Devist8 Posted August 30, 2017 Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 Ok, so my friends giving me a 302 roller engine that needs to be rebuilt but nothing is wrong with it besides that. Now I'm debating on if I should should just rebuild it and build it up a little or do a stroker kit? I'm leaning towards a 331ci and my plans would be to have it built by around April 2018 in which I would then get a turbo kit or piece one together. I myself have never completely built a motor so this will be my first and my son has been wanting to build a motor so it will be a slow learning process for us both(he is 5 lol). I do have friends and family nearby that are a lot more knowledgeable then I am so of course they will help,but i'm not 100% on which direction I want to go with it. It will be considered a budget build so I want to be able to make as much power (safely) with the stock block, later ill buy a better block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96blackgt54 Posted August 30, 2017 Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 Do yourself a favor! Buy a rebuild kit with all the bearings, gaskets, rings and such and "just" rebuild it. Long story short, the heads a better fitted for the 302ci. Sure the 331ci will gain more bottom end, but hp will remain the same, n/a. Plenty of folk out there in 302ci land with stout engines. More displacement doesnt necessarily mean more hp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devist8 Posted August 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 8 minutes ago, 96blackgt54 said: Do yourself a favor! Buy a rebuild kit with all the bearings, gaskets, rings and such and "just" rebuild it. Long story short, the heads a better fitted for the 302ci. Sure the 331ci will gain more bottom end, but hp will remain the same, n/a. Plenty of folk out there in 302ci land with stout engines. More displacement doesnt necessarily mean more hp. Yea one of my buddies was pointing me that way saying just do a good build on the 302 head/cam/intake forged etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttocs Posted August 30, 2017 Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 so your saying keep the stock bottom end or building up the bottom end and just keeping the stock displacement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devist8 Posted August 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 5 minutes ago, ttocs said: so your saying keep the stock bottom end or building up the bottom end and just keeping the stock displacement? building up the bottom end stock displacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttocs Posted August 30, 2017 Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 I too have dreamed of learning to build my next motor and building a nice 302. Any idea on the parts your considering? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh@RideTech Posted August 30, 2017 Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 I built a 331 using a Scat kit last year and have been very happy with it. It made 363rwhp/355rwtq with AFR 195's and a Holley Systemax setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devist8 Posted August 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 5 hours ago, ttocs said: I too have dreamed of learning to build my next motor and building a nice 302. Any idea on the parts your considering? Honestly besides look at the stroker kits I havent even began to part things together. was trying to decide on what i wanted to do then go from there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devist8 Posted August 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 4 hours ago, Josh@RideTech said: I built a 331 using a Scat kit last year and have been very happy with it. It made 363rwhp/355rwtq with AFR 195's and a Holley Systemax setup. Well when I was thinking of doing a 331 I was going kinda looking at different options and setups, was looking at all that plus turbo and was thinking of getting 355 gears. Because I'm pretty sure my Mustang still has the stock gears in it because it has no get up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh@RideTech Posted August 30, 2017 Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devist8 Posted August 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 hell yeah! sounded great josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prokiller Posted August 30, 2017 Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 if you are going turbo then i would keep it a 302 and not invest at all in the block. take a lesson from the rest of us who've done this before. i wish i would have went dart in the first place. if you don't think a turbo is in the cards, then definitely stroke it out. and i would go 347 if that is the case because it's the same money but more cubes. a solid n/a combo won't make the numbers a turbo will but it will definitely give you enough power to keep you happy and it will be a safe combo to last. if you do go turbo, you might want to keep your gears you have. helps the turbo spool and keep you in that powerband at the lower ratios. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devist8 Posted August 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 (edited) 58 minutes ago, Prokiller said: if you are going turbo then i would keep it a 302 and not invest at all in the block. take a lesson from the rest of us who've done this before. i wish i would have went dart in the first place. if you don't think a turbo is in the cards, then definitely stroke it out. and i would go 347 if that is the case because it's the same money but more cubes. a solid n/a combo won't make the numbers a turbo will but it will definitely give you enough power to keep you happy and it will be a safe combo to last. if you do go turbo, you might want to keep your gears you have. helps the turbo spool and keep you in that powerband at the lower ratios. I wasn't going to go too serious on the build if I kept it a 302, So whats a 302 capable of making safely like 5-600 hp safely?? So Dart block for a 302 would be what like starting around 2500 from what I've seen. Edited August 30, 2017 by Devist8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttocs Posted August 30, 2017 Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 maybe we can get a group buy going on dart blocks lol. