This is likely the last story for this stock short-block because we've pushed it about 1,500 rpm beyond the safety margin of the stock rods. This engine has gone from 279 hp to 479 hp with most of the original parts.
It has bad vacuum, you need a stupid converter or a clutch and deep gears to operate it on the street, and it spits and wiggles like a basket full of baby vipers. But we can't stop winking at it. We love this little engine and its brutal veneer, even though there isn't a machinist in the country who is going to touch the short-block with a 10-foot dial indicator. It's just too far out on the edge. This engine would be loads of fun in a 4:56:1-geared Maverick or a Mustang four-speed with a gutted interior bang-shifted at 7,800.
The JE/SRP pistons we found have serious domes that are designed to make 13.8:1 compression with a 58cc chamber. The pin needs to be pressed out of the rod for installation, and the pistons were nearly 80 grams lighter than the stock pistons, so we grabbed the crank and rods and took them to JMS Racing Engines to have the assembly rebalanced. Had we not balanced the assembly, the engine would have eventually eaten the bearings.
Way back in the Nov. '07 issue, we hot-tanked and dingle-honed this 302 before we reassembled it with original parts and made a street-friendly 279 hp with mid-300 lb-ft of torque using an RV cam and aluminum intake. A couple of months later, we added a set of AFR 165 street heads for a surprising 92hp improvement and a big, fat torque gain in the midsection of the curve without even changing the tiny 218/228 camshaft. The engine would have done a lot better with a roller stick and more compression, since the combo only netted us around 7.5:1. Still, the engine was an excellent example of a low-buck street combo that would have run happily for a long time on the worst sluice-water gasoline imaginable. We lied to ourselves and pretended to be happy with it. When we asked what you, the reader, thought, you told us, rather loudly, to see just how far we could go with the stock short-block, and you didn't care if we blew something off in the process. Gee, thanks.
The wristpin is considered press-fit because it can slide back and forth in the piston but not in the rod. Full-floating pistons allow the wristpin to slide in both the piston and the rod and are kept from sliding out by a spiral lock on each end of the wristpin bore.
We flipped through the JE catalog and found a set of off-the-shelf forged pop-up pistons that were designed to build 13.8:1 compression with a 58cc head and the stock crank and rod combo. Visions of another 100hp gain with a really radical, solid, flat-tappet cam for some serious noise drugged the brain hamster. How could we not do this? To top it off, Tony Mamo from Air Flow Research called and said there was a set of brand-new Competition Ported 185cc small-block Ford heads cooling in the CNC machine. Dude, what would you do? Our U-joints are done for.
OPTIONAL GOODIES DESCRIPTION PN PRICE Childs & Albert ring machine RF-112 $475.00 Ford valve covers {{{M}}}-6582-E302P* 114.95 each Comp Cams nitriting service N/A {{{100}}}.00 MSD pro billet ready-to-run dist. 8352 363.{{{90}}} BIG FAT COMP CAM DESCRIPTION ADVERTISED DURATION DURATION AT 0.050 LIFT LOBE SEPARATION Comp Mech. Flat Tappet 282/294 256/265 0.609/0.624 108SRP Piston SpecsPN: 150069Bore: 4.030Stroke: 3.00Cubic inches: 306Rod length: 5.090Compression distance: 1.600Dome volume: 18ccGram weight: 525
Head Flow Makes PowerBoth heads were tested using a 13/4 exhaust pipe on a 4.030 bore with 28 inches of test depression.
Once the rotator was back from JMS, we sprayed out the main journals on the crankshaft to dismiss any flakes of crud that might have grown there and toweled it off with terry cloth.
STOCK IRON HEADS LIFT INTAKE EXHAUST 0.050 27.0 19.4 0.{{{100}}} 56.2 43.4 0.{{{200}}} 107.1 79.3 0.{{{300}}} 141.0 110.0 0.400 155.3 120.0 0.500 163.5 125.0 0.{{{600}}} 167.0 129.0
The rods and the main bearing caps are marked for location. The arrows point toward the timing chain and are marked in sequence. We torqued the mains caps to 70 ft-lbs.
PORTED AFR 165CC NO. 1399 LIFT INTAKE EXHAUST 0.050 27.8 23.5 0.100 59.0 {{{57}}}.1 0.200 127.0 114.5 0.300 189.0 {{{164}}}.0 0.400 225.0 194.0 0.500 245.0 203.0 0.600 252.0 209.0
COMPETITION PORTED AFR 185CC NO. 1426 LIFT INTAKE EXHAUST 0.050 33 25 0.100 66 59 0.200 148 113 0.300 202 162 0.400 242 199 0.500 274 215 0.600 286 222 0.700 296 227 0.800 230
PARTS LIST DESCRIPTION PN PRICE Previous cheapie build total minus heads and valvetrain N/A $905.78 JE pistons 150069 601.00 AFR Competition Ported 185 heads 1426 1,885.00 Holley 750-cfm carb 134-300C 231.{{{90}}} Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake 2921 239.00 Hooker headers 6901 159.95 Fel-Pro intake gasket 1250 22.95 Pro Comp distributor PC8022 150.00 ARP head bolts 154-3701 43.95 Comp Cams 1.6 rocker arms 1331-8 291.90 Comp Cams mechanical cam 35-000-20 167.69 Comp Cams pushrods 7937-12 117.39/16 Comp Cams lifters 2910-16 103.69 Comp Cams timing chain CCA-2100 33.95 Fel-Pro head gasket 1011-2 36.95 Total: $4,991.10
Stevie B Dyno Machine Power CurveThe following things about this dyno chart amuse us. Peak torque is at 5,800 rpm. The engine is still making power at 7,500 rpm, and you can't see it but the engine only made 6 inches of vacuum and wouldn't idle below 1,300 rpm.
The intake port is equally badass. It flowed 110.5 cfm more than stock. That's why we've gained about 200 hp from stock using the combination of cam, heads, and compression. The heads also pull past 7,500 without lying down. Our new cork is the rotator's strength.
RPM TQ HP 4,{{{600}}} 348 305 4,700 353 316 4,800 357 326 4,{{{900}}} 362 338 5,000 373 355 5,{{{100}}} 379 368 5,{{{200}}} 382 378 5,300 381 384 5,400 382 392 5,500 381 399 5,600 381 406 5,700 385 418 5,800 387 427 5,900 386 433 6,000 381 435 6,100 375 435 6,200 374 442 6,300 373 447 6,400 373 454 6,500 369 457 6,600 369 463 6,700 365 466 6,800 358 464 6,900 355 467 7,000 353 470 7,100 351 475 7,200 348 477 7,300 344 478 7,400 340 478 7,500 336 479
