302 or 331 stroker kit. Proses and cons.
 

Well I have taken one more step in picking out the parts for my mustang motor. I will be using a pair of Edelbrock heads and of course a street performance cams with roller rockers and hydralic roller lifters. I have not decided on the amount of lift yet though. But before I even get to the top end of the motor I still haven’t decided on what to do with the crank. The one that I have is in good condition so if people can convince me, for my applications, that I do not need a stroker kit I will leave that crank and just change pistons and connecting rods. So if people know anything about this please let me know what you think.
Thanks T-MAD

Well it depends what your goals are. Sure theres more potential with a 331, but that's only if it's done right with good parts. Theres tons of half assed 331's running around with less power than a properly setup 306

very true but if i was the type of person to use cheap parts then my motor is aready f---ed. so lets just hope the i will not be going down that path. i have been looking at all the parts that i will be getting and making sure that are of at least good quality. so that brings us back to is pushing the 302 to 331 asking for more problems down the road or is it really worth the money

Cheap or expensive parts, have not real bearing on the Power generation of a either motor.

Poorly clearanced, measured and assembled, expensive parts, can perform like ass.

ok i will be the person building the engine and will be using the same quality parts in either the 302 or the 331 depending on what i decide on ( if i can get some reall advice about them) i will be making sure that everything is within specs for clearences and well prepared. so again this come to the questions 302 or 331 it is not like i am going to build a very nice 302 and decide to let me cat build my 331 so with respec to quality it will be the same for either motor.

Well it is a bit of trival question to begin with. As there is tonnes of information out there on the subject.

You decide on which way you'd want to go, as you can't really compare assembling a 302 to assembling a 331 from a cost stand point.... the 331 is already min.of 1000 dollars different to begin with. If you can afford do 331, if not, do a 302.

Basically, from a power generation stand point, the 331 will create more power due to its cubic increase,.. but don't expect SERIOUS gains, compared to a a completely Race prepd 306 (that's more of a comparison), as it really just designed to bring the power band down and increased due to the longer rods, shorter pistons, and longer stroke, compared to its 306 brother!!! but like the saying goes Torque is king, and the sooner the better!

So basically let your wallet decide, if you can afford 331/347 then do it, if not, you will not be unhappy with a killer 306.

Both make a great engine combo, with the proper gear in each. you won't be unhappy either way you decide to go.

good luck

thank. that sounds some good info. i think i will go with the 302 crank and get new pistons and conecting rods. after a balance it will feel good to just get the motor on it's way of being compleated.
T-mad

I agree with Old School here. From a cost standpoint the 331 will definitely cost more. Personally, though I do like 331's and I love torque.... there's nothing I like more than a well set up long rod 306. It's all in the setup, and although a similar 306 will be down on torque compared to a 331 it can be faster and just as fun. If your car is a 5 speed equipeed Fox body with 3.73 gears, my suggestion is go 306, have the parts fully machined and balanced, get a custom grind cam or a well matched off the shelf unit (no Ford letter cams please!!), Edelbrock performer 5.0 heads with 1.9/1.6 valves and an Edelbrock Performer RPM intake matched with long tube headers and full exhaust. Make sure you're running at least a 190lph intank fuel pump, adjustable regulator, and a minimum of 24#injectors with a matching MAF. Good luck!
SS

I just did a 331 last year.. D.S.S kit (with main support) 185 AFR heads, Holly SysteMAX II intakes, 1.6 Rockers. Comp Cam 224 232, Comp Springs, Mac Long Tubes, Canton Oil Pan, 75 MAF, 70mm Throttle Body & EGR spacer, 30lbs Ford Racing Injectors. and much more.. all balanced to 28oz this is what adds to the cost getting the new harmonic blancer and flywheel matched to 28oz.. thats one of the extra things that u would need to do.

The motor works well, have no complaints, but like the guys say if you want to spend a bit more go with the 331 over the 302.. In the end what kind of power do u want? Are you addding a power adder? Good luck with your project. :tup

well because the crank and engine are in suck good condition i will be keeping the 302. with G. Edelbrock Victor Jr. With 2.05-inch intake and 1.60-inch exhaust valves, plus larger intake ports and raised exhaust ports. T-5 WC trany 600 cfm carb. no fuel injection, custom cams, and long tube exhaust header with matching 4" intake. after that the rest of the exhaust will be my own strait pipe no cat's and exiting before the rear tires to avoid the back pressure from going over the axle.
T-MAD

Your 600 carb is a fair bit tooooooooooo small to make serious H/P, track down a 650 dbl pmpr with 4 corner idle.

