Do you have junk yards around you? There should be plenty of 5.0s in trucks, cars, vans, etc. You might even find one with under 100k miles on it and get some decent life out of it.
I have some junkyards around where I live but they sometimes charge ridiculous amounts for parts and motors. Here is one I found on Craigslist. Anyone know what I should ask for if I decide to go with this one? And to tell the truth, I'm actually looking for some buying advice form you guys as well. http://newyork.craigslist.org/jsy/pts/1630016040.html
Timeing covers can switch between 302s'(5.0s') and 351W.Oil pans and pickup tubes swap from early to late 302's (5.0s') 302 oil pans will NOT work on a 351W and visa versa(it has greater distance from rail to rail) The pan is wider from side to side than a 302s' Mexican blocks have thicker main bearing webs than regular 302 blocks. ALL (pre roller) 302s' are made from high nickel(nodular) iron... Reverse rotation timeing covers have round water passages in em Standard rotation covers have "D" shaped water ports Serpentine belt engines can be converted to a V belt set ups, useing ford parts but...You will have to change the front cover and water pump to standard rotation style...
That is a decent price on that craigslist ad, but it is set up for manual trans. You would need to swap out the flywheel for a flexplate, which runs about $50 on ebay. Other parts look/sound pretty good.
Ask what year stang the engine came out of. Did it burn oil??? Was oil pressure good when hot/cold Does this engine have a reverse rotation water pump on it...I see it has a serp belt set up AND an electric motor to turn the water pump(ask why) If you go to look at it can the seller pull the intake so you can look in the valley. Can he/will he roll it over for you so you can look at the bottom end while the pan is off??? Look at the crank around the bearings (main and connecting rods) With a good flash light look for discoloration around the mains/rods if the color is uniform you should be ok...If you notice discoloration (bluish brown hue) crank/bearings are spent, walk away. Look closely at remaining oil on components...Is it clean or dirty/gritty. If its the latter (especially gritty) walk away. Since pan is off,look in a few cyl bores...If they are smooth and shiney fine...If any are scratched up/scored...Pass on it... Good luck!!! Its a good price if the engine passes/meets the criteria I have listed above for you.
Dan Hines' '71 Grabber has a '95 5.0 H.O. long block in it. You'd never know by looking at it! If you're just looking for a good roller short block to build a mild engine with, don't overlook the late 80's panther platform cars (Grand Marquis, Crown Vic, Town Car). They are pretty much guaranteed to be roller after about 1988 or so, and most junkyards are littered with tons of them, at least in these parts. The only difference between this engine and the Mustang H.O. engine is the cam, pistons, heads and upper intake.
Ever hear of "old wives" and the tales they tell? This is one of them. Engine builders use to perform hardness testing on blocks from different years trying to find the "best one". Early Windsor blocks and late blocks all would test within the same range. Just like Ford's official block blueprints show that 302s have .100" longer cylinders than 289s, but many people have compared them side by side and they measure the same. Mexican blocks have beefier webs and main caps but I've never seen proof that the metalurgy was any better than the U.S. blocks.
ok guys I just got an email back from the guy when I asked him some quesitons from Mavdog72 1. the motor is from an 87 Mustang. 225hp/ 300ft/tq 2. The motor according to him was rebuilt as listed in the posting 3. He says it does not burn any oil(is this good?), it doesn't smoke, no ticks, pings or any of that stuff 4. He says that the motor always had good oil pressure and it never once gave him a prob 5. He says he ca't help me with the water pump. I t was in his 66 mustang and he had taken it apart and put back everything together as it was. According to him the motor never once gave him a problem and it ran extrmely healthy. He says that the B series cam gave it a very nice sound to. He ended the email by saying that he is not a bs'er and stands by everything he wrote there and as detailed as it is. Might have to go check it out afterall cause if it is as good as he says, I may just go along with this one. Any thoughts? BTW, I won't have to change the gearbox out will I? And can anyone confirm if I will have to switch out those 2.79 gears if I do go to this much stronger motor?
I dont know, ive herd from numerious machine shops that early blocks are the way to go, saying they are stronger than rollers (more nickel)
I hear the same about the early vintage blocks being better. I always thought its because the metal is better seasoned because it has seen more heat cycles...and also more nickel.
Ralf, just bolt it in and go. 2.79 is nice cruising gear, and it will help to have a couple extra ponies under the hood to spin them. But if that is from a manual car, you will need a 50 oz flexplate to match it up to your C4.
that motor sounds like a good one. the non roller blocks are considered stronger because they have thicker main webs. when ford redesgined the 302 and started calling it a 5.0 they removed 15lbs of material from the block most of that came from the main webs. in this situation ralph has no intention of taking the motor past its limits so the roller 5.0 would be the best one for him.
Thanks for all the info guys. Now I just need to look around to find out what are all the extra parts needed in the convertion for a non A/C non PS car besides the Maverick specific motor mounts. Cheers!
