horsepower guess...

[milton666]

does anyone here think they could give me an educated guess on how much horsepower I might be pushing?

I know these threads are usually hated but I've been swimming in a sea different numbers and i thought you guys might be able to answer this better.

in my 68' stang I just finished getting a brand new 302 block put in with:
electronic ignition
4-barrell 650cfm carb
performance intake manifold
shorty headers

there is a VERY noticable difference in power but since for the past 4 years ive been building on and working on a 289 im fairly lost when it comes to the numbers concerning the 302... all I have discovered is that the 4-barrel 302 stock was supposed to be rated at 230hp.

[MagicRat]

It all depends on the heads and the cam.

If you have low compression heads from about 1972 to the late '80's (and there are millions of these out there) you have about 180-220 hp, depending on the cam. IMO if you are running a carb, you likely have a set of these.

Although the hp numbers look modest this set up has bags of low end torque and makes for a really nice, responsive set up that will run smoothly on regular gas.

If you have a mid-80's to early '90's Mustang or Lincoln MkVII heads (designated High Output, you have approx 20 more hp. I suspect there are not many carb intake manifolds that fit these, I seem to remember the intake bolt pattern was different because most were EFI.

[fivepointohhhh]

im gonna say around 240-250hp

[Msvic]

Magicrat is right
If your running stock heads, which are notorisly bad, they;re a bottle neck to power
Your on the right track with an alum. intake, headers.
But, stock heads are stopping you from making big power
A set of E-7's off a 89-90's 302 are good to port/polish/190's/1:60' valves, do a 3 angle valve job.
but, by the time you do all this ,you will probably have invest what a good set of aftermarket iron heads would cost & give you another 30-60hp.
Company called power heads take E-7's & do them up as a cheaper alternative.
The ultimate being AFR 165;s which have proven to add 50-100hp on a dyno.
See Car Craft magazine who took a stock 5.0 with nothing but a head change to aluminum AFR 180;s & made 400 hp!!!
I;d guess your making maybe 180 at the wheels right now considering parasitic loss of your drivetrain

[AlaskanWrench]

id say not neer enough... rip that puppy back out.. put some 10.5:1 comp pistins find a set of boss heads and a nasty cam set up and rip. after that ull be poping at least 300hp and a BUTT LOAD of torque