140,000 Miles on the clock... Put a blower on it... but how?

[Lynx331]

Hey guys... im just trying to weigh out all my options here. My 302 has 140,000 miles on the clock. Im playing with the idea of putting a procharger on it. No, im not gona put it on there with the motor as it is. Thats why im here. If i decide to put a blower on.. what would u suggest i do? Do i really need to get the block honed? The cylinder walls are quite polished..? Do i just put new bearings in it? Let me know everything u think it would need to make it reliable under boost. Thanks Guys

 

[dragnazz5.0]

wouldnt hurt to get the entire motor rebuilt. cleaned, bored/honed, new bearings/freeze plugs. if youre gonna pull it for just bearings or just rings its a waste of time and money because youll end up just pulling it back out in the near future. IMHO if youre going to run boost, just go ahead and save some headache and redo the bottom end so you know its not gonna blow up on you

 

[Lynx331]

what does an average rebuilt run? If i was going to do all the work.. and only have the engine shop do the cam bearings and honeing?

 

[dragnazz5.0]

i paid 450 for my block to be cleaned bored/honed and got the deck milled, new cam bearings and new freeze plugs put it. new pistons were put on my old rods which were machined and new rings

 

[Kdubslugga]

I just went over 140k myself before i stored it away for the winter, 140009 to be exact, im in the process of adding a Powerdyne 9lb right now, ill let ya know if it blows up!!!I think you ll be fine, the 302 is the best motor ever!!! Im worried about my tranny though.....lol

 

[87gtconv]

I say go for it and if it blows rebuild it. I dont think the tranny will be much of a problem as superchargers dont put out quite as much torque as turbochargers do and that is what kills most trannys!

 

[srothfuss]

If your car isn't burring oil / has decent oil pressure and doesn't make any strange noises you can probably get away with adding the S/C for another year or two while you figure out your rebuild plans.

Surely the motor will need a rebuild... but you can get away without it for now.

As far as the tranny goes: As long as you don't do a lot of power shifting and 4,000PRM launches your tranny should hold up OK. My dad already blew mine up and the car is nearly stock! (Almost Stock)

 

[Lynx331]

so basically it would cost around 500 for the rebuild?? before gaskets.. anything else i should consider? thanks guys

 

[Michael Yount]

I'd run cranking compression and cylinder leak down tests to confirm what kind of cylinder sealing you have before adding boost without the rebuild. 140K is a long way down the road. And if you decide to rebuild (that's what I'd do), don't forget the heads - they should be rebuilt as well - valve job, new guides, new seals, new valve springs.

If you do this all at once remember -- you're changing a whole bunch of stuff at one time and trouble shooting problems becomes more complex that way. Might be worth doing the rebuild and being sure it's running right -- then go back and add the Powerdyne.

Don't forget the cooling system -- you're gonna be asking it to deal with more heat - be sure it's up to the task. If the radiator is stock/original -- it's GOT TO GO.

 

[DW5.0L]

Agreed, get the vitals first and let that direct you as to rebuilding or not. I just got my block rebuilt with 197,000 on it. It still ran strong and did not burn oil. But it was just a matter of time before the bearings needed to be replaced. I just went ahead and did everything else also.

 

[Lynx331]

i think ill go with a quick rebuild the motor will only be in until next winter and then it will become my emission motor anyway. the heads on the car have recently been ported reconditioned with a value job so those should be alright. anything else?