[Maxstout'89]

I finally bought my '62 327 block today to go with my 283 steel crank. I need direction on what rods and pistons to use and where I can get recipies for compression ratio's. Also, I;d like to know what the original comp, cam ,valves, ect the original 302 had. Thanks, Mark

[matt167]

good luck finding the pistions. you need special 302 pistions, could have them made, not shure on the rods

[DoubleVision]

if you plan to street drive it, you`ll have to stick to 9.5:1 compression unless you want to run race gas. Get good rods, the small journal stockers won`t cut it even with aftermarket bolts, get high quality aftermarket rods. The 302 used a duntov solid lifter "30/30" cam, it`s still avalible from several aftermarket companies. You`ll need a bullet proof valve train, as the valve train predicts how high it will rev. If this is a street machine it will need very low gears, at least 4.11 or lower to 4.56, just so it`ll have enough take off power to move the vehicle and it`ll still be sluggish. If running a auto tranny it`ll need a high stall converter. You will also need a strong ignition that will continue to spark way up in the powerband, stock ignition won`t cut it. Next problem is 9:1 compression is not going to work real well with that much cam and so little cubic inches. Overall, it`s going to be a expensive built anyway you slice it as the pistons are not common or cheap and aftermarket rods aren`t cheap. From the factory the compression ratio was 11:1 with forged dome pistons. It used camel back heads, casting number 462, 291 and 186. They used 2.02 intake, 1.60 exhaust valves, 64cc chambers and 160cc intake runners. Only other thing I can say is, if this is a race vehicle, it needs to be light as possible and it`ll be hard to beat, but if it`s a regular weight car, a equally prepared 350 will swallow you.