72 302 block

[ETriggs]

I have some questions about a 302 block I have. It is a 72 block that decodes that it was installed in a Torino. I am looking to rebuild it for a later project and was wondering:
1. What is the max overbore I can put in it (it looks to be bored out .030 already)

2. Where is a good place to find new cranks for it that will handle ~300HP (not expensive)

3. I am told that these blocks are the better ones since they have a little better alloy in the casting. Any truth?

Thanks,
Eldon

[CJguy]

Unlike a Cleveland you can go to .060" with a 302 and have no problems. As for the crank, the stock crank will handle 300hp as long as the bottom end is assembled with care.

[tinman]

boy did you just miss one heck of a crank sale at Ohio Crankshaft! i got a 4" stroke, nitrided and chamfered 4340 crank for Cleveland stroker for $351 delivered to my door! now it's just a matter of finding the rest of recip assy to work... i agree that you should be fine with the stock crank well above 300hp

the alloy hardness thing is a bunch of hooey. i've never heard any machinist say that any cast iron production block from any manufacturer was any harder to machine than any other? and that would be who would notice, they don't like eating up tooling on hard metal. Ford used the best alloy that would give good durability in service and still be machinable, the others all used similar recipes. bore wear increases dramatically below 180*, so just run a Tstat and it'll last plenty.

core shift is a universal phenomenon. i don't know why the Cleveland takes such a beating about the thin cylinder walls that all the other engines and manufacturers don't get? sonic tests show that SBC and BBC blocks have very similar thick/thin cylinder walls, they also blow out their cyilnder walls when over-exploited and occasionally machine through during boring operations. maybe the Clevelands simple ability to make more than enough power to destroy itself is the basic cause? unless you have a special block like a Man-O-War or SVO Motorsport that is cast extra thick, any .060" over bore is a bit of a gamble without getting it sonic checked. a "poor mans sonic check" is to compare the gaps between the cylinders looking through the freeze plug holes, but it's hardly dependable. major core shift could be found but that's about it. i've seen on the web where a guy took a 302 block out .125" and it still had barely enough wall, but not every block will do that. found it, i should've known it was TMeyer!
http://www.tmeyerinc.com/302overbore.htm

[ETriggs]

Thanks guys! The reason I ask is that this will eventually go in either a 32 Ford roadster project or a Factory Five Cobra roadster. Not sure which I will build first. I have to finish my 57 Bel Air and 60 Bonneville first. I would like to get started on the engine though and have it ready in the corner of the garage.