so i've been looking into buying a early 70's maverick grabber with floor shifter, buckets, and it might have a boss 302 in it. i haven't seen the car yet. but it's at my brothers friends house. so what i would like to know is how do i identify a boss 302 engine. my brothers friends mom said that it has a boss 302 in it. they put the engine in the mav.
Keep in mind some refer to a 302 HO as a Boss due to the striping package that Ford used in the late 90's A true Boss 302 will have canted valve heads but so does a 351 Cleveland. Easiest way is to count the valve cover bolts Boss 302 and Cleveland have 8 standard small blocks have 6 Other things to look at If factory heads (aftermarket can use variations on the bolt patterns) Exhaust bolts straight across they are standard small block heads (non boss) Exhaust bolts corner to corner they are Cleveland/Boss Heads A Boss 302 block will also have screw in freeze (core) plugs Boss 302 and standard small block fuel pump bolts are horizontal 351C fuel pump bolts are vertical
Some more things to check .... If the oil pan is off, look for 4 bolt mains also on # 2,3,and 4. Look at the block numbers. BOSS blocks can be C8FE,C9ZE,D0ZE,D1ZE + 6015 A, B, or C. Also, if it is a regular Windsor block with Cleveland heads, it may be a newer one without the correct screw in Z-bar mount. See if it has that. If it is a real boss 302 - the motor alone is worth 5K
I have followed up on dozens of cars and engines that were advertised as "Boss 302". I am always disappointed. It usually goes like this: Me: That is not a Boss. Them: Yes it is. Them: Look, (finger pointing to the engine) it has a 4 barrel... It's a Boss! I have even looked at 2v 302s and had the owner insist it was a Boss 302. Sometimes they accuse you of telling them it's not a Boss so they will go down on the price and get cheated out of a rare engine/part. I keep looking though. One day, the one I pass up might be the real thing. Your car might even be a clone boss, or 'street boss' as they are called. They are not worth much, so don't assume it's a real Boss without checking numbers. Good luck Dave
Yup - had the same thing with many people that thought their motor was Ford gold! In the grand scheme of things, the Boss 302 was not even that great of a motor. Its real value comes because it is so sought after by people tring to restore a Boss Mustang or Cougar Eliminator back to original condition. If I ever found a Maverick with a Boss 302, I'd sell the motor and drop in a regular 302.
I was told an old 302 in an '81 truck was a boss....and here's why;"it's got an aluminum intake":16suspect ,"it'll burn the tires like nobodies business ,and of course the deal sealer..."I know it's a boss cause BillyJoe Weedwhacker's third cousins uncles brother bought that motor new in a '72 Torino GTA coupe" I walked off before I laughed in his face
I went to high school with a guy who always said he had a 351 cleveland in his 1973 Maverick...I never saw under the hood .. A couple of years after I was out of school I heard the car was for sale. I went to see it ,and the guys father told me all of the Modifications he had done to the car in order to fit a cleveland in it based on a phone call with a guy he`d met at the drag strip who claimed to own a cleveland Maverick ...cut the towers,Modified the steering (heated and bent the pitman arm) ect.ect. THEN the man opened the hood...there sat a stock 351 WINDSOR with exhaust manifolds ! Not wanting to make the guy mad I played dumb and said "Thats a cleveland. ...wow you did make it fit!" He smiled proudly and said" Yep...it`s easy to put a windsor in one but I had to have a Cleveland!
i found this picture of what is suposedly a cleveland in a mav with stock shock towers. all i know is that my shocktowers dont look like that, i dont think its a mav
well even if it is a maverick, that engine compartment is bare as well as the motor. And notice how the valve covers are resting against the shock towers? There is absolutely no room to bolt manifolds or headers to the engine. Hell, I had to beat my shock towers in with a sledgehammer to fit a 351W in my '74, and then jump up and down on the motor to get it seated to the motor mounts.
It's a Maverick all right but how'd you like to put a set of plugs in that baby. I'll stick to my 302's.
I don't understand why so many people think bigger is better. You can get all the horsepower you need out of a 302....for a daily driver....now if yer drag'n, thats different. I can't tell ya how many guys I run across who think thier stock motors are putting out horsepower equal to the cars cubic inches!!! Drives me nutts!!
