302 in a 65 caliente

289 - 351 cid Small Block Performance
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navychief
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302 in a 65 caliente

Post by navychief »

I have A 65 caliente 289 , in need of a new engine undecided on rebuild or 302 , what problems would I have with install of the 302? car has A tremac five speed. thanks.

barrys65cyclone
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Re: 302 in a 65 caliente

Post by barrys65cyclone »

Direct swap if 289 is Late 6 bolt.

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Jims65cyclone
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Re: 302 in a 65 caliente

Post by Jims65cyclone »

Mine has a 302 out of a 68 Fairlane in it. Direct fit, no problem. What did your bell and T-5 come out of? Planning to make that change on mine.
Jim
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popscomet
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Re: 302 in a 65 caliente

Post by popscomet »

if at all possible,,REBUILD THE 289, REBUILD THE 289...….POP
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navychief
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Re: 302 in a 65 caliente

Post by navychief »

I think Im going with the 302 engine , from summit, from blue print engines , everything on it ready to drop in , will need a flywheel balanced to 50oz, and a four bolt two grove pulley , this all should mate up to my tremec five speed ,Any advice is welcomed.

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poboyjo65
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Re: 302 in a 65 caliente

Post by poboyjo65 »

I have the 4 bolt 2 grv pulley if you cant find one. Do you ever talk to Albert?
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Johno

navychief
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Re: 302 in a 65 caliente

Post by navychief »

I talk to Albert all the time, he was concerned about the 289 going bad. but no ones fault, I probably will need a pulley ,the one on the 289 is a three bolt two groove. thanks

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poboyjo65
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Re: 302 in a 65 caliente

Post by poboyjo65 »

Tell that knucklehead he needs to pop in ever now & then & let us know he's still kickin. :lol: if it needs a 50oz flywheel you'll need a 50oz balancer too. you might be better off to just get an aftermarket balancer with both boltpatterns, & reuse all of your pulleys,brackets & t.cover. I got one from summit that had both patterns & I think you could get either balance weights on it too. you can run in to trouble on these SBF pulleys & brackets when you mix & match.
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Johno

navychief
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Re: 302 in a 65 caliente

Post by navychief »

you guys that went to the 302 can you notice any more performance over the 289 ?

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poboyjo65
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Re: 302 in a 65 caliente

Post by poboyjo65 »

I went to a 302 that was stroked to a 347 & it's a BIG difference! I could run circles around my old 289 & stay under 5500 rpm. If you want seat of the pants torque put a stroker in it. But I built it for the street.it has great low & midrange power. my cam makes all its power under 5600 so it aint a stem winder. but it sure is fun! & you'll hear the rod angles are bad on a 347. that's true for high rpms & racing ,but I've been punchin on the motor for over a decade now,had it in a truck first,now in my comet, but it is still going strong.
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bigdan
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Re: 302 in a 65 caliente

Post by bigdan »

Not sure what your final engine configuration will be, but CVF Racing was outstanding for pulleys, especially if you need oddballs (like my low profile 2v setup).

As for 289 vs 302, I went the direction Johnno did, only built a full roller 331. Brutal, absolutely over the top from stock 302's and 289's I've had before.

Good luck!

Side note - what did yout do in the Navy? I did almost 12 years in the bubblehead world, got out as an MM1(SS).

Dan
Long time search complete, 65 Cyclone project in progress!

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tomb22
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Re: 302 in a 65 caliente

Post by tomb22 »

I went from a 260 to a 302 roller with the same intake, carburetor, distributor and headers. There is quit a bit of difference between those two. A lot more torque.
tom
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popscomet
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Re: 302 in a 65 caliente

Post by popscomet »

if you replace the 289 with a 302,to me there ain;t much gain,,,,but you guys are talking stroked 302's,,well sure your gonna see a big gain over just a 302,and that was his question did you see difference just by replaceing the 289 with a 302...and with a 260 that has 3.78 bore with a 2.87 stroke....you replace it with a 4in bore and 3in stroke,stands to reason you see a noticeable gain....JMO and that's all,to each their own but I'd still rather have the 289 over the 302...like POP said jmo !!! 8)
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1964hipo
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Re: 302 in a 65 caliente

Post by 1964hipo »

I agree with Pop, ive never felt any gains by going to 302 vs 289, however i fell that the 289 is a better balanced motor and more "sporty" as it seems to be better suited to high rpm. In the end what do you plan on doing with it? As in what rpm range are you shooting for?

barrys65cyclone
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Re: 302 in a 65 caliente

Post by barrys65cyclone »

302 gains you approx 15ft lbs of T/Q

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