My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

[Rembrant]

Engine looks great, and I like the factory valve covers... can’t argue with taste but I’d leave them that way.

I think that coolant reservoir may be from a car. It’s definitely not the diesel one, because the 6.9 has a huge separate coolant reservoir and a washer tank that is about the size of the combined tank on the gas engine trucks.

I kinda like the factory covers as well. The blue really makes the whole thing pop. The original gray was so drab...what little of it was left of it (everything was rusty anyway). I may end up leaving them just as they are. This thing is by no means a show truck and nobody will really ever see under the hood except me anyway. If I decide to get nice covers later, they'd be something along the lines of these Scott Drake aluminum ones below:

https://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/sdk-6a582-302/overview/make/ford

 

[Gary Lewis]

Engine looks great, and I like the factory valve covers... can’t argue with taste but I’d leave them that way.

I think that coolant reservoir may be from a car. It’s definitely not the diesel one, because the 6.9 has a huge separate coolant reservoir and a washer tank that is about the size of the combined tank on the gas engine trucks.

I kinda like the factory covers as well. The blue really makes the whole thing pop. The original gray was so drab...what little of it was left of it (everything was rusty anyway). I may end up leaving them just as they are. This thing is by no means a show truck and nobody will really ever see under the hood except me anyway. If I decide to get nice covers later, they'd be something along the lines of these Scott Drake aluminum ones below:

https://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/sdk-6a582-302/overview/make/ford

Those are nice looking covers. I really like the black and aluminum look.

[farmboy60]

Those are nice looking covers. I really like the black and aluminum look.

your coolant tank came from a ford ranger saw them at the pick and pull junk yard

[Gary Lewis]

your coolant tank came from a ford ranger saw them at the pick and pull junk yard

Well spotted, as the Brit's say. And now we know.

[Rembrant]

Looks great! Can't wait for the dyno numbers.

Well I must say I had some fun today working with the shop to get my old 302 broken in and tuned up. It is working really nicely.

I'll have to dig through the paperwork tomorrow to be 100% precise, but I believe the best numbers were 297HP at 5400 RPM, and 334 Torque at 3100 RPM.

I believe those numbers are pretty darn close to what the cam/heads/carb were spec'd for.

We rejetted the carb from the #66 jets it came with to #68, plus a few other adjustments, floats, idle mixture, choke, etc.

We spent a lot of time playing with the timing. Using a Crane advance kit I had previously set my distributor up in the 13L slot with the two yellow springs to bring full mechanical advance in by 2600 RPM. As tested, the 13L slot was giving us bit more than it was supposed to at 28 degrees mech advance. We took the distributor apart and welded up the 18L slot to basically make it a 10L slot. Where he locked it all down at the end of the session was with 34 degrees total advance, and 12 degrees initial. Our welded up slot gave us 22 degrees mech advance, and as tested it was fully advanced at 2700 RPM. It seemed to work the best there, made the best power, and started the best. Going higher than 34 degrees full advance did nothing for it that we could see. He was happy with it and suggested to leave it there.

Quick recap for anybody searching for 302 info (like I did a hundred times):

1984 Flat tappet 302, bored 0.020" over, with 9:1 compression.

GT40 Explorer heads, all stock with fresh valve and guide work. (Original rods and stamped rocker arms from my low mileage 302).

Comp cams complete XE256-H timing chain, sprockets, springs, and cam kit (Cam part # 31-234-3)

Edelbrock Performer 4v 289 intake with 1" carb spacer.

Holley 600CFM 4160 Carb with electric choke and vac secondaries.

Stock Duraspark distributor with 34 degrees total advance, and 22 mechanical advance fully in by 2700 RPM.

The engine started instantly, first time and every time. It was nice and crisp in that sense. Seemed to run nicely through the whole range. I'm quite pleased with it.

Thank you all for all of your help.

I'll post up some pics shortly...

[Rembrant]

Looks great! Can't wait for the dyno numbers.

Well I must say I had some fun today working with the shop to get my old 302 broken in and tuned up. It is working really nicely.

I'll have to dig through the paperwork tomorrow to be 100% precise, but I believe the best numbers were 297HP at 5400 RPM, and 334 Torque at 3100 RPM.

