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Ford 302 engine tunning

2K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  jake_arcticcat 
#1 ·
Hi, we just got the new 302 in my cousins truck and are ready to tackle some tunning. First off heres what we got:
1973 302 windsor stock rebuild with stock compression
Add ons are edelbrock performer, carb, cam, and intake. The motor also has headers.
We fired it up broke in the cam and took it for a little drive. The motor runs very good but seems real lazy, theres no bog or hesitation just seems low on power. Alright, i have the timming set at edelbrock spec at 14 degrees idle and it maxs out at 32 around 3500 or so. Now were wondering where to start he had the tuned for his stock 351 before, im not sure what was changed but it aint factory. So any ideas were a guy should start? Does this cam need springs? Think the comp ratio is right for the cam? Sorry about the lenght. Thanks, Jake
 
#3 · (Edited)
Have you tuned the carb 1405 / 1406 ?

I would tune the carb idle next (goal = white plug). Tuning by ear is ok. Turn in both idle rich/lean screws CW til idle starts getting rough then CCW a tad till engine smooths out. Pull a plug after a hot idle and verify plug is mostly white. White indicates lean which is OK for idle. If you experience hard starts you can go CCW a tad until your satisfied with idle. If you go CCW too far you can quickly foul a plug.

Tuning cruise mode (goal = white plug): Drive your car easy and spend some time at steady state cruise then pull a plug. If plug is white and car cruises OK then cruise jet/rod is good. It is OK to run a bit lean in cruise mode. If plug is greyish then you are too rich for cruise mode and are wasting fuel. If plug is white then you can get better results for next test.

Tuning 2 BBL power mode (goal =slightly greyish/brownish plug): Accelerate moderately so as not to activate 4BBL. Do the 2 BBL acceleration 2 or 3 times then turn off your ignition and coast to a stop. If the plug is white then you are too lean and could damage the engine. If the plug is black then you are wasting fuel and loosing power. If the plug is a bit grey/brown then you are good.

Tuning 4BBL (goal =slightly greyish/brownish plug): Drive the car easy for a while and verify plug changed back to white or install a clean plug. Activate WOT 4BBL a couple times then turn off key and coast to stop. If plug is black then need smaller sec jet. If plug is white then need bigger sec jet or you could damage engine. If plug is grayish/brownish then you are good.
 
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