1974 Maverick Grabber

74BossGrabber submitted a new car to the Garage :

1974 Maverick Grabber

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I see it has Cleveland heads. Is that a genuine Boss 302? If it is, you are a fortunate owner.

 

Unfortunately it isn't a true Boss 302. It is a 1972 302 block from a Torino bored .030", and the heads are 1972 351 Cleveland 2V heads from a full size Ford Car, from what I understand of the casting numbers. From what I have read on the Bosses, the original ones were only efficient at about 5000 rpms, and building one with the smaller port 2v heads makes for a better street engine. I've got my fingers crossed that it should do pretty good in the 1/4 and still be a fun daily driver.

 

The 351 heads will work on that 302? Do all the ports match up? My understanding is that not much will match up for that type of swap.

 

let's tuck that front bumper and that car will even be sweeter. that pic. of it sitting outside is killer...

 

You have to drill holes in the heads for a coolant passage through the intake manifold to the thermostat. But other than that you just need the right head gaskets that block the other coolant passages in the block. It's not as complicated as one may think.

 

I'm finishing up my small bumper swap right now, so no need to tuck that one anymore. I was able to find a 71 V8 comet 4 door for a parts car last year, and I'm using the bumper, and lower valance from that.

 

Or sweeter yet, put small bumpers on it.

 

how is that swap working out for you, got any pics?

 

The picture I have posted is after I fit the lower valance. It's still in primer in the picture, it was pretty banged up when I took it off. Right now the valance is off, but the bumper is on getting fitted. It had the impact pads on it so I'm welding up the holes from them. The rear bumper is color matched, and I plan on doing the same up front. I'll get some more pictures soon and share them

 

I like it!

Open chamber heads certainly won't do that little motor any added favors but luckily these cars are light so it will definitely do ok for what it is. Over the years I've ported several sets of those heads from mild to wild and the exhaust port needs lots of work. They will actually start making howling sounds(severe turbulence over the short side due to sudden floor drop angles) on the flow bench at much over .475" valve lifts. Smaller 2V intake ports also still benefit from being "stuffed" too but it takes lots of work. IIRC, MPG still makes those old port plates and exhaust port stingers. They work well to pick up torque and throttle response where these little street motors really need it most.

 

So you're saying I should have ported my heads?

 

No, not really. Unless you or someone you know can do it cheap enough?.. the investment probably wouldn't be worth it. Non-performance open chambered iron heads usually just aren't worth dumping bronze guides, hardened seats, multi-angle valve jobs, flat mills(or better yet angle mills for larger cc drops) to improve performance or longevity.. when you can quite literally take an out-of-box casting and make 40-50 more horses with MUCH higher average torque output even on smaller motors like these(and even more gain on larger CID).

Personally, I'd just enjoy them and revisit the parts combo later on when you decide you want more power. Depending on current cam choice(advanced ICL/tighter LSA grind is best to promote torque earlier in the rev range).. should still be plenty good for high 13's. Shorter rear gear and a high-stall or 5 speed should keep the rev's up where those heads will want to live on a smaller CID motor and make it funner to drive hard too.

 

Thanks for the info, my current plan is to run the AOD trans with 4.11 gears. The torque converter is stock, but eventually I will put around a 2k stall in it. My original plan was to run a T5, but I couldn't come across one, and ended up with this Reman AOD on a trade. I'm hoping to hit mid 13's with a few test and tunes. The car is manual steering with no A/C, and I'm running electric fans, so I shouldn't have too much power loss from accessories.

 

Sounds like you have a solid plan going on here. Highly recommend going to a looser converter right from the get go with the AOD's gears though. If, not implying you should, swapping towards 4r70 gears in it would be much better with a near stock converter since port velocity would come up quicker and therefor would come up on the cam even faster. Remember that just because the converter flashes to 3,000 doesn't mean it slips to high heaven while trying to feather throttle away from the stop light. Plus you'll have converter lockup to keep it nice and cool while cruising around. Either way, you easily have a low 13 second car there. Good converter would make it funner to drive and gain you another easy 2-3 tenths ET reduction.