are all 302 or ford engines for that matter "hecho en mexico" because the block i just bought off some guy, the casting numbers could not be found online and someone on here told me its a mexican 302. and the 302 engine i just pulled out of my 69 mustang if from mexico too. i was just wondering also some one gave me a link to a forum that compairs US & mexican 302's so is the mexican motor some what better or what?

 

I don't know if all of them were made in Mexico, but I have heard/read that the Mexican blocks have a higher nickle content and are therefore a stronger block.

You have to be dubious about anything you read on the internet, but I have read it in a couple of different places, so for what it's worth....

 

No not all 302's were made in Mexico, and yes, Mex 302's are generally considered stronger. Not only did they have a higher nickel content, but the casting around the cylinder walls and the main webs(the primary weak point of a 302) is a bit thicker

 

It's pretty obvious that not all blocks were made in Mexico, but the ones that were made there are better than the ones made in the US mainly because of the added nickel content in the block making it stronger,

 

so without trying you ended up with two mexican blocks? keep the best one and put the other on ebay to get some $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

they are hard to find, and worth around like 5 times more than a normal block

 

eep4life, the Mexi-block story is as follows- In 1968 FoMoCo sent all their 289 HiPo casting patterns to Mexico, and therefore a 302 'Mexican' block is essentially a HiPo block in a dimensional sense .The only real difference between the standard 289 block and its HiPo cousin was that the main bearing caps were the same width as the bearing saddle in the block; noticeably larger and therefore stronger than standard caps. The Mexican 302 block also has a cast-in boss on the driver's side front face that could be drilled and tapped for accessory use. This was reputedly done because Fords made in Mexico for sale in Mexico had to deal with the perils related to poor-quality Mexican gasoline (detonation) and that Mexican trucks into which these blocks went were presumed to be headed for a harder life than their American counterparts. They were alsorumored to be of higher nodularity (more manganese content) than American blocks and therefore more resistant to cracking. The downside was that quality control was somewhat lacking so there are potential problems with casting flash and (more importantly) core shift, which can limit your particular sample's ability to be overbored. At any rate most of the Mexi-blocks have been snapped up and they're getting pretty hard to find, so even rough ones are seeing north of $500 on eBay.

 

Being the 289 High Performance block had the same casting numberas a regular production block, what do you think Ford sent to Mexico?
Jim

 

dont listen to them all, the mexican block is worthless, i need another block so just send me them both[8D]