I believe those numbers are pretty darn close to what the cam/heads/carb were spec'd for.

We rejetted the carb from the #66 jets it came with to #68, plus a few other adjustments, floats, idle mixture, choke, etc.

We spent a lot of time playing with the timing. Using a Crane advance kit I had previously set my distributor up in the 13L slot with the two yellow springs to bring full mechanical advance in by 2600 RPM. As tested, the 13L slot was giving us bit more than it was supposed to at 28 degrees mech advance. We took the distributor apart and welded up the 18L slot to basically make it a 10L slot. Where he locked it all down at the end of the session was with 34 degrees total advance, and 12 degrees initial. Our welded up slot gave us 22 degrees mech advance, and as tested it was fully advanced at 2700 RPM. It seemed to work the best there, made the best power, and started the best. Going higher than 34 degrees full advance did nothing for it that we could see. He was happy with it and suggested to leave it there.

Quick recap for anybody searching for 302 info (like I did a hundred times):

1984 Flat tappet 302, bored 0.020" over, with 9:1 compression.

GT40 Explorer heads, all stock with fresh valve and guide work. (Original rods and stamped rocker arms from my low mileage 302).

Comp cams complete XE256-H timing chain, sprockets, springs, and cam kit (Cam part # 31-234-3)

Edelbrock Performer 4v 289 intake with 1" carb spacer.

Holley 600CFM 4160 Carb with electric choke and vac secondaries.

Stock Duraspark distributor with 34 degrees total advance, and 22 mechanical advance fully in by 2700 RPM.

The engine started instantly, first time and every time. It was nice and crisp in that sense. Seemed to run nicely through the whole range. I'm quite pleased with it.

Thank you all for all of your help.

I'll post up some pics shortly...

Priming the oil system and getting ready. If I recall correctly, it made 65 psi cold, and then 55 psi hot. I'll have to check my service manual and see where it is supposed to be. They told me that was good.

[Gary Lewis]

Priming the oil system and getting ready. If I recall correctly, it made 65 psi cold, and then 55 psi hot. I'll have to check my service manual and see where it is supposed to be. They told me that was good.

Those are excellent #'s!! Dialing in the timing like that will make a big difference in starting and economy, as well as power. And breaking it in on the dyno means you know it'll work w/o springing all kinds of leaks when you start it up in the vehicle.

And, it sure is fun as well. Isn't the sound cool!?!? Congrat's!!

[PetesPonies]

Those are excellent #'s!! Dialing in the timing like that will make a big difference in starting and economy, as well as power. And breaking it in on the dyno means you know it'll work w/o springing all kinds of leaks when you start it up in the vehicle.

And, it sure is fun as well. Isn't the sound cool!?!? Congrat's!!

Good HP numbers, especially with that intake. A regular Performer isn't much better than a stock cast iron. Performer RPM steps things up a lot.

[Rembrant]

Good HP numbers, especially with that intake. A regular Performer isn't much better than a stock cast iron. Performer RPM steps things up a lot.

Gary,

YES! The sound was very cool, I'm very pleased with it. Good HP and TQ numbers as well, yes. This was a bit of a budget build, and I don't have to tell you that the spending can be limitless if you want it to be. It would be very easy to get carried away with this stuff. While I was trying to do this as a lower cost build, some things I didn't scrimp on. I bought new ARP head and intake bolts, and used good quality gaskets throughout...especially the Fel-Pro Perma-Dry Plus 1pc oil pan gasket and valve cover gaskets. They were 3x the cost of even standard quality stuff. Front and rear main seals I bought from Ford. Everything was great in that sense...engine was bone dry with no leaks.

The full dyno day cost me $500 bucks, and it was well worth it in my opinion. Obviously the first half of the day is in getting the engine installed and set-up, but we had it started and the cam broken in by mid-day, so that left all afternoon for tuning. Why would a guy who is trying to keep costs down spend $500 on a dyno day?...lol. I dunno, I just wanted it to be right, and I want to just drop it in the truck and go. Getting the break-in done properly, and getting the air/fuel and timing set-up properly was important to me.

All said and done, it was a lot of fun. I know lots of men that wouldn't have enjoyed that day, but I sure did.

Good HP numbers, especially with that intake. A regular Performer isn't much better than a stock cast iron. Performer RPM steps things up a lot.

