Ford 302 crank

[RobbieRacer]

Ford 302's came with a 28oz imbalance crank till 81 (i think). After that a 50oz crank. I'm building a 79. Can I use a 50oz crank or does it have to be 28oz?

[Jeff Blanchard]

The crankshafts approved for each year, make, and model, are listed by number in NHRA Racer, Technical Section, Engine Blueprint Specifications. That should easily answer your question. If I was building an engine, I would become very familiar with this material.

[Lou Jeffery]

If you are going to use a production 50 oz. crankshaft there is no issue. Heads and intake are the only critical parts to vintage, any year block, crank.

[RobbieRacer]

Thanks Lou, thats good news. i have a 88 block and crank given to me that looks like new. I was hoping I could use it. I have the right heads and intake.

Originally Posted by Lou Jeffery

If you are going to use a production 50 oz. crankshaft there is no issue. Heads and intake are the only critical parts to vintage, any year block, crank.

[Sean Marconette]

Lighter is better, or internally balanced. It does not matter on the crank what vintage it is, as long as the stroke is within blueprint specs. It would be a good idea to have the crank checked. I had a cast crank break on the dyno and it pushed the front of the block out.

If your 50oz is what you have then your good. You just need the matching flywheel of flex plate.

Sean

[Chris1529]

spend the money and get a good balancer no matter which crank you use. Don't use one of the factory balancers unless you don't plan to run much rpm.

[Dave Gantz]

Is a roller cam block (your 88) different than a flat tappet block (79)?

[RobbieRacer]

Originally Posted by Dave Gantz

Is a roller cam block (your 88) different than a flat tappet block (79)?

It's not a roller block. It's a YYY block with a one piece rear main.

[Mike Taylor 3601]

when you have your engine balanced,have it done with the balancer and flywheel you are going to run.
There is quite a bit of difference in external balancers,flywheels and can make a big difference in the balance of your crank,if is stick have pressure plate done also.
if had a choice and had to be external balance,I would use 28OZ before 50OZ , 