If anyone destroked a 302 they would be ****ing nuts, just get a 289 an go even farther back in the power pocket! RPM`s are not the goal to make decent or good power! You can spend 2200$ on heads and vlv train components to spin the engine as high as you want with a balancing job that is spot on from a race worthy machine shop!! Stud the mains with a main support, with a a lightweight rotating assembly spend about 2 wks at the machine shop heating and cooling the block to relieve as much internal stresses as you can $$$$$$ and then you can spin it to 9 or 10k if you want but turning an engine that high to make its power wont even be close to being streetable!!!!

Common sense goes a long way stop talking to the bull**** slingger friend!!! Do a 331 or even a 333 thats a .040 331 with a decent 180ish head and a well thought out camshaft and induction system and you will be more than satisfied then when you get use to it drop some nitrous on top and have fun! get away from that guy spewing the 400+hp stock 306 garbage!!

Dont get me wrong if you are in a class that limits cubic inches then going to an aftermarket block and playing with piston to rod ratios and rpms would be your best friend!! not for a street car though by any means, you can build what your buddy is mythically or ignorantly talking about! Hope you take something from all the guys above warning you from this have a nice day~

OH and also anytime you increase stroke you drastically effect torque.

 

7-8k on a stock block is too much, it'll crack in no time, obviously your builder is not a die hard ford guy or he'd counsel you to keep rpms in the 6500 so it'll live for a good while, find a more knowledgable machinest on fords

 

I'm making about 520HP out of my stock block 352.
Have been for several years, no sign of trouble yet.
That 520 number comes from what it takes to run 128 MPH based on the cars wieght.

 

ok lets skip the rpm goal for now its just getting to become to much especially for a stock block.

At this point seems im back were i started nowhere and just wanting more power/ faster car.

To rev past 5k to the 6500 zone im going to need a balanced bottom end. Will i need a aftermarket rotating assembly ? how much power can the stock bottom end take with 6500 rpm limit?

Is there any gain to just adding a stoked and balanced bottom end?
seems to me id gain some torque at least and more torque means faster acceleration correct me if wrong.

 

Your worrying way to much about engine work. Get yourself a nice head/cam/intake kit and bolt it on. If thats still not enough power for you, you can always spray or boost it after that. I'm a believer that the 5.0 has a pretty tough bottom end in stock form and should be able to hit deep into the 11s on it. Maybe even a high 10 with proper suspension and slicks. If money is no object then by all means get a forged stroker kit and have a machine shop go to town balancing and bluebrinting the everything.

 

Probably not, but it wouldn't hurt. I'd be more concerned with the block

 

If your spending money do it once and be happy atleast for a little while! a 302 just boring for a bigger piston yes nets a small gain in pwr n tq but the stroker will give you a sizable jump in both even with a stock topend, just not as much of a jump! If you do a 331 or what have you with a good topend you will need to get use to it first if all you have been accustomed to is a stock 302!!!!

BALANCING is the main priority, bluepriniting does nothing but let you know all your tolerances and spec does nothing in the performance aspect!

You WILL be fine with a 331 or 347 at or below 7000 rpm with a good balance job! i spin mine to 7500 every oops and again, also use a good balancer and flexplate or flywheel that goes along way in soaking up harmonics due to the higher revs! The best is a fluid filled damper but you have to balance it with a solid first!

A stock 302 bottomend will take quite a bit of abuse, I just done a 308 my very first go round and was disappointed not much gain over the 302 with the exact same topend on both i sprayed it for about 3yrs 150 shot and never had a problem and it was every weekend and some times during the week lol!

Hint of worth do the stroker kit!!!! now you can get one for not much more than a standard master overhaul kit!

Even if you dont have the money for the topend you will have the cubes once you do!

 

I think i want to focus a bit in torque at the moment, should make for a nice street car and have some mean acceleration .if i can get more torque it should be faster in the 1/4? yes or no?

thinking about going with a 351w /stroking it to a 408
but want to keep it fi ( the ecu thing is getting to me with that hearing it wont be so happy with the stock one )..
so yeah stoker sounds nice ,

looking into heads the twisted wedge tw 170 are they 400 hp capable or should i be loking into a larger head . I was 1st looking in to just getting a large head but reading that anything over 185cc is just to much for a 302 is the correct it seems i would need a 185cc or larger head for 400hp or more at the flywheel .

 

A 347 thats built right needs at least a 195cc head.
If you are thinking of a 408, you need even more....
Also remember the rest of the sysytems of the car, trans, rear axle etc.
What trans are you thinking of running?
You are doing the first step correctly that is planning just what you are going to do....

 

I have a built 393 if you're thinking of going the 351w route. I run a 205 head on it and all forged internals, w custom pistons. W a stock block and the power range I'll be, i don't have to borderline block integrity