Good point on the intake Pete. I learned a lot as I went along here, and there are a few things in hindsight I could've or should've done differently.

The intake is something that I maybe should have bumped up to RPM version. I know it is not much better than a stock 4v intake, but it still is far better than my stock cast iron 2v intake was. In that regard, it was still an upgrade (along with the Holley 600).

I don't have any regrets, but the one thing that nagged at me a bit was the block. If one were to follow the internet dogma, it seems you are a fool if you don't swap in a roller block if you have the opportunity. They are cheap and seem to be common enough to come by. Maybe I spent too much time reading Mustang forums...lol, I dunno. In any case, I didn't want to discard a perfectly good low mileage block, and the fact it was original to the truck made me want to keep it as well.

The other thing was the cylinder heads. Installing aftermarket aluminums is the defacto standard these days, and that is another topic it seems one is thought to be crazy if they don't do it. This one really came down to cost. Aluminum heads are priced well, but they were going to cause me to need new rockers and push rods which were going to cause me to need new valve covers, etc. It was turning into a $2000 bill very quickly, and I came across a good deal on freshly rebuilt GT40 Explorer heads, so that is the way I went.

Anyway, I am really pleased with how it all turned out. I have a nice little 300HP 302, which is a nice step-up from the stock low compression 2bbl factory set-up.

 

[Gary Lewis]

Gary,

YES! The sound was very cool, I'm very pleased with it. Good HP and TQ numbers as well, yes. This was a bit of a budget build, and I don't have to tell you that the spending can be limitless if you want it to be. It would be very easy to get carried away with this stuff. While I was trying to do this as a lower cost build, some things I didn't scrimp on. I bought new ARP head and intake bolts, and used good quality gaskets throughout...especially the Fel-Pro Perma-Dry Plus 1pc oil pan gasket and valve cover gaskets. They were 3x the cost of even standard quality stuff. Front and rear main seals I bought from Ford. Everything was great in that sense...engine was bone dry with no leaks.

The full dyno day cost me $500 bucks, and it was well worth it in my opinion. Obviously the first half of the day is in getting the engine installed and set-up, but we had it started and the cam broken in by mid-day, so that left all afternoon for tuning. Why would a guy who is trying to keep costs down spend $500 on a dyno day?...lol. I dunno, I just wanted it to be right, and I want to just drop it in the truck and go. Getting the break-in done properly, and getting the air/fuel and timing set-up properly was important to me.

All said and done, it was a lot of fun. I know lots of men that wouldn't have enjoyed that day, but I sure did.

Good HP numbers, especially with that intake. A regular Performer isn't much better than a stock cast iron. Performer RPM steps things up a lot.

Good point on the intake Pete. I learned a lot as I went along here, and there are a few things in hindsight I could've or should've done differently.

The intake is something that I maybe should have bumped up to RPM version. I know it is not much better than a stock 4v intake, but it still is far better than my stock cast iron 2v intake was. In that regard, it was still an upgrade (along with the Holley 600).

I don't have any regrets, but the one thing that nagged at me a bit was the block. If one were to follow the internet dogma, it seems you are a fool if you don't swap in a roller block if you have the opportunity. They are cheap and seem to be common enough to come by. Maybe I spent too much time reading Mustang forums...lol, I dunno. In any case, I didn't want to discard a perfectly good low mileage block, and the fact it was original to the truck made me want to keep it as well.

The other thing was the cylinder heads. Installing aftermarket aluminums is the defacto standard these days, and that is another topic it seems one is thought to be crazy if they don't do it. This one really came down to cost. Aluminum heads are priced well, but they were going to cause me to need new rockers and push rods which were going to cause me to need new valve covers, etc. It was turning into a $2000 bill very quickly, and I came across a good deal on freshly rebuilt GT40 Explorer heads, so that is the way I went.

Anyway, I am really pleased with how it all turned out. I have a nice little 300HP 302, which is a nice step-up from the stock low compression 2bbl factory set-up.

Any time you get 1 HP for 1 cubic inch you have a strong engine. Yes, you could get more out of it, but to do so requires you to join the "spending is limitless" camp, and that wasn't your goal. I think you did a very good job of choosing good components that work together.