302 Ford Engine For Sale Craigslist (2024)

FAQs

How much HP can you get out of a 302? ›

About 300 horsepower. The big stumbling block are the cylinder heads which if you spend the time and expense to get them fully ported might yield another 150 horsepower and at that point, you're nearing what is considered safe in power and RPM for the light weight 5.0.

Right front cylinder is #1.

Standard Ford 289 and 302 small-blocks were factory-rated between 200 and 230 hp. The vaunted 289 High-Performance engine was said to make 271 hp. Today, if a 302 Ford makes 360 hp on pump gas with a hydraulic cam, most experts consider it to be a pretty good motor-at least until Joe Sherman steps up to the plate.

A Ford 302 Engine should have no problem lasting over 200,000 miles as long as you take care of it. Keeping up with regular maintenance is very important on all engines. Doing simple things like getting oil changes every 3,000 to 5,000 miles can help keep your engine running well for a long time.

As a testament to the Boss 302's high-rpm nature, the peak horsepower numbers differed by just 9 hp, but the torque curve tells the real story. Down at 3,100 rpm, the larger Boss 351 offered an additional 90 lb-ft of torque, and carried a sizable advantage all the way through 6,500 rpm.

The wide and large port heads with staggered valve placement give the 302 H.O. high power capabilities. Because of the pent-roof design of the heads, the Boss also had forged pop-up pistons to achieve the desired 10.5:1 compression ratio.

Horsepower & Torque:

370 hp / 350 ft. lbs.

From the 1978 model year, the 302 became more commonly known as the 5.0 Liter, although its metric displacement is 4,942 cc (4.9 L; 301.6 cu in).

$2000.00 could cover the cost of a stock rebuild with nothing fancy but custom engine work is extremely expensive and time consuming. $2000.00 is a drop in the bucket. My most recent engine build was a small block Chevy. The bare block and machine work were nearly $2000.00.

Installing headers on a Ford 302 small block engine can significantly enhance its performance by improving exhaust flow. Typically, a high-quality set of headers can add between 10 to 20 horsepower, depending on the overall setup and condition of the engine.

How much horsepower can a carbureted 302 make? ›

With stock heads and cam and a decent intake manifold, carburetor, and headers, you're looking at making between 250 and perhaps 275 horsepower. In order to make 300 horsepower you're going to have to have better cylinder heads and a mild camshaft.

Pushrod discontinuation

With Ford making the switch to the 4.6-liter modular engines in 1996 for the Mustang, they did produce the 302 up until 2001 which was an engine option in the Ford Explorer and standard in the Mercury Mountaineer.

Lots of people still prefer the 302 4.9-liter engine to the following single overhead cam 4.6-liter, because the parts are cheaper and the engine is more reliable, despite the fact that there are more parts to fail. The 302 was also made with more nickel in its material, which made it stronger.

Diesel engines.

Ford trucks and SUVs with diesel engines will last much longer than their gasoline counterparts. Diesel engines are known for their longevity, frequently surpassing 400,000 miles. There are even reports of a Ford diesel engine making it to 1 million miles.

Testing in part one of our Legendary Small-Blocks proved that the original 290hp rating by Chevrolet was somewhat shy of the real power output, as our replica produced 357 hp and 333 lb-ft of torque.

For a 500 hp Ford 302, you'll need all the previously mentioned parts: upgraded hardware and gaskets, headers, intake, aftermarket heads with heavy-duty valve train parts, larger fuel injectors or carburetor, forged pistons and connecting rods, and certainly a power adder, too.

For 1994 and 1995, Ford rated the high-output 302 at 215 horsepower and 285 lb-ft of torque.