If you're sticking with a 302 dont get the Victor Jr's unless you plan on running much higher compression. A 600 carb is pretty small, even with smaller Aluminum heads than the Victor Jr's. You'll need at least a 650DP. If I were you, I'd consult with a reputable engine builder such as Paul at PSP (416-285-7275). Please dont take offense, but it seems like you dont really have an idea of what it takes to get what you want out of this engine. Throwing a bunch of big expensive parts together doesnt necessarily mean they'll work in harmony or even well in your car. As an example, I've seen a guy with all the expensive goodies in his car and he was beaten fair and square by a stock headed albeit well setup '88 coupe. You dont want to put all this money into your engine if you wind up being beaten by a "mild" by comparison 302/306.
SS

HAHA SS, the man never said anything about being a strip motor, so you're idea of being "BEAT" isn't quite complete. A decent motor/build/assembly, is only as good as what it's being used for. Putting a full out strip motor into street duty will perform like ASS, but doesn't mean the motor is BAD!!!!!

As for the 600 not being enough, that's a bit of farce, its just about right for a good street motor, DPs are ass on the street A VS carb, tuned right, will out perform a DP any day on the street. With the Vac sec you actually have more tuneablity with the secondarys, allowing you tune to them to only function when need be (which will help fuel consumption too).
Same idea of those who lock out Vac advancing on street driven cars... :banghead:

BUT I do agree with SS on the fact of hiering someone knowledged to recommend a complete build. "make a total game plan" and execute it in stages, you'll be happier in the long run

Good point on the Vac Sec carb, I havent played with a carb in quite a while and I was never too good with em. I just know that when my car had a DP it worked really well, even on the street. As for building an all out race motor, I dont understand what you're getting at. I'm not saying the motor is going to be "bad", I'm just saying that for a street strip vehicle it wont be good (302, 9.5:1 compression, with a short runner intake and 2.05 intake valves?) and that if the parts are just the biggest pieces out there chances are it will be beaten by something with better matched parts. My friend went 11.9 with a 100 shot and stock ported heads and intake, Crower cam and long tubes. N/A the car ran 12.7x. I've seen guys with Edelbrock heads and intakes etc running low 13s to mid 12's. I'd rather run 12.7 with stock parts and save big $$$ than spend an extra $2-$3k to run 2 tenths quicker. My point is.... bigger isnt always better.
SS

Sorry a wee bit off topic but..................
My Dad's '68 Galaxie 500 with a 390 auto manages better than 25 mpg hwy and about 17mpg city with it's 650 dbl pmpr, when equipped with a 600 vac it had neither the performance or mileage it now has. The carb is a bore adapted to a square bore Streetmaster intake and has been used on it for better than 150,000 miles...............so far.
I've also had great sucess using center squirter carbs on multi carb street cars, no great mileage numbers but lots of totally streetable power.

Not a fair comparison;....mmmmm yummy 6 liters LOL

carb talk...http://www.mnsi.net/~ohreally/flucht.gif

all i can say is that your exhaust ideas aren't all that...you want back pressure, maybe not stock h-pipe 4 cat back pressure, but at least a catted x/h-pipe or a chambered muffler to help with the low end tq and to keep you from burning up your valves...

Well I guess we will start that the beginning. I will not get into who’s ideas are right and who has the bigger d![k. anytime you go to the track you can find someone that has a different setup and will run different times, some better then yours some not better then yours but. If you have time to sit and talk about every small procedure behind building and engine I am sure I will find faults with your ideas just like you will find problems with mind. I guess that is what will make my stang different from yours (these statements are not being directed at anyone impiticular). Then we come to the driver. If we put two people in the same cars and had them race will it be a tie every time. No. So if someone were beaten by stock heads go to a empty parking lot and practice your start.
This is not the first time building an engine and I don’t think it will be the last but this IS the first time I have the money and the time to do what I want. This is why I would like to get as much information about everything as possible. I am not looking for a regurgitate version of a paper that someone else wrote (even though bring it to my attention still does influence my ideas) but what people have seen.
As for exhaust issues no I will not be running my pipes straight out the hood with 0 psi of back pressure I will not be running my engine at the rpm’s needed for that but I will be checking to make sure it falls around 4-5 psi for lower end torque. But some facts on are as such. The internal combustion engine is a complex, dynamic collection of different systems working together to convert the stored power in gasoline into mechanical energy to push a car down the road. Anytime one of these systems are modified, that mod will also indirectly affect the other systems, as well. Now, valve burning occurs as a result of a very lean-burning engine. In order to achieve a theoretical optimal combustion, an engine needs 14.7 parts of oxygen by mass to 1 part of gasoline (again, by mass). This is referred to as a stochiometric (chemically correct) mixture. So once you do your fluid dynamics and thermodynamics on the engine you will get a better idea of what you engine needs.

Don’t have what it takes to get what I want. Sheesh
T-MAD

:stupid: .........