pisses me off that it didnt blow while winding up. it blew while sitting in the driveway AND it blew as bad as it did. i mean, thats pretty damn bad right there.

my latest hypothesis is that the center main webbing cracked first, which caused the carange that followed.

 

actually if you get small block 289/302/351 rods treated & shotpeened those things can take alot of abuse, i have talked to guys who raced 289 mustangs back in the day and they said they would get those factory cranks and rods up to 7 or 8k as long as like i said they were shot peened and treated...also there are some other tricks you can use to strengthen the rod up also and crankshaft balancing is key...but +1 on the stud girdle, most 302 blocks arent known for handling 400+ hp very well ungirdled if your turning that much power i would opt for a dart cast iron block for longevity...

 

+1 on should being able to get up to the 7k mark without esssploding. keep in mind i NEVER held it there (no roundy round race track action or anything) but when i'd drive hard i would shift at or above 6500 with a 6AL rev limit of 7k. the rods were shot peened, and weather or not that had anything to do with the fact they didnt break i dunno, but they sure bent up like a pretzel. its the crank that really went pow, and it was shot peened too. plus the obvious balancing of the whole thing.

i dunno, is there ANY chance it could have been because of timing? too far advanced? could that happen if it tried to fire toooooo soon?

 

you can get your crank pistons and rods heat treated and shot peened except pistons and your crank nitrided too there is all types of things you can doo really, but shotpeening helps, the rods got bent up cause they went god knows slamming crap when your crank snapped id say

 

im just surprized the rods didnt snap, very surprized.

any clue on a mexican blocks worth? std bore.....

would anyone else be interested in getting one? i may have a lead but i need to know what they are worth

 

mex block std bore in good condition i would give 200-300, unless its a boss 302 i usually wont give more than 300 for a 289/351/302 block unless it is just obscenely correct date coded for the person im building for...i mean i picked up my std bore 427 side oiler complete engine for 400 but that is a once in a lifetime deal

 

ok, so figure 250 bucks for the block. if i got a couple of these would you want one?

 

nah thanks tho i appreciate it, i have customers builds lined up for the next 2 months and have already bought the blocks for most of em, alot of people have rediscovered what a great engine the 390 is tho and i have managed to convert 3 people who wanted 302 strokers for 67-68's into the fact that having a period correct 390 big block would be kick *** and they could get better power i mean if you build a big block ford up the right way you can almost free up the revs to where it will rev like a small block that is why i love ford engines they are so workable...