At 08:32 am 4/22/97 -0600, you wrote:
>Thanks for the reply. I was told by a FORD guy that a "Mexico" 302
>block was the best to start with so I bought one. The next trick is
>the heads - he suggests 351W are the best for my budget. Any
>opinions?
>Godspeed
>JC
John,
I put 351W heads on my original 289 Tiger motor. Used pop-up pistons
and milled the heads so that I had exactly 10.5 : 1 compression. They worked
quite well. The 351W heads generally had a larger combustion chamber than
the 260, 289 and old 302's. You need to figure the compression ratio you
want and get the proper pistons and/or mill the heads as necessary.
There are many 351W heads, don't have the specifications handy
right now. You can either get the cheap rebuilt heads and take your chances
with what the chamber is or find the best heads and have them rebuilt. I also
had a marine 302 with 351W heads stock in my boat. You can get a complete
marine setup and the correct heads are already on the motor. Try the Ford
Marine and Industrial engine dealer. They have a complete catalog with all the
good part numbers. Note that the 351W head has larger head bolts than the
302. There is a set of Marine head bolts specifically designed to bolt the
351W head to the 302. They have a built in flange under the head. Mine
cost me $30 several years ago. I assume the price has gone up.
On the subject of the Mexican block, from what I have read they use
the old crude sand cast method and the block is therefore thicker than the
precision
thin wall casting used in the USA. If the core has not shifted then it
would be
possible to bore a bit more than the USA casting. If you really wanted to
go hog wild then use the original Boss 302 block with 4 bolt mains and a
steel crank. ( If you could find one). The Winsor heads would fit. The
Boss 302 ( with original heads) will just barely fit a Tiger. Very little room
for the (specially fabricated) headers. Had one in my Tiger for 60k miles.
Note that some of the after-market Winsor type heads are better than the
original Winsor and if you have to do a complete overhaul of old Winsor
heads with new valves, valve guides, springs etc. then the price is competive.
Check out Hot Rod or Popular Hot Rod for ads. Ford Motor Sports also
has excellent replacement heads.
Jim Barrett Tiger II 351C and others.
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