302 Ford or 4.8 GM?

The Ford with the transmission is already in my possession. Nothing special but would certainly do for the application. The plan calls for a set of alloy heads to cut down on the weight. So, budget $2000 for that plus a cam

But then I keep thinking...The GM engines already HAVE alloy heads. I can get a pullout from a Pick Up with transmission for around 1500, so really, no price advantage either way.

Packaging is a consideration as the space is tight. I believe the Ford has the advantage here.

I like the idea of running the 4.8 as a stock engine; tuning and settings will all be as per a GM manual. My experience with modified engines has always resulted in compromised running and I worry that the new alloy heads and maybe a cam will have this effect on the otherwise tame 302.

The GM would of course have the truck intake and other bits, so might not fir under the hood. There is that to consider.

What to do?

You can easily swap the intake to an LS1/LS2?LS6 intake to fit tight spaces without changing anything internally.

For me.... there's been so many advances in the last 50 years since the SBF/SBC were designed. I'd go with the LR4.

what vehicle ya droppin' this in, btw?

or is that super-secret

I'm a ford guy at heart, and I heart a good 302.

I thought the truck 4.8/5.3/6.0 were all iron headed engines.....

In reply to yamaha:

My 2000 Sierra has cast iron heads on it's LQ4, but I think they went to aluminum at some point later.

In reply to bravenrace:

My '03 pedovan's 6L has cast iron as well......

yamaha wrote: I thought the truck 4.8/5.3/6.0 were all iron headed engines.....

Quite the opposite. MOST were aluminum heads, and the a lot of the later 5.3's (2007-up) are aluminum block as well.

fasted58 wrote: what vehicle ya droppin' this in, btw? or is that super-secret

No secret.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/volvo-p1800eskinda/72311/page1/

Pretty sure I have seen the alloy heads on the 4.8 and 5.3 engines as often as not (never seen an iron head 4.8). The L33 was at one time the one to look for if you wanted bargain basement but its popularity for just that reason has made it rare.

You guys need to keep in mind that scrapyards in Canada do not do pull outs like they do in the states and that our cost tend to be about double what you would pay.

hmmm, I'd still go with a 302 in this case though.....

I think this is more a question of transmission availability and what you'd prefer to have in the car.

pres589 wrote: I think this is more a question of transmission availability and what you'd prefer to have in the car.

Wife's ride when done. Auto is the only option.

Is either one of those going to fit between the fenders? I seem to remember a I4 being kind of tight on the last one I looked at.

If you have to use an auto then lsx. Totally. That is the only reason to consider a 302 for a custom swap is a cheap auto.

You might want to measure what width you have available. V-8's don't come much narrower than a thin wall Ford.

bravenrace wrote: You might want to measure what width you have available. V-8's don't come much narrower than a thin wall Ford.

Bad people do bad things to nice cars

Just trying to help.

I would love to see the new LSx engines sitting next to a ford 302 for size comparisons. To me, the newer LSx engines seem smaller externally than their older counterparts like the Gen I/II Small Blocks.

If you can swing it the 5.3 has really good flowing heads making it ready for what ever you want to toss at it down the road.

Just hit Kijiji and find someone that's parting out a truck. Going rate for a 4.8 truck drivetrain (engine, trans and accessories) is about 800 to 1K around here.

You're in Ontario right? Here are a few option:

Lots of km, but cheap
You can have the entire truck for 1K
No trans, but only 500$

BTW, maybe this will help sway..... I love this article: http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/hrdp_1109_stock_gm_ls_engine_big_bang_theory/

Bobzilla wrote: I would love to see the new LSx engines sitting next to a ford 302 for size comparisons. To me, the newer LSx engines seem smaller externally than their older counterparts like the Gen I/II Small Blocks.

Considering you can physically bolt an LSX head to a 302 block...

From what I've seen and measured, an LSx is shorter (intake to pan) in both carburetored and EFI'd guises, and the 302 is a shorter (crank pulley to flywheel) due to the LSx's larger accessories/pulley system. It should be noted that the LSx tends to centralize all of it's extra mass down low and in front (at least with the car accessories), which typically interferes with crossmembers and steering racks on swap cars.

Basically though, if one fits, the other fits.

I'm liking the idea of the LSx engines, and I was actually researching the 4.8/5.3 last night for a swap into my Land Cruiser (and other hideously cool ideas).

Since you have the 302 already, I would go with that.

If I owned this car, I wouldn't do an LS or a SBF. I'd find something way more interesting to put in it.

bravenrace wrote: If I owned this car, I wouldn't do an LS or a SBF. I'd find something way more interesting to put in it.

You are of course correct in this matter. However, I have this thing about keeping classics with classics.

What I mean with this is that a a Lexus V8 would be a way cool swap. for about 10 years until there was not a human alive who knew what a 15 year old Lexus engine ( I mean I am old, and already cant keep track of the alphabet soup that people use to designate Asian power-heads)

At that point, the car becomes obsolete no matter how well it was done and or preserved.

I am pretty confident that the 302 will be as well known in 10 years as it is today,and parts will be just as cheap and available.

And I guess the other thing that I an going to weigh in on is the fact that Ford did own Volvo for 9 years, so there is symmetry in that ...

So to close the case, I guess I will stay with the 302 since fate has deemed that the parts are in place.