I was wondering what was the biggest engine u can cram into a 74 maverick without having to strip out everything from under the hood. Any suggestions?
If you mean without any mods to the engine compartment, then a small Windsor in what ever configuration you would want, (289, 302, 331, 347 etc...). If you want to do a little work and keep everything in its place in the engine compartment than a 351W will fit. Anything bigger will take some substantial mods to get it to fit. There has been everything you can imagine put in a Maverick engine compartment from 4 cylinders to Boss 429s to V10 Viper engines.
And also like noted above when stuffing a 351 windsor in, you can than stroke that combo out to a 393,408,427, using off the shelf stroker kits. There are alot more variations but them are just the common ones. I think you can get up to about 453 using stock block. Now if your going to say an aftermarket block like a dart block you can go even further than that. Shove a 460 mock up in there and you can get about 598 cubic inches! How fast you want to go?= How much money you willing to spend?
If you want the easiest way to go, stick with the 302 based motor. Can be stroked to 347. If you put in a 351W you're going to have to cut the shock towers to make the plugs easier to get to. The 351W will fit but headers are a pain and plug changes are a nightmare.
Biggest motor without cutting ? 351C or a stroker based on the 351C. You don;t have to cut the towers on anything up to this size, but it sure makes life easier when working on it.
I just laughed SO HARD at this question! It so made my day..... But yeah stick to Ford, even though there's other engines with 302 displacement out there they do not have the same outer dimentions. Which is what matters.
Engine size I know u did'nt ask what brand engine on a Ford forum! I agree w/ all the others; If ur mechanical skills are limited along w/ finances, stick w/ 289/302 base motor. If that's no issue, than "Sky is the limit".
Nah... go with a big block Honda. It'll fit in a factory engine compartment with no mods and, I think, they're available in a 3200cc stroker now! j/k Happy wrenching! Eric
