why would anybody build up a 302?

[Tailites]

dont you think its a good question?...think about it...the 351w is light years ahead of the little grocery getter 302

& has so many advantages that a lot of car guys know & understand

eg...guy does a 347 stroker on a 302...with copious amounts of cash inside a block that can barely take 500 hp without

puking its guts at the track...sure its been done...but not often

spend the same money on a 351...do a stroker like a 408 or 427...& we all know how the rime goes about cubes

but the biggest plus is the 351 is just more robust in so many areas...

you can turbo them or SC...spray the snot outta em...in fact I havent heard of one splitting

seen some bent rods come outta one...but it didnt break

now I like the 302...its what I have...fun little motor to mod...etc

but its a stock block & internals...if it blows...theres another one somewhere for cheap

most of you guys know the differences between the two motors...pls post your thoughts on where you would spend your loot

ya ya I know...put an LS in it...lets just keep it Ford content for now

[Speedtospare]

Its cheaper so put a 302 in a car that already has a 302. No other advantage.

[hsousa88]

I guess it comes down to what you want out of it... for me, building my 302 will give me more than enough power I need to have a little fun on the weekends.

[b1lk1]

I'm fine with how quickly my little 302 can put me in jail. Also for me, I had it and parts are a dime a dozen. 351 is a bit more $$$ to get done, maybe someday, but realistically I'll likely have a 302 for a very long time.

[Tailites]

well honestly...mine (302) is a blast...but I think if I was going to get serious about racing

& keeping it all Ford & reasonably priced...it would be 351 based

[tulowd]

A complete 351 is a heavy pig in the front of an already nose heavy car, and wont easily clear the stock hood with a real intake. Add in the expense of headers and some other 351 only things that need to be swapped it is a more expensive build. I thought about it, but it doesn't make sense for a road race directed car unless you can go all aluminum.

I think for a budget drag or street cruiser it would be awesome - a low rpm 500 hp motor would likely cost half of what my 333 did.

[onDjuice]

LS ftw.. free post

[Ponyryd]

Probably because it's more readily available and takes less to make that amount of power with boost. If you wanna stay n/a then sure, 351 it. But as stated there are a lot of differences that you would need to account for to make it work in a 302 car. It's not as easy as dropping it into a Mustang and plugging it it, the front accessory drive is different, oil pan, headers, intakes, etc...all this stuff adds up very quickly when you need to buy it, not to mention the extra weight.
If you're really confused about it, think about how many guys actually need more than 500hp from their 302, not that many. It's a lot of work for not that much more useable power.

[Tailites]

LS ftw.. free post

nice......

& your Fox has a...?

[redo75]

Deck height for 351 block is an issue in some applications. Not by much but can be a problem.