Question about non H.O. 302's

[eddielugnutz]

I got a 89 ford crown vic from a relative, free with low miles. I was curious about the differences in the H.O. motor from this 190hp non H.O. motor, beside the obvious difference in firing order and lack of tubular headers, what other differences are there in this year, such as...
-Do non H.O. motors have forged pistons? and do you think this motor has 9:1 compression, or more like 8.5:1?
-I'm almost certain this is a non roller motor right? I was told all non H.O. motors and 351's didnt' have roller cams untill 94 or 95, is that true?
-do you think non H.O. motors have the same "truck" heads as a mustang, or smaller ones. I have an old set of stock heads off my old lx, I could clean them up and use them if the heads on this crown vic motor are smaller. it was my intent that if the heads were the same, i would use the stock long block, throw in a decent cam and bolt on's, it would make a world of difference from 190hp.


I was actually thinking about doing some work to this tank. Just to make it a little more fun, I was thinking about swapping computers to make the same firing order as a mustang, and use a nice aftermarket hydraulic cam (of the H.O. firing order obviously) and not bother going roller. then do the typical bolt on upgrades and at least have about 250RWHP in a 4,000lb tank, with better gearing it would be nice to make 14's in a full size 17' long four door, that would really piss off the ricers. Next time some ricer revvs on me at a light, It would be hilarious to kick his ass with a 4000lb four door sedan, then I'd go food shopping in my ugly ass 14 second grandma car, ha ha ha, I love it! Of course you know I don't mean drag racing this piece of crap, i just want a whoopty to get to work, and do a few donuts and burnouts, and whoop a few ricers in the meantime, ya know! I think everyone should have a car on the side that they don't give a crap about and just beat on it unmercifuly

Do you think I could swap a c4 relatively easy, question being, do the c4 and the aod have the same dimensions so I could use the same driveshaft, or do I have to get the driveshaft custom. I'm sure that the stock aod in this car will fail once I get my leadfoot hands on it, and I do have a new c4 I was going to put in my old mustang. I wouldn't mind putting it in this car with a ratchet shifter and do away with the column shift. that would be cool.


Let me know what you think guys, and feel free to make fun of me, I get crazy ideas some time.

[Capri306]

It's more than likely a low-compression setup, with garbage heads and cast rockers. You're going to be hard-pressed to make decent horsepower out of it, but then again since it's in a "tank," as you put it, it's going to need more low-end torque. If I were trying to scoot in a heavy car, I'd be looking to put in more cubic inches. There's no replacement for displacement, and this is no exception. To that end, I recommend a 351W from a truck, with an aftermarket intake so it'll still fit under the hood. Finding a 351W isn't hard, and it's a drop-in for most full-size cars that came with 302's. As far as the C4, it will fit just fine as long as the cross-member is willing to cooperate. I'm pretty sure the driveshaft will work, but even if it doesn't, getting a custom driveshaft isn't expensive.

Actually, no, scratch this entire idea. You wanna blow off someone's doors? Do it right: big block, baby! Screw this small-block based stuff. 600+ cubes will make that mofo move like no other.

[Dark_5.0]

I have the heads off of a crown vic and they are E7's.

I like the 351W idea. Torque is your friend especially when your car weighs 4000lbs.