I saw this on the Merkur forum (yeah, there's guys who've put both into Merkurs ) and thought i'd share it. It's a pretty amazing size difference.
Yep, it is a big difference The weight is very close. I almost want to say the DOHC is lighter than the Iron 302. I may be getting that confused with the SOHC. OHC engines tend to be wider.
Yeah i knew they were big block size but like they say a pic is worth 1000 words right? I've never worked on the mod motors so to me the side by side really sums it up since i'm familiar with the size of a 302.
Working on them is more time consuming. I changed a pair of 302 motor mounts in my backyard on my back, hand tools, floor jack, in the 90* heat in under an hour. I spent 4 hours changing my driver side motor mount on my 96 Cobra motor with L/T's, on a hoist, with air tools in 70* heat. If the car had stock manifolds...that would have helped out tremendously.
Yeah one of my dream cars would be a turbo DOHC 4.6 in a coupe, but i just don't think the end result would be 'more badass than a 302-enough' to justify the hassle. I like an engine compartment that's clutter free and easy to work on and that's not to be used in the same sentence as "DOHC" or "mod motor".
The blocks are way stronger and with that comes the size. The camshafts (2 on each) are on top of the cylinder heads. Not in the block like the pushrod.
I've got a buddy who has a '96 Cobra that he's built up the DOHC to run mid 10s on all motor. He's an aluminum welder and made his own intake and all kinds of crazy stuff. It's nasty to say the least. Over the summer he couldn't resist and put a bigass turbo on it and now it's deep in the 9s. Those motors sure don't act their size with those deep breathing heads.
