Just have a few stupid questions to ask I promise lol Got a pretty stock 302 in the maverick now. Was thinking of doing a mild cam, edelbrock intake, new carb, and new ign. Any suggestions on a good cam? If I went with a msd 6al , blaster 2 coil, and pro billet distributor would I need to consider anything else? The stock dizzy looks to be vacuum advanced.... I assume anyway since there is a line going to it lol. If I got to a pro billet dist can I just do away with all the vacuum crap? Anything to consider when doing an intake swap? Any suggestions on a good carb for said upgrades on an otherwise stock 302 with headers? Any specifics... Last thing I put a carb on was a built 358 sbc and I remember there just being a million options......downleg spun boosters, etc etc etc. Thanks
that 'vacuum crap' as you call it is actually the main thing to improve gas mileage when cruising. you wouldn't want to get rid of that. i suggest using a complete duraspark system, or if you're set on the msd box, hook that up to a duraspark distributor.
I'm not to aweful concerned with gas mileage... well not at all for that matter lol. I really just hate vacuum lines, just one more thing to check all the time when diagnosing a problem. So I'd rather not have any vacuum lines if I could help it. I'd take the msd mechanical advance over the vacuum in a heartbeat
Was saying mild considering I have no stall I'm trying not to sink money into the tranny until I build one for a new motor but I'd throw a low rpm stall in if I had to. I'm throwing in a set of 4.10's so I'll have enough gear lol I'm not really trying to sink a ton of money into the 302 just trying to make it a fun streetable car until I can get my hands on a 331 or 347. But no, I don't give a hoot about gas mileage. My mustang averages about 15mph and my nova maybe 7mpg when I had it. I got the wifes car for trips, so my toys might as well be fun lol
Just to clarify with the cam: Best cam for a stock 302 with headers, stock heads, stock valve train, etc etc etc I'd be willing to throw in a low rpm stall if I needed to and will have a set of 4.10's installed before the cam goes in.
If you want to use the factory converter then the cam you need is something with nomore than 214 duration @ .050" with .450 - 480" lift. The fact that you are not planning on installing new pistons to gain compression means that going larger than that on the cam is likely to be less desireable anyway. You are ;ooking at a maximum HP red line of 5500 RPM. As unpopular as they seem to be here the Edelbrock Performer manifold is an excellent choice. Edelbrock markets the cam, manifold and kit for exavtly your application.
a few ideas Before you move forward you'll need to address the limitations of your motor. 1. what compression are you running? 2. flat tappet right? 3. engine milage? 4. exhaust? Ignoring limitations best bang for the buck 1. get a set of good condition gt-40 heads 250$ 2. air gap intake. (try to avoid china knock off!) 200$ 3. roller rockers.. 150$ 4. Dizzy (cheap coil, and disp upgrade) 60$ 5. ProForm center section (if you have a holley) 125$ 6. Cam... Pauls is on the mark there... 150$? so around 935$ figure 1k after filler stuff.
Thanks for all the info guys. Seems like a lot of people are going a little crazy cause I said the vacuum was crap. I'm just trying to get rid of it. I don't like the looks of a bunch of vacuum lines running around and it just seems like a hassle when I could upgrade to a non vacuum advance. I'm not looking to save gas mileage looking strictly for performance upgrades. The exhaust is a set of hooker headers Unknown compression and mileage of the engine as it was originally a I6 car. Yes to the flat tappet... unless its worth going to a hyd cam and swapping to a roller setup Thanks again for all the info.
Found a set of trick flow twisted wedge heads.. come with roller rockers 1.72 arp head studs and bolts trick flow hardened pushrods Good idea???
reality check hey Josh these guys have been there before and are giving good sound advice! starting with a worn out engine could result in bearing failure when adding hp, im sure one or 2 have done it and it sux. A simple rebuild may add more hp than u might think. As for the compression of the engine this makes all the difference in choice of cam! Put a lil to big of a cam in a low comp motor and it will be slower than before spending money on cam intake dist rockers etc, you will be unsatisfied. Most of us have done that to often! So knowing this and what heads u have and how they flow are big factors in helping u out. So a head swap and higher comp pistons may be a starting point, having a strong base before spending money on other stuff would be better in the long run. The factory ford duraspark is what msd copied to make theirs, these guys are saying and i agree, other than looks their is no significant gain in hp for money spent on msd. Unless you are planning on dumping a ton of fuel and nitrous at your engine the factory duraspark is more than enough. The vacuum advance helps to make it more streetable(def. not cutting off at lights, non bucking acceleration, not getting fumigated at stoplights, etc) And the cool red msd cap snaps right on the factory dist adaptor. Simply these guys are trying to keep you from spending your hard earned dollars and not gettin what u expected. They are not trying to discourage you just help you start off in the right direction.
these would be great if you had a solid bottom end and a cam. Odds are great that you have a hyraulic flat tappet cam already. Have you run a compression test on the engine you have now? does it smoke at all? The combo in my sig is pretty basic and ran very well in my mustang ( I havent driven the maverick,yet)
No compression check, no smoke and sounds pretty good. With all thats been said i might start off with the short block and work my way up. I know I'll be doing nitrous in the future and I'd like to have some forged flat tops in there. Is there a place that sells rotating assemblies or complete 70's shortblocks that are pretty decent? I was thinking somewhere in the neihborhood of 10.5 : 1 compression. I'd like to throw a 125 wet plate kit in the mix after I get a 9" and at a miniumum have my C4 built or get an art carr or tci c4.
