78 Ford XC Ute - Engine Rebuilt but need advice!

[@dalesautomotivefsj1606]

Dang, you Aussies got all the good stuff! My '77 F100 got a 134HP 2bbl 302 with the junk non-Cleveland heads. We call yours a Boss 302 in Canadastan. Good luck and a bright future on your build!

[@factoryrestosaustralia]

@@dalesautomotivefsj1606 Yeah I remember my brother's GS panel van and vividly remember the power boost when the second stage of the carbi kicked in, man it was fun 😊 Like your reference to Candanistan. Lmfao. Was in Canada in 95 for a few months loved it then it was a great country Thanks for watching Regards Steve

[@philb386]

Boss 302 is a 302 windsor block with cleveland heads. We got 302 clevelands in their own right for our domestic Falcon and Fairlanes etc.

[@MatthewHiggins-k1e]

The spacer is for EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation). You may need it for initial registration, but then disable it??? With regard to the inlet manifold, my understanding is that the 302 clevelands got the manifold like yours to keep the airflow in the ports relatively higher. The 351's didn't need that treatment. I hope that helps, otherwise Peter Anderson is your man.

[@hoost3056]

You can get a spreadbore to square bore carb adapter for the intake manifold, if needed. As mentioned earlier, the spacer you have now is for the emission controls ( thought it was for EGR at first glance ). To me, since the US market didn't have a 302 Cleveland, I would take a non emissions factory intake and put it on a flowbench to see where the numbers are at, then port the intake. That way you can have the full sleeper effect when you pop the hood.

[@factoryrestosaustralia]

@@hoost3056 Yeah thanks liking the sound of that. Prefer to keep it as original as possible so that's a great idea. Thanks for your input really appreciate it 👍

[@garryhall1558]

Yes plate under carby is an original item ,forgotten how its configured

[@factoryrestosaustralia]

@@garryhall1558 Awesome thanks that's one question answered Regards Steve

[@jessicawilloughby9469]

those plates are part of the emmissions control,the clevelands got more and more strangled as they went along,depending on your compression and cam i doubt youd see much difference with either,the swap back in the day was usually an edelbrock dual plane and a 600 secondary vacum holley and throw all the pollution crap in the bin(not really legal though) with a set of headers and a decent exhaust they had a bit more mid range and top end but not a massive gain,really depends on your compession and cam.....

[@factoryrestosaustralia]

@@jessicawilloughby9469Awesome info thanks really appreciate it. Yeah remember the 600 Holley's being popular back in the day but love the two stage thermocraft carbi's so I'll keep that until I get it on the road. Again thanks for info Regards Steve

[@jessicawilloughby9469]

@@factoryrestosaustralia i sadly wish i still had my xc gxl it had the thermoquad fitted and was a 2 owner car,not overly powerful but id still take it over the injected 4.1 in the later models that replaced the clevelands,i regularly used to see 23mpg on the freeway in that old girl!

[@factoryrestosaustralia]

@@jessicawilloughby9469 Yeah my brother had a GS panel van and I remember how impressed my Dad was on how fuel efficient the 302's could be if not flogged Thanks for watching Regards Steve

[@philb386]

Peter Anderson has a youtube channel, reach out to him he knows a lot about these 302 and 351 clevos.

[@factoryrestosaustralia]

@@philb386 Yeah good idea he's a guru on the Xc's your right. Thanks appreciate your input Regards Steve