Jarid

I just pulled this engine out of a van, and I'm getting ready to convert things over to drop it in my mustang. The engine is a 1980 302, e0aed3c, a common number I see hahaha. My chilton book says to gap the spark plugs around 0.035, but the engine, from the firing order, has been rebuilt to become a HO 302, and my chilton book says all HO 302's have a spark plug gap of 0.050. So....what should I gap my plugs at to be more efficient?

nacanitihs

.052 is spec for a HO

Jarid

so that's what I should gap it at since it was rebuilt to be a HO 302? thanks

.boB

The plug gap is a funtion mostly of the ignition system, not the cam or firing order. If you upgrade the coil to have the ability to make more spark, then you can use a wider gap. Cylider pressures make a big differance, too. If pressure is high, then it's more difficult to make a spark, and you have to close the gap.

Initially, I would start at .040-.042'ish. Once you get it running and do some tests to see what you really have, then you can change it to get the best performance.