Do you know how much they are and where to get them. I know the dart goes for about 2000 so if the r was cheaper it might be worth it but i just dont know

thanks for info

kc

I'm not sure where you live, but don't pay much more than $1600 for one. The problem with the blocks are that they are very rough, meaning they need a lot of machine work to get them ready for use. Keith Craft sells them for $1600 and says he can machine for it $600. This is where is gets sketchy....some guys say you can do it for this, some say it needs a $1000 worth of work. Take it for what it's worth...dunno.

Either way, your looking at over 2k. Shop around.....you might find a deal. I bought my Dart for $1700 from an individual.

500 hp ant **** on a stock block. In one of my mmandff there was a black lx drag car that was making 950 hp on juice and h,c,i and they said that they got like 50 run out of it and it was a stock 302.
It also had all the block support pieces to but still that is amazing for a stock 302/factory.

If they got 50 runs out of it, that's only a little over 10 miles. I doubt it would last for any significant amount of time.

You forgot the mileage it takes to drive it around the facility :D