Hey everyone, I'm new here and have been working on my childhood truck since I was 14. I've been making steady improvements and modifications since. I am about to drop in a monster transmission and new hydraulic lifters. I have been researching on supercharging my stock 302 for a while now and can't really find answers. for one, what kits would work for the engine? would I need high flow injectors? and where would a place be that I could get a tune professionally done? I plan on running about 6-10 psi and what if any internal parts would need to be upgraded?
Any help would be a great

 

Are you looking for a roots style (weiand), or centrifugal style (vortech/procharger)? Stock bottom ends are good for 500-550 wheel. Past that you'll run the risk of splitting the block right down the lifter galley (ask how I know this). Stock 351W blocks are much stronger. Generally speaking, you will need a 255gph fuel pump, bigger injectors, bigger MAF sensor, blower kit. IDK if the mustang kits are a direct bolt on for a truck 302. I'm sure they can be made to work. Internals... if you have the heads off right now you may want to have them freshen up with new valve guides, upgraded springs, and a valve job. Replace the rear main seal before tossing your monster trans in. Maybe get a blower cam too...def a lot of power left on the table with a stock engine with a better cam.

 

also, have you considered a turbo setup... like an on3 kit? You'll generally make more wheel hp at the same crank hp level with a turbo. Turbos are more efficient as they use waste exhaust gas to spin an impeller vs a supercharger using the crank pulley and belt to spin an impeller. It will require some fab work... some of which could probably be based around a fox mustang turbo kit. The power behavior would be different... superchargers being instant power based on RPM, and turbos coming in with a short lag depending on turbo sizing and load. Roots blowers make more power lower in the RPM range, and centrifugal make more power at higher RPM. Turbos would easily outperform either supercharger across the power band, with the downside being the lag.

 

Thanks brad, And after reading other peoples post it seems the super charger at 6 psi doesn't stress the engine to much. thats my goal is just give the truck a little more get up and go. as far as a turbo the only thing I worry about is the pressure and temperature. Plus I don't really wanna go into a new oiling system as the 302 is known for an oiling system that is built for low revs high torque. I dont wanna spend a lot of money on the upgrades as the I have other work in mind that costs a lot. I figured injectors and pump were needed. My biggest concern is the pistons. I think regardless I am going to put forged pistons in anyway. Would that be enough? or would a new crank and cam be needed to. and im thinking a helical or root style over the center

 

Watch a bunch of Richard's videos... he has A TON of different SBF videos including all different types of power adders, combinations with heads/cam/intake. At this point in time a lot of people have probably learned and forgotten what they know about making power with a windsor. There's lots of info out there. On the turbo vs blower thing... if you run a roots blower, you're likely not running an intercooler. The roots blowers are the least efficient out of blowers and turbos. A basic turbo kit, with an air to air intercooler, results in lower IAT's, less chance of detonation, and less crank hp for the same level of wheel HP. You control the boost level with a wastegate, so you can set it up for whatever boost/power level you want. You use the stock oiling system via an oil filter port plate for turbo oil feed, and weld a bung on the oil pan for a turbo oil return. Nothing wrong with dropping in a set of forged pistons, and the crank and rods will be fine for what you're doing. I'm also not sure if you're sticking with EFI... not sure how that will work out with one of those weiand blowers. This is prob why the centrifugals are so popular. You bolt the blower on the front of the motor, plumb it into the stock intake, slap on injectors, MAF, and fuel pump and you're off to the races. One other concept to remember, is that boost level is affected by how efficient your engine is at moving air. Richard shows this in the linked video, where increases in exhuast flow, and head flow, dropped the boost level while making more HP.