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95opal Posted August 30, 2017 Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 As Ryan said if you plan on boosting the stroker go strait for the dart block. If you think na power will do ya stroke the stock block and ne done...or a 302 hci with mild boost. Either build on the stock block dont waist your money on bottom end shit just bolt on you stuff and go. Just to give you an idea on pricing a stroked dart short block ready for heads and cam is gonna run ya around 5k plus your choice of hci on top. Adds up quick so be sure to be honest with yourself anout the build budget or you could start down the path of failure before you begin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devist8 Posted August 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 10 minutes ago, 95opal said: As Ryan said if you plan on boosting the stroker go strait for the dart block. If you think na power will do ya stroke the stock block and ne done...or a 302 hci with mild boost. Either build on the stock block dont waist your money on bottom end shit just bolt on you stuff and go. Just to give you an idea on pricing a stroked dart short block ready for heads and cam is gonna run ya around 5k plus your choice of hci on top. Adds up quick so be sure to be honest with yourself anout the build budget or you could start down the path of failure before you begin. Thx great info yea at this point in time 5k isn't in my cards yet. So with that being said, I should keep the 302 block stock just if anything do good forged internals along with a good h/c/i set up then boost. just don't go crazy with too much boost correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95opal Posted August 31, 2017 Report Share Posted August 31, 2017 1 hour ago, Devist8 said: Thx great info yea at this point in time 5k isn't in my cards yet. So with that being said, I should keep the 302 block stock just if anything do good forged internals along with a good h/c/i set up then boost. just don't go crazy with too much boost correct? No need for forged internals in a stock block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96blackgt54 Posted August 31, 2017 Report Share Posted August 31, 2017 Keeping the build to a minimum is idea considering this will be your first build. One step at a time is my moto. Take 3, 4 steps is where people get stuck financially or stuck trying to figure out a problem especially when they have little practice. Lets say the car runs good. Pull the engine, rebuild it (bearings, gaskets, rings, maybe open ports a little) lap valves, replace seals.....basically getting yourself familiar with the whole process! Its a great addictive hobby with great rewards, but id advice baby steps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devist8 Posted August 31, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2017 1 hour ago, 96blackgt54 said: Keeping the build to a minimum is idea considering this will be your first build. One step at a time is my moto. Take 3, 4 steps is where people get stuck financially or stuck trying to figure out a problem especially when they have little practice. Lets say the car runs good. Pull the engine, rebuild it (bearings, gaskets, rings, maybe open ports a little) lap valves, replace seals.....basically getting yourself familiar with the whole process! Its a great addictive hobby with great rewards, but id advice baby steps. Exactly I'm trying to not get over excited and get in over my head but this will be my 1st complete strip down build, for now, I'm just trying to get the most bang for my buck. I would like to end up with around 500'ish whp, without jeopardizing the block or anything else. The engine that's in it I don't think it hurt to bad but something is going on, under hard acceleration, I hear a lot of clatter/tapping. So I take it easy hence why I was getting ready to do another 302 just didn't know with the pricing of a stroker kit if I should have gone ahead and stroked it along with the turbo and had fun for a few years then got a dart block and built something better. However, after all the input it seems to make more sense to just keep it a moderately built 302 with h/c/i/turbo etc, then when time and funds permit to do something more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prokiller Posted August 31, 2017 Report Share Posted August 31, 2017 if you don't have 5k then you need to reassess your goal of 500rwhp. at least not safely. a turbo will run you half that, a rebuild will run you a grand with gaskets and fluids. that leaves you 1500 for a H/C/I which will only get you good heads and maybe an intake. none of the other supporting stuff you need like throttle body, mass air, injectors, etc. you can boost the hell out of a stock setup and hit 500 but it won't last long. again, my advise would be to do a cheap stroker and a decent h/c/i. the h/c/i will grow with you if you chose wisely (all but the cam). this would get you a reliable 350-400rwhp depending on combo. then down the road if the n/a combo isn't enough for you and you've saved up some dough, you build a solid bottom end and swap over your goodies along with a turbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96blackgt54 Posted September 1, 2017 Report Share Posted September 1, 2017 All great info ^ Dis house full of wisedom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
