I recently bought a 302 block that I want to drop in my 68 Mustang. It is an 87 Mustang block (E7TE identifier). It has been partially rebuilt, the crank, connecting rods, and pistons are all balanced and installed. I checked the part numbers of the pistons and they are forged (E7ZE-6110-CA) but I am not sure about the rest. I want to build a 327 or 331 stroker but I hate to start all over because the work done to this is quality. I am looking to get 350-400hp out of it when it is all said and done. Is it possible to get that with heads, cams, and other bolt ons without stroking the engine?

 

at the crank yes. With aftermarket heads and a good cam and other supporting bolt ons should get you 350 at least.

 

cool, thanks! Any recommendations on what to get and where to go for the best bang for the buck? Also, I believe the 87 mustang was fuel injected but I was thinking to stay Carbuerated for simplicity sake. What would you do? Please forgive my ignorance, I know just enough to really screw something up.

 

well, I ordered the edelbrock 60379 cylinder heads today from summit racing. I am seriously looking at the ford racing e303 cam. Anyone have any thoughts on these and recommendations for what to follow.

 

I know the E303 is a great cam. I had it in two mustangs, one had a vortech, both were beasts. Those cams have always had great numbers and they sound great too.

 

awesome thanks, I am going to drop the hammer on that cam then.

 

You say you want to have your 302 make 350-400hp. That is fine and dandy, but at what rpm do you want that peak horsepower to be? That will influence how much torque you are going to need to build or how high of rpms you are going to need to spin the motor to to accomplish the 350-400hp. Once you know that, you will know how to build your motor to with stand the punishment of either the torque, the rpms, or both.

Yes 350-400hp is doable from a 302, but depending on your answer to my question above, the engine may not be very streetable or may chew up the rest of your drive train. High spinning engines are not very streetable. High torque engines are not very friendly to the rest of the car. Pick your poison.

My final comment is be wary of the Ford "letter" cams. They are monkey see monkey do for the most part as there are a bunch of 5.0 guys out there that really do not know what they are talking about but love Ford Racing Stuff. I am not picking on Suicide67, but that is the kind or comment that can get you the wrong cam for your setup. It may be the exact right cam for your setup, but do not take it at face value. The cam should match your intake, stroke, rocker ratio, head flow capabilities, exhaust flow capabilities, fuel delivery capabilities, and desired rpm operation band. Until you know that stuff, how can you say a given cam is the best choice? I always recommend playing with a dyno software package like ProSim's DynoSim. It can open your eyes to the affects of these different variables.

 

I wouldn't. It's an ok cam, but outdated. A decent Comp Cams grind would make quite a bit more power. Best bet is to call Flowtech Induction or Camshaft Innovations and get a custom cam. The engine will make much better power. Also if it's not too late you could get better heads depending on your budget, but those ones are decent. Those heads with a decent custom cam should make at least 375 at the crank with really broad torque.

 

well the heads are already on the way but I haven't ordered the cam yet. I am going to try the dynosim software and see what fits best. I haven't decided on intake yet because I am still flip flopping on EFI or Carbuerated. I am leaning towards carbuerated because of the price and simplicity of the overall build. I just hope I will be satified with the performance. This is the first engine I have ever put together, my last Mustang was just bolt ons that I didn't put a whole lot of thought into. I am a relative novice and I am depending on guys that have a lot more knowledge than me. Thanks for all your inputs

 

Custom cam. Otherwise like a Crane or Comp cam that puts the power where you want it.