302 mexican block
05-29-2009, 05:09 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2009
Location: arkansas
Posts: 11
302 mexican block
i have recently bought a ford 302 mexican block. i am building a turbo car hoping to make 550 to 600 rwhp. will this block be able to handle 12-15 psi and how long will it hold up? i have seen a lot of mixed reviews on this block some saying it will handle 600hp and some saying they were putting down 900 rwhp with the block and running 9 sec quarter mile times. if someone with a mexican block with a good amount of power could chime in or if anyone one is very familiar with them could help me out i would much appreciate it.
05-29-2009, 05:12 PM
#2
6th Gear Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: California
Posts: 10,468
Hard to tell with any factory block. They can have varying levels of core shift etc. That said, the mex blocks were casted a tad thicker and with a higher nickel content, so they were sturdier. Exactly how much they'll handle can be hard to say, but it could be considered in between a factory block and a sportsman block.
05-29-2009, 05:19 PM
#3
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2009
Location: arkansas
Posts: 11
ive heard that they were made just like the sportsman blocks and have heard that the boss blocks are almost identical to. im just hoping it wont split down the middle like a factory 302 block will. does anyone know if i stay on top of my tune that i will have anything to worry about?
05-29-2009, 07:35 PM
#5
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Puerto Rico
Posts: 3,926
Tune, tune and tune. Will it survive? Invest where it matters.... rotating assembly balance, and tune tune. An aftermarket Man of War would be a better fail safe insurance, or the new Boss block. The following was a 306 Mexican block setup that was beaten for 2 years, running at 9,000+ rpm's N/A. It was then sold to finance the new project engine. It used the stock crankshaft and rods, but the balance and tune was where the $$ was.
http://www.smithspeed.com/videos/rich977.mpg
http://www.smithspeed.com/videos/rich977.mpg
05-30-2009, 10:21 PM
#7
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2009
Location: arkansas
Posts: 11
well i have a full probe forged internals and all are internally balance together including the flywheel. so i pretty much need to keep up with the tune on a regular basis. i was also told a main support from dss racing would help out a lot. any ideas on that?
05-31-2009, 10:28 AM
#8
D.R. THE PATHETIC DORK
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 30,863
I have such on my block as well as their pro tray, it's more so for piece of mind.......a good arp stud kit for the mains will be suffucient and the girdle won't hurt it, if you have the money and don't care to spend it on such, it's your call
06-01-2009, 03:46 PM
#9
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2009
Location: arkansas
Posts: 11
so if i added the dss racing main support and some good arp main studs and only ran the car to 6k rpms and with 10-12lbs of boost should i have a lot to worry with still or do yall think ill be n the clear?
