Ford Motorsports 302ci 345hp long block

[nismo280]

I'm going to buy a 1994-95 GT or Cobra real soon. Here's my debate, a stock cobra, or a GT with the drop-in 302 (Part# M-6007-XB3) rated at 345 hp with a good intake plenum, throttle body, and headers. Could I make that motor emissions legal? If I used the stock computer, stock injector size, stock exhaust minus the headers?

Here are the motor's specs

New shortblock
9:1 comp.
E303, or B303 cam... planning on the E303
Edelbrock performer upper intake
SVO aluminum GT-40 heads M-6049-X303 and GT-40 valve train
roller lifters and standard rocker arms
Intake valve is 1.94" and exhaust valve is 1.54".
MSD ignition for a more complete burn
new cat converters

Naturally other mods would come sooner or later, 3.73 gears, short throw shifter, trans rebuild.

I'd be happy with a mild 330hp, if I can't make this happen, I'll probably buy a 1996 DOHC Cobra. I'm not a racer, but I ride on a simple philosophy about sports cars... If you're gonna buy muscle, buy muscle. Granted, 215hp in a 3200 lb car is ok... it's just not what most would classify as a fast ratio. I live in Washington so I have to keep emissions in mind. These engines are built at Ford's Cleveland plant and they run about $3,400.00. I'd rather drop a fresh 302 in rather than hanging a Centrifugal Supercharger.

I'm sure you get flooded with questions regarding different engine configuration. I searched, and came up with minimal information on building smog-legal power.

Thanks for any/all input.

Product link:
http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerc...07&prmenbr=361

[sn95gt19]

for that money your better of getting a 331 or 347, just use the e cam and keep the h pipe with cats, you should still pass. and have the driveability of a new car. just get some gt40p heads and the 331 or 347 short block.

my .02

[nismo280]

Aren't GT-40 "P" heads cast iron? I should just stroke the current block... if it comes clean on the magna-flux. With the GT-40 heads I could use the stock intake manifolds, rocker arms and valve covers. I'd use either trick flow or edelbrock intake. Why do you reccomend the stroker over the replacement long block? I drive alot (22,000 miles per year) so reliability is a concern of mine.



thanks

[Hethj7]

I am not sure about your emissions questions, but I just wanted to throw this in. I dropped a long block from Ford into my car about 4 years ago. It is the same combo as your looking at, except with the cast iron GT-40's (not the P's) and the B-cam. Since you mentioned reliability is an issue, I just wanted to say that I haven't had any problems with my engine. Looking back on it, I could have made more power or possibly gotten more for my money using a different combo, but overall the long block made things very easy and has proven to be reliable.

[briand]

nismo280, it seems like you know exactly what you want which is real good. if you do a little of the work your self you can save a little money and build a better block at the same time. you can go to a website like d&s and get a short block that is balanced & blueprinted for around $1300 or so, it also has forged pistons which gives you a better performance future, which the motorsport does not. you can go get really any aluminum head of your choice (gt-40's, edelbrock, ....) for about $1200.00. get your emission legal cam, intake, 65mm tb, 75 mm mass air, and you will have yourself a nice package. don't forget to go with some equal length headers, good cat h-pipe, and any cat-back system.

gears are also a must for your car, as is some nice street pulleys, and maybe an electric fan to get some more hp. i have basically everything i stated here (check my sig) and after approx 201,000 miles of not so easy miles, my car still runs strong and never lets me down.

for your senario i wouldn't buy a stroker block, if you are just looking for a strong runner that can pass emissions stay with a stock set-up block. no matter what people say on average the typical stroker block will not last as long as a base block. they are not inteded to. and if you want to go with more cubic inches, do it right and just go get a 351. good luck man

[sn95gt19]

i respectfully disagree on what you said about the reliability of 331's and 347's. the 347 "may" have oil buring problems eventually 100,000 miles+, but i have never heard of anyone claiming that. the companies just tried to make tons of money on the 331 when it first came out, and they did just that by putting down the 347. people say that the rod angle on a 347 is too much...thats false also, look at the ls1 GM motor, the rod angle in that thing is far worse than a 347, and yet it is reliable enough to put in a production car (with a warranty) if you go with a "well built" 331 your motor will be just as reliable as it was the day it rolled off the show room floor.
yes the gt40p's are cast iron, they will give you more performance and wont break the bank.
you could either stroke the block you have now, or just buy a whole short block from somewhere. (they all use the same block that you have now...a production block)

get a 331 or 347 you will thank me later, and you will have the same driveability that you have now.

[jruppert]

Hey nismo280... How picky are they on the emissions out in Washington? The reason I ask is that I am planning on moving there this summer. I currently live in Michigan and will be moving to Bellingham. According to my sig, I hope with what I have will pass if I need to do a smog check. This spring I will be installing either a 331 or 347 (havent decided which yet).

[nismo280]

jruppert, you should be fine is Washington as long as you keep your EGR system, your cats, and I'd reccomend MSD as a safety net, most people dont understand that if you have a better, more efficiant burn pattern on your power stroke you get a more powerful engine, and improved fuel economy, too. Washington sucks as for emissions standards, they will either plug into your OBD-II Port (not on your `94) or put it on a RWD dyno... but they wont even give you a HP readout... oh well, I might move out of King County to avoid emissions.

As for my buildup, I'll probably just bore my current block at a machine shop that I'm fairly connected with, and have them build the shortblock with hypereutecit pistons, H beam rods, and a forged crank. I'm a big fan of the Kieth black Hypereutectic pistons simply because they dont blow up like a baloon like the forged are notorious for. Granted, forged is the way to go for the most power, but I think hypereutectic pistons are great for maintaining power after 75,000 miles. A friend of mine build a 318 Chrysler with Kieth Black pistons... 100K later, he dyno'd with only 15 hp less than when the motor had 12k on it. I've got a blown 454 chev thats pusing 850hp with forged pistons, but I dont expect it to last 100k. I want a mild daily somewhere around 330hp in a stock, or .030" overbore small block ford. I have the 5.8 liter in my F-350, and I love the motor, it's a torque monster for a small block, but I dont want the mileage of a 351w, I want to maintain 25mpg highway... 3.73s, or 3.55s would put me right in that range with a built 302.

Thanks for everyone's input.


Tony