88 orangepeel notch

Diamond in the rough, congrats on your purchase. They can be fun, cheap cars to build, enjoy. And there is a ton of info on this site for research, and when you get stuck on something, just ask. There are some really knowledgeable guys here to help.

And thanks for your service to this country, Hats of to you.

mjr46

if you're looking for 400-425 rwhp, better do a stroker, most bolt together strokers push 375-390 rwhp, well thought out ones and attention given to detail, those stroker combos put out 400+

ri_stang_owner

Thanks man, i've already gotten a lot of information even just as to what i should be thinking about and what the next best direction should be which was one of the biggest hurdles for me.

ri_stang_owner

Wow i was unaware that i would have to get into stroking the engine to achieve that horsepower. I thought stroking was something you should do if you wanted your end result to be around 500+ or if you like the way the engine operates. I might have to dial down my expectations then and accept the lesser HP until later down the line when money isn't so hard to come by for these things. Then again i've never had anything with this much power either so i might get to 325 or 350 and that'll be plenty for what i want or at least for the time being. Thanks for the heads up on that though.

88 orangepeel notch

What are your intentions with the car, daily driver, weekend toy, strip only ? Downgrading your hp #'s is probably a good idea. These cars are fairly light to begin with, and putting 300-350 to the wheels makes for a very fun street car. More than enough for most circumstances, ……… most.

ri_stang_owner

I'm building it to be a daily driver with fun when i want/need it. my daily commute consists of highway and an access road to my work with a lot of fella's having their tuner cars, so being able to take them off the line down the road while maintaining drivability is what im looking for you could say. i've never really had a light vehicle so my mind set always been i had to be up higher in the hp in order to reach that kind of performance, guess i forgot how light these are compared to my previous vehicles.

88 orangepeel notch

Well I should have said these cars carry most of their weight up front and have light rearends. You'll definitely need good sticky tires after the gear swap.

ri_stang_owner

oh im not forgetting with great power comes great need for traction and stability ha but i'll figure out those mods once i know what im going to put into the engine

mjr46

most bolt together h/c/i 302 combo's will net you 275-300 rwhp, pay attention to detail/ match all parts, gasket match, porting and setting up valvetrain properly , add a tune from a reputable dyno tuner and most will achieve low 300's from said 302 combo's.......of course there are the exceptions to the rule out there.

Duncan_GT

Go 351w