At 11:59 AM 8/7/00 -0700, Bob Palmer wrote:
>Steve,
>
>Just to make sure you haven't created a misunderstanding regarding 302
>versus 5.0L, I believe they are exactly the same engine in terms of bore
>and stroke and the 5.0L designation probably was a marketing decision
>rather than being based on any of the many changes that have been made to
>this same basic engine over the past thirty years. I also am skeptical of
>blaming the broken skirt problem on the slightly longer stroke, since there
>are many stroker motors out there that push way beyond the 302 stroke in
>the same block. I'd blame it simply one bad pistons. I think we have heard
>Cmdr. Barker and others on the List note this problem particularly on the
>BOSS 302 motors.
There are two features on the late (86+) 5.0 small block which are
important to some owners. The first is the longer lifter bores which allow
the OEM roller lifters to operate correctly. This seemingly small
modification pays many dividends when you gain the advantages of roller cam
profiles and the power/economy increases that are possible. The second is
less known and that is the boss on the right front of the block, right
under the head. This was used by Ford to mount Alternators in some
applications and it works very well if you would prefer a mounting that is
lower than add-on brackets typically provide.
Tom
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