89 mustangOriginally Posted by DEATH2000;2493****
love it!
Just picked up another motor .. will swap in as i have another track day on Sep 12th and 13th at Watkins Glen .. coming up soon...
Ok I pulled the engine yesterday and stripped it down .. it all looked good till I got the pan off.. number 7 and 8 connecting ron bearings were welded together.. sweet ... got them apart and and out of the motor.. the crank is not to bad .. it could be saved but I think its time for a 331 stroker in this bad boy.. I will install the other engine in the meantime.. I this the cause of the problem was the bearings were starved of oil due to the high cornering forces.. better put a race pan on the other motor before I install it.. pics on the way
love the door bars, saftey first. Must be a blast to drive.
That's just nuts!
Stock bottom end 80's - 90's 302 is something you want to stay away from if you're wanting a track motor to beat on. They're cheap but you end up wasting that money in lost event time when the crank breaks in half on multiple occasions, or bends and eats a bearing, or the balancer splits , or a lifter comes apart , or the block breaks right above the mains. There's the guys that say "mine's been fine, I don't know what you're talking about" and then you find out they're running a dart block and a forged crank internally balanced , that costs more than an LS motor.
I've run both extensively, and I'd say the LS has more issues. The 302s definitely have a weak block (crank is pretty strong but I've seen them break, usually along with the block), but under 7000 rpm (or 450-500whp boosted) or so haven't seen too many break, although like everything else it happens.
The LS on the other had without a dry sump on track is a ticking time bomb. Dry sumped the LS is the better of the two, and power wise the LS wins hands down, not even on the same level. My cam only LS3 (heads are decked as well but stock ports) makes more power NA than my 302 did at 12psi.
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