I started bracket racing at our local track when I was a teenager. It's fun and a lot safer than the streets. It also eliminates a lot of the BS in street racing ... you know when someone jumped the start ... redlight. You will know your time down to a hundreth of a second. The clocks don't usually lie.
You might want to check into other Engine Rebuilders, or get more info on Phoenix Engines. We got a turnkey engine from them, at least we thought we where getting a turnkey. It came as a creat engine not the turnkey we ordered. We had to put alot of the parts on that should have been on it. When we finely got it running it quite on us. Couldn't get it to run again and when it did run it would backfire then quite. We took it to our machanic, he went through it and found all the rockers where not tight and some pushed out the cylinder head. He tryed talking with Phoenix Engine and they wouldn't even return his call. Just a little info from a very unhappy Phoenix Engine customer.
Jeez! thatt really sucks, yeah im second guessing them now. I think ill try and find a local engine shop instead
what part of michigan are you in. I'm a downriver rat south of detroit. i know of a few this way, but again you need to have an idea what you want.
well, what i would like is a 302 that has 250-330hp. (Ill try and convince my dad to let me go over 300, but it probably wont happen). Or machine shop that can rebuild my engine(302) to get it to that range of hp. whichever one is cheaper (;
Cheaper ain't always the best overall choice - just the cheapest. If ur going to use the car regularly/daily, Im thinking RELIABILITY over cheapest or power. It's like a mechanic who use his tools to make a living and buys the stuff u see in Harbor Freight instead of Matco or some of the better quality stuff. "It's a waste of time and money". If ur going to drive it regularly u may not be able to afford the predictated $5.00 a gallon gas ur 300+ engine sucks up. I go for the engine rebuild idea, at least on the bottom end and maybe install the heads and upper end urself - seeing as u will not have to worry abt the bottom not being assembled properly. High compression, radical cams, steep gears and converters done make very gud combos for regularly used vechicles. If ur just going to use it on the steet ocassionally than the sky maybe the limit.....JMO
Yeah thats a pretty good idea, i dont want my car to suck up the gas,(more than it already does), Is their any other way to make it more fuel efficient??
I suppose there are some ways u can make it more efficient. Some on the forum say they are getting over 20mpg. Im not an autholrity on improving effiency, but, I do know generally there's only so much in the way of effiency one can expect depending on what modifications are made. Regardless of what mods are made u still have to account for physics, aerodynamics, rolling resistance and maybe a few other factors thrown in for gud measure. I don't know what the fuel mileage is; I don't really drive it enough to worry abt it. I assume somewhere in the vicinity 15-18 on highway. I will make it a point to ck it this year, mearly out of curiosity. In my case, the car I bought is very mild mods on the drivetrain. I don't have any spec's on the engine; it was in the car when I got it. It runs great and that's all that's important. It has a mild cam "idles abt 800", C4 has shift kit, 600cfm and alum man, iron heads "unk specs", 2.79gears and can burn reg 87 octane gas. It won't satisfy those "who like to smoke tires" but for me "It's just what the doctor ordered. I can cruise all-day at 70 abt 25-2700rpm w/o the noise/racket I wud have w/ 3.5-4.0 series gearing. "Been there - Done that". It all comes down to what ur looking for/ can afford/ in the way of performance vs every day usage. Most everything in life is a compromise "Give something to Get something".
Hey everyone! This is Mike (Connors Dad) A big thank you to everyone on here for: 1. Remebering my son is 16 and learning. 2. Reminding him to listen to his dad. 3. Giving advice that he can follow & implement. Connor has bought a good 73 Gt that he can drive and fix up at the same time. The goal is for him to get his feet wet with paint/body work, some mechanical, along with learing about the proper tools, doing research, ....and spending money wisely. Thanks again for all your input! ...."dad"
Look around you can get a 302 with atleast that many horse if not more. not sure if it was Jegs or Summit but one of them have a 500HP 302
Safety is definately the most important thing. good brakes, and steering.Good tires too. why not just buy a roller motor from a 89 and newer mustang. They are all 220hp or more rated by Ford. They can be picked up for under $600. with low miles,switch over to a carb for ease of installation, and no worries about fuel injection conversion problems. This will also serve as a good base block for future use when you have more driving experience,and more $$$ also.used intakes and carbs(600) are readily available. 200 to 300 hp is not hard to get outta a stock short block, alum heads, decent cam,good rockers and you have the intake already. My 72 302 stock block went from 195hp to 265hp with these instalments of parts. Rear gears and a good tranny will also improve the performance level of the car. Your Dad is the best partner too have in the build-up of this car. Don't be in a hurry. Inexperience and speed equal trouble. Jmo
Like Craig stated ... you guys are very welcome. We appreciate that Connor is into this car and not some Honda. Just trying to raise awareness that these old cars don't come with the improvements that have happend in the past 40 years, yet have to share the road with cars that do. Today's cars can make up for a lack of driving ability.The old ones need a lot more finesse when pushed hard. Safety first ... there are several reasons why I shouldn't be here today. My first Comet was tied into a couple of them.
Oh yeah ... a very easy junkyard find right now is 5.0 Explorer motors ... the yards are littered with them. You will only find them in a four door, and Mountaineers seem to come with them more often. Get the 96-early 97 (non "P" heads ... plug angles on the later ones make headers a huge challenge). Roller cam, good heads, well built. Should be fine if it was taken care of.... pretty much the end of 40 years of 302 development.
