302 v8 Engine Question.

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poolplayer1

Senior Member
Hello everyone here. I found water in the oil of my engine and after some testing,found out I had a bad head gasket. I removed the heads to replace the gasket and while doing so,I found cylinder #3 had a bad groove in its bore. Therefore,I pulled the engine out and took it to have all cylinders rebored.The machine shop guy said that it was a deep groove and if that he was going to check how far he would have to rebore it.He suggested that if it was going to take more than 40 thousands over,for me to find another block.
I don't know for sure but I have heard of guys going as high as 60. What do you guys think about this? I sure hate to have to replace the complete engine on my car. The casting #'s on the block are EOAE. It would be a 1980's block. Whats really confusing is that the heads are from 1968.
What a mixture.Thanks for your help.
Mando
 
For a bit I wasn't sure which 302 you were referring to since there was a truck Y-block in that CID. This forum doesn't go real deep into much of anything past 1964 or so.

There is a surprising amount of interchangeability in the 5.0L small block. The major changes over the years were for applications like whether it needed a front sump or a semi-rear sump set up. The heads and manifolds can be interchanged a lot depending on year of manufacture. Motor mountings might be an issue but many of those are the same as well or at least they have the bolt holes to be adaptable. A 1980 block designator like E0AE was in production for a few years till the roller motors came out. It is a generic block and not know to be a real strong one. It still had the two piece rear main seal. There should still be a lot of good blocks out there if you want to change it out. The block might take a sleeve but at $100 + it might be cheaper to find a good block. Taking one out to max bore can lead to issues with overheating if one of the bores is real thin. That might be what the machinist is warning you about.

What is the motor for, ie type of vehicle?
 
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The machine shop guy said that it was a deep groove and if that he was going to check how far he would have to rebore it.He suggested that if it was going to take more than 40 thousands over,for me to find another block.


I don't know for sure but I have heard of guys going as high as 60. What do you guys think about this? I sure hate to have to replace the complete engine on my car. The casting #'s on the block are EOAE. It would be a 1980's block.



Whats really confusing is that the heads are from 1968.
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Listen to the machinist. SBF (5.0L) is thin-wall casting.

If he says discard, another 302 block/short should be easy to find.
 
I've often heard of engines running hot and / or overheating after punching them out .060. Probably should heed what the machinist and Kultulz both said.
 
The 68 model heads may have smaller combustion chambers making more compression.
It is so easy to give a mild hop up when doing what you are, its a shame to not get free horse power. Mix and match for best results.
 
Thanks to all for your great help and advice. I guess its time to shop around for a different block. Do any of you live in or near tyler,texas? There is a company there that sells rebuilt engines for a very good price.This are all short blocks. What I don't like is his warranty,only 90 days.The company is Mabbco Motors.
 
Too good to be true usually is. I go to Tyler for visits now and then but have no idea about Mabbco. I'd check the local salvage yard & see what they have. Most will take them back if they aren't rebuildable. If I purchased a short block, Id want to look at it before I purchased one. At least that way you can see what's in it.

Check the bad reviews from the Better Business Bureau on a google search. Doesn't sound good.
 
I know this is not Tyler but you might contact Mills Motor Parts and Rebuilders in Shreveport. 2727 Linwood Ave. Had 2 uncles that thought highly of there products.
 
Ok, thanks rotorwrench for your suggestion.We do have a pretty good size salvage yard here in town.I'm going over in the morning to see if they have a block that I can use.
 
As Rotorwrench said very early on, if you are concerned about trying to keep that original(?) block intact with the car you could have one cylinder sleeved and hone all of them out to the same size to install either original size pistons with a new set of rings or just go over by the smallest increment possible.
 
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I went over to the salvaged yard yesterday looking for a 302 for my car. They don't have any of the 1980's block in stock. The guy there said he has a 1995 ford with a 302 in it but it is fuel injection.Mine is a carberated type intake. Is a block from a fuel injection 302 basically the same as the 302 carberated type,other than the intake manifold? Would that block mate ok with my C4 automatic transmission? Need some help from u guys to make sure that I will be able to use that block. Thanks to all.
 
poolplayer1 said:
I went over to the salvaged yard yesterday looking for a 302 for my car. They don't have any of the 1980's block in stock. The guy there said he has a 1995 ford with a 302 in it but it is fuel injection.Mine is a carberated type intake. Is a block from a fuel injection 302 basically the same as the 302 carberated type,other than the intake manifold? Would that block mate ok with my C4 automatic transmission? Need some help from u guys to make sure that I will be able to use that block. Thanks to all.
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I'm pretty certain that you can change out the intake and carb to replace the fuel injection. (if that's what you want to do) however. I am not sure bout the mate up to the transmission. My hunch is.... yes a direct bolt on replacement but I'm not 100% on that. I'm sure someone like Kultulz will be along to answer your questions / concerns.
 
poolplayer1 said:
I went over to the salvaged yard yesterday looking for a 302 for my car. They don't have any of the 1980's block in stock. The guy there said he has a 1995 ford with a 302 in it but it is fuel injection.

Mine is a carberated type intake. Is a block from a fuel injection 302 basically the same as the 302 carberated type,other than the intake manifold? Would that block mate ok with my C4 automatic transmission?

Need some help from u guys to make sure that I will be able to use that block. Thanks to all.
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Basically, all SBF blocks are the same. A 5.0L FI block will work. But you have to know if it is a roller or non-roller block. There are also internal/external balancing differences.

Exactly what is your application (car type) and I am assuming your are using a C4? Don't be hung-up on a E0AE block.
 
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I put a '94 5.0 roller engine in my '40 back in 1999. Changed the manifold and put a distributor in it. Roller cams are steel and require a steel or bronze drive gear on the distributor. I kept the stock flex plate which required a 12" torque converter. Had a bit of a problem finding a bell housing for the C4 to accept a 12" converter. Finally found a transmission shop that had one.
 
Instead of messing around with worn this, and worn-out that, and shot whatever,and grubbing thru junkyards, (there is a reason it's in a junkyard, it's junk) Why don't you just buy a new engine, and in a weekend it will be in and running and your troubles will be over. you can buy engines from ATK, Blueprint, etc. for well under 5K or much, much less depending on what you want. Why beat yourself to death over this? If you want to keep originality, stick the old engine under your workbench and save it for the next owner.
 
Thanks to all for your suggestions on this project. I will keep everything said here in mind. Packrat5, yes, that would be the best thing to do,buy a new engine but in my case,at the present time its not possible. Still paying for medical bills that I had in November of last year. This are major medical bills that I need to take care of first.
 
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