That is the first I have seen of that picture, but I have seen 'that picture' over and over! The roller blocks love to split like that for some reason. That said, I have only ever seen one 351w split in half like that. A guy on the Stangnet put a monster turbo on a stroked 351w and split it after dynoing it over 750 rwhp! That's like 900 fwhp! Stock 351w block!
Look for a 302 out of a 75 or so Granada. They used Mexican castings and are far stronger than your standard 302. The heads of FoMoCo made the Maxicans use the heavy GT casting for the engines they built. The blocks are clearly marked in the valley. I've got a few myself (junkyard hunting). A friend of mine uses one in his 8 sec 5 Liter. The 5 Liter is a Nitrous and Supercharged car that is brutally fast. If I get a chance to get out to the garage, I'll snap a few pics of the casting. It also responds well to use for a Boss 302 setup if anyone is interested in the setup. For a 347, you will have to do extra clearancing to get the crank fitted. The 331 is an easier fit, but you will still have to grind the block for clearance.
The lore behind those blocks is that Ford used the heavier casting in Mexico because the iron was very poor quality, so the block needed thickening to be reliable. Don't know if that is true or not, but that is the story that has floated around since they were new.
There's also another heavy 302 block, cast in the USA. It's the D8VE casting. Same heavy block as the mex, but has the smaller main caps.
well, if you had the money, why not go with the new 4 bolt main boss 302 from FRPP.... the only downfalls I see, are it's cost... around 1800 from summit. Then put the 347 in it.
with the price of some of those ready to run crate motors some times i'd think how much i'd rather just throw down a credit card number then go through the BS of a bare block rebuild... just another option to keep in mind
Since cost is not a factor in this discussion , the Man-o-war block puts the "boss" to shame. It is a bit more money, but the differences are far bigger than the 200 bux or so. The "boss" block is 86% of the price, but if you look at what you get, it is probably 40% the product the Man-o-war is! Huge added strength, benefits, and 'bells/whistles' over the "boss" piece.
whoooweeee Man the wealth of knowledge on this site is awsome! I guess ill have to decide what I want this car to be. Maybe yins can help? The car is a '73 Comet LDO, 302. No one has ever laid hands on it yet. Would I be making a mistake by modding it? Ill be honest, the most I could afford right now is an overbore, slugs, and heads. Should I worry about a new crank? Lastly, I too have heard about the Mexican blocks being of less than worthy metal. That may just be an old american pride thing though. Thanks for the help, and some new ideas.
if you put a nice reliable motor under the hood i dont think you have to worry about devalueing it or anything like that. if anything youd be making it a better car
take that same motor and rebuild it with quality pistons to raise the compression 9.5.1 or better and replace the heads with iron GT-40's... you will have a reliable engine, with performance to have fun... take this for example; my hardtop 63 fairlane had a E0AE(1980) 302 2bbl fomoco,c4,3.25 8" peg leg, man this thing could do a burn out all day long and not overheat...great gas mileage...run on piss water(watered down gas)...and a 15.54 at the 1/4 mile... it would knock for a few minutes while cold(I purchased the car like that) and then go away... but back to the subject......either rebuild that motor or replace it with a running motor(less down time) and add performance parts as you go and as budget permits...here is a picture of a 63 sportscoupe from the web that most likely appears like my car except that my roof is white and my torq-trust and 15" small and little... and the 76 mav sm bumpers...
That sounds good You need to send me a better picture of the Maverick, are those fender flared? What cam would I use with those head? Just any old street/strip with a longer duration? Do you know how much lift u can have before there is too much?
