I have a 1971 Comet. I'm working on rebuilding the body. I'd also like to make the motor faster if possible. It is the regular 302 motor, automatic. Does anyone have any tips? Thank you for the help!
without going into the motor, you can add power in many ways. 1) headers 2) intake 3) carb 4) gears 5) converter 6) remove water pump belt by converting to electric. This can get expensive for a good electric pump or you can buy one of these http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=MOR-63750&autoview=sku which I have used and it did a decent job. 7) ignition upgrade (MSD is my preference) *the above listed has more $$$ involved, but all bang 4 the buck. *below is some out of the box, cheaper but less bang. 8) advance the timing a couple degree's 9) index spark plugs 10) cooler thermostat 11) lose some weight 12) front end alignment 13) good set of plugs and wires
The bes initial mods would be...in this order: Better rear gears... say 3:55's Dual exhaust/headers 4 bbl carb and aluminum intake These simple mods will wake the car up and make it fun to drive... After that... then you can put a cam in it to work with your combination. Once you get to the point of putting a bigger cam in it you are officially hooked and will begin spending every spare penny on it you can... you poor guy...its soo much fun!! Enjoy!!!
all good recomendations. i would do gears, and a converter. those two will give real kick in the pants that you will feel. then do the exhast. the sound will help give a sence of power and it will free up some power. then do a carb and intake and if you can at the same time do a cam.
I did a cam, ported 351 big valve heads, exhaust, intake and 4 bbl carb on the stock 72 302 with 3.70s and a 9" rear, and a 5-speed. It was so much quicker it didn't seem like it was the same car. I'd say consevativly it gained 100 HP. It makes all those nice muscle car sounds and flat gets it on when I nail it. Still pulls 16 MPG on the highway. I think it would improve if I switched to a vac secondary carb instead of the 650 DP. Switching to a 5-Speed is a good idea since you already run a standard. Use a junkyard 87-93 5.0 Mustang driveline with adaptor u joints... Good times. P.S. uuunnnless you don't mean stick shift when you said standard. Then an AOD would be a good idea.
Here's a few low buck tricks: ditch the points in the distributor for an electroinc module, matching hotter coil, then advance the timing to around 12* BTDC. Replace the Autolite 2 bbl with a Holley 500 2 bbl. Get a set of headers and dual exhaust. If you really want more, replace the rearend gears with 3.50-3.70's.
Thank you Thank you all for the advice. Here is a picture of my motor 302 that i want to make better. View attachment 30592
John was all over that one. Only the thing I have to add to that is make certain when you have the throttle pedal to the floor you are actually at full throttle. You'd be shocked at how many vehicles are on the road that can't be taken to full throttle.
