Got a call from a friend.............long story short............I've got a chance to buy an original Boss302 motor complete (still in the wrecked car) from pan to carb. The motor has been sitting for some X years and although the price seems reasonable I need to listen to the motor before I'll lay over any greenbacks. I have oil and filter(will drain the oil and replace w/new filter), I can get some points(since it should have a dual point distributor) have some plugs that are a little cold, but good, splice into fuel pump with new line so I can hook up my old 5gal fuel cell with good gas.....................I will also take the distributor out and prime the oil system, also take the plugs out and spray oil...........or MMO(Marvel Mystery Oil) into the tops of the cylinders................and take the battery out of my trailer. I'll also take my old Holley carb as a backup and maybe some ignition wires and compression/leakdown tester and timing light.......Is there anything I am forgetting. I just don't want to fire this motor up without priming the oil and trying to have some lubrication on the tops of the cylinders.....Any thoughts or suggestions. I don't think I've ever tried to start a motor that hasn't run for a lot of years........................and I'd hate to run what appears to be an early motor.
I am not sure I would try to fire up that engine which has potential significant value. I would turn it over with a breaker bar. After sitting that long, I wouldn't risk it. Check all of the casting numbers and dates. Service replacement blocks are worth less than 1970 Boss2's, 1969 Boss2's are worth the most. Look for screw in freeze plugs on the block. Original distributors, smog pieces, Ford numbered Holley carburetor, exhaust manifolds, and specific pulleys need to be factored into the value. Small chance, but these also came with rev limiters, mounted to the firewall. If the wrecked car is "G" code Mustang or Cougar Eliminator, buy the whole hulk. G is the engine code for Boss 302 in 1969-70.
If after priming the oil system and it turns as expected with the breaker bar, I don't see any reason it can't be fired up... Unexpected lightness could indicate rust on the cylinder walls, that will require tear down... I'll say if the Holley has cork gaskets, it WILL dump fuel all over the intake and possibly into the engine, swap it out before trying to start... Also I'd be suspect of the fuel pump, possibility the diaphragm will rupture and dump gas into the engine...
Thanks for the feedback. He said the motor turns over..............and when spending this kind of money I really want to hear it run. All the obvious stuff, it apparently does have screw in freeze plugs, and supposedly has never been touched or taken apart.............the car had some 40,000k+ on it when it was hit (more than once). The block # he gave me was C8OE-6015-B which I believe is any early 69 motor. The car has been sitting in a warehouse for all of those years, so if it will turn over by hand I'll try and start it...................the owner is ok with that and as long as I prime it good enough and oil the top end..........I'll let it soak for 2/3 hours while I work on the rest of the stuff, then turn it over easy with the plugs out..............then put them in and see if it will run. Remember, it's a Ford...........not brand X.
Ok, I've got some holley gaskets, but maybe I'll take the old electric fuel pump off the Maverick and bypass the stock fuel pump...............I think is going to turn into an all day adventure.............part of the reason for bring my old holley just incase the original one won't do the job.
Definitely use an electric fuel pump and change out the carb...Otherwise you seem to have the bases covered...You may want to pull the rocker covers and take a good look at the valve train before fireing it up. The street Boss 302s' were notorious for dropping valves and grenadeing the pistons. (The keepers/spring retainers would fail)
Yes, the valve covers will be one of the first things to come off. The last time I took valve covers off a 65 Mustang convertible..................the sludge was up over the edge of the valve cover.....................it was a mess.
what kind of car is this in and what are they wanting for the motor? it must be pricey for you to go through all of that to hear it run before buying it. if its a cougar eliminator definitely buy the whole thing if you can. theres money setting there depending on how bad the car was hit
The motor is in a Mustang..............and yes, I want hear it run and make sure I'm not throwing good money away..........realizing that even hearing it run doesn't guarantee it's good, but at least I can listen to it, watch the oil pressure, temperature...........etc. As for buying the whole car, I'm not into parting out a car, and if it's as bad as I've been led to believe, I wouldn't want it taking up space.
Yeah John,there are`nt to many Boss 302s just laying around anymore,go for it.If I had the chance to buy some history I`d probably snap on it tone day I`ll probably regret selling the rare 289 I had but I got a good price for it & it was`nt what I wanted.Plus if I blew it up I`d have felt guilty that I ruined a piece of history.
No matter how hard it was hit there's probably somebody out there willing to fix it because it's got to be worth some dough.
