matthew13sanderson

looking at swapping in a carb'd 302 in my 95, its going to be a project of mine this summer to put some horsepower in it. i heard a while ago that there was a certain year block that had a higher nickel casting or something, and it can handle more HP, anyone have any info?

qdeezie

You are talking about the Mexican block. As far as block strength is concerned, a properly built TRUCK (not Mustang, but truck) engine won't rev high enough to warrant a stronger block.

However if you want a real engine block, get a Dart SHP and it'll handle upwards of 1200hp, even though Dart conservatively rates it at 600.

matthew13sanderson

ahh i see. id be going for around the 600hp mark i figure...the plan right now is to invest in a pair of the already built john kaase p38 heads and go from there. i guess i cant go buy an old POS pickup and harvest a stronger block out of it eh.

i also heard the boss 302 block was pretty good too, i can only imagine what one of them would cost though if i could find one

matthew13sanderson

its going into a mud truck too, so bottom end power is a must for me

qdeezie

A good aftermarket block will probably hit you for $1500-$2000 depending on what sort of deal you can find. I wouldn't trust any production block for 600hp. I would choose the dart over the boss block if it were me.

matthew13sanderson

right on thanks for the advice.

Ford 4x4

I have a 351w block that has the high nickel content. I am going to be at about 4-500hp with it and it will hold up to that all day.

Brandon587

Wouldn't it be better to build a 351 then? For lower end power? Not that the 302 is bad, but its not known for low end power. Not saying it can't have any either.

Warlockk

Its more important to find a block with a 4 bolt main rather than a 2. That's where your real strength issue will be. An iron block is an iron block. Keep it at a good temp and it will be fine. But put too much torque on a bearing cap and no matter how much nickel you have the rod will come through it.

Ford 4x4

well yeah but if you keep it at 500 ft lbs or less and don't rev the crap out of it the high nickle block will last just fine.