Vintage 302 chevy.

Refresh my memory real quick are you putting this in a period correct car? I know right now the hunt for information along with the day dreaming of bringing it back to former glory with a awesome back story is pretty cool. But push comes to shove if it is not connected to right style machine the effort isn't worth it to concentrate on. Maybe a good engine to build up over time trying to hunt proper period correct parts then find the right car for it or sell to the collector that has the right car for it. But for now build a fun engine to take out and enjoy.
 
Refresh my memory real quick are you putting this in a period correct car?

I've got a 64 chevelle post car and it will be as close to period correct as I can get it while following a modern safety standard. I'm set on a modified production car. I know the class is long gone but I can't get it off my mind.

The research I do doesn't cost me anything and it's fun, I like the discussion and I do take some ideas away from everyone that chimes in. I would like to start on another engine but my wife would probably suggest I start chiseling my own gravestone. I'm lucky I even get to go out to the shop when I'm home.
 
Keep the car - sell the wife.o_O:rolleyes:

Haha! Right? She didn't use to mind. Now that we've got a 1.5 year old that's more like a terrorist than a baby. Not quite old enough to understand "NO" but old enough to drag a screwdriver down the side of your car and smear his hands in the oil drain pan. He's also managed to lay waste to my 300 piece bluepoint set a few times, have to keep the nicer tools in the tool boxes or at least 3 feet off the ground. I do spend a lot of time at work (aviation) and any time I have off and work in my shop is just more time that she has to take care of the baby/toddler. Balancing act. I don't get a whole lot of time to deal with hobbies usually working on other peoples cars, trucks, tractors, atv's, utv's you name it. It might take me 20 years to finish my car and engine but any time I can peel away from all that other stuff to research what I have is well worth it even if I don't find what I'm looking for.
 
Plus know what it's like to have small kids believe me she is right the time flies be aware and charish the time it flies by. You can never get time back.
 
ahhh the sweet music of hp singing such a sweet tune. Like a bunch of sirens saying spend tens of thousands of dollars and go fast. Oh yes many a sailor has fallen victim!!!
 
I put my son to sleep with these :). Had him glued to the computer last night watching pro stock 4x4 pull trucks. Can't get him to sit still to watch anything else but hp and rpms seem to do the trick.
 
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I grabbed this main cap strap kit off ebay today. Anyone know the company that may have made them? They have 3702 stamped on them and according to the description they were on a 327. Looking for some kind of spec. or recommended preload for the center bolts.

Does arp or another reputable company make a longer stud that could work for these? Until I found this strap kit I planned to use the standard sbc sj stud kit w/ windage tray from arp but this kind of changed that plan.

I've taken a step forward and hauled my block, crank and heads into the machine shop. Hope to have the sonic test results tomorrow, then move forward from there if they're good.
 
I've never seen it done that way. The method I've seen uses something like 1/2" thick bars for straps
and you have to machine the top of the caps down flat. Like Grumpy said - band-aid.
The aftermarket steel billet main caps are now relatively cheap. If you are planning to make that
much HP, install them and have the block align honed. here is one source:
http://www.competitionproducts.com/Main-Caps-Main-Girdles-and-Valley-Girdles/departments/883/
You could even install a full girdle, if your oil pan has the room for it.
http://www.competitionproducts.com/Main-Girdles/products/1073/
 
I appreciate you guys trying to look out for me. Understand this thing potentially blowing up is not what I lose sleep over, as always theres a chance to build bigger and better. Money spent along the way is like water under the bridge for me (I make enough of it). I'm set on this engine for now just to keep my mind off of the real stress and problems I've been dealing with lately and in the future I'll build something a little more suited for todays performance.

I've seen post elsewhere referencing this style of strap for these old 2 bolt small cube blocks. Yes they might be a band-aid by todays standards but its got to be a step in a better direction rather than doing nothing at all to support the cap. I didn't plan on doing anything to the caps in the first place these just so happened to be in the right place at the right time. Being a small journal I don't believe there are any options as far as girdles and for $35 these to me seemed far less costly than wasting money on a dart block for a small cube engine, splayed caps, or milling the caps for straps. It's previously been line honed, decked and had all the stress risers taken care of so I don't forsee a lot of extra costly machining, atleast nothing out of the ordinary and if something does come up thats when I told the machinist to call me. I'm still waiting for the results from the sonic test and that was step one for me so if that doesnt come back with workable #'s then I'll start over with my foundation.

In all I don't think this will be an ultra high horsepower engine maybe in hp per cube but in net probably not over 600. Somebody has suggested mid 500's but I've never given all of the specs. for someone to run through a program.
 
a 302 can be built to provide an impressive power curve but it will need to operate in the 4500 rpm-7500 rpm power band to maximize its power potential
back in the 1970s a great many of us , looking for better power in a 302 or the high performance and high compression versions of the 327 ,swapped the valve springs out for much better valve springs, installed rocker stud girdles, extra tall valve covers, on mildly ported fuelie heads or if you were bucks up you bought CRANE fireball PORTED heads , (usually Casting Number 3890462) CANDFIELD OR or brownfield aluminum heads and installed long tube headers, and low restriction exhaust systems in Z28"s, and VEGAS with 4 speed transmissions and used 11:1 compression 302-327 and a few 377 engines and we used a 780 cfm holley or dual 500 cfm carter carb dual quads, we installed a 4.11:1 -4.56:1 rear gear's we used the bigest slicks that would fit the cars, and used a crane 110921 solid lifter cam and 1.6:1 roller rockers (that was a very well respected combo) (a few of us used SMOKEY RAM INTAKES) and we had very noticeable improvements in the cars performance.
if you could tune and set up a suspension, had decent traction bars ,etc. , had decent slicks and you had the skills too drive well, ten second 1/4 mile time slips were occasionally seen, even back them , in a vega or lightened camaro or nova.
of course with the better cylinder heads now available like the 215 CC large port vorted or 210cc AFR or 215 cc BRODIX adding an aditional 60 hp-100hp to those older engines would be rather easy.

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ads-tuned-intake-turbulence.12998/#post-67611

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/long-rod-302.12866/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...lding-a-283-sbc-with-respectable-power.11662/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/smokeram-or-str10.3431/#post-9088

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/ford-boss-302-vs-chevy-dz-302.16075/

http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/project-cars/sucp-1004-high-rpm-302-engine-build/

http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/project-cars/sucp-0903-302-small-block-engine-build/

http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/project-cars/sucp-0903-302-small-block-engine-build/

http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/project-cars/sucp-0903-302-small-block-engine-build/
 
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