I have a 1971 ford torino 500 with a 302 3bbl that was my grandmas car. I restoring the body now. What would be the best route to hop up the 302? Should I use the stock heads, crank, rods, pistons, etc and just and a 4bbl carb, intake , headers or go with diff heads, crank etc, ?

ORIGINAL: mlachney

I have a 1971 ford torino 500 with a 302 3bbl that was my grandmas car. I restoring the body now.
What would be the best route to hop up the 302? Should I use the stock heads, crank, rods, pistons,
etc and just and a 4bbl carb, intake , headers or go with diff heads, crank etc, ?


It depends on how far you want to go. The '71 Torino is a fairly large vehicle, and
assuming you aren't expecting to race this thing I'd suggest a mild approach. When
I put together my '68 Fairlane back in the mid-1990s, I used a rebuilt 1970 302 (a
direct stock-spec longblock, including early 302 heads), to which I added Edelbrock
Performer-289 intake with their 600-cfm carb, a set of headers, and cheap duals with
Cherry Bomb mufflers. I kept the original C4 and stock 3.00:1 axle ratio.

It was noisy and fast, though I doubt fast enough to win any serious races. But that
was okay, because this was built to be a driver and not intended for real competition.

If you want a more aggressive vehicle, I'd start with a larger engine. A 351W or '70-74
351C will bolt right up to the existing motor mounts and will provide a hefty jump in power,
even stock. The nice thing about a 351 is it can be built 'milder' than the smaller engine to
make the same power. A build similar to the one I discussed above, applied to a 351W,
should put you in the 270-290 hp range; it will idle smooth and pull easily, and more
aggressive modifications won't have as great an impact on part-throttle driveability.

I have the original 302 engine and I havou think?e a 351W engine also. Would swapping heads, putting the 351 heads on the 302 make a diff? I had the original 302 heads mildly ported. Or would it be better to go with the 302 heads. I was going to put flat top pistons and a mild cam along with a alum intake w/4bbl carb and headers. I heard the 351w heads were better. what do you think?

I would stick to the 302 - but add adjustable studs the the heads if they aren't ('73's aren't - '71 I'm unsure?) so you can adjust the valves when the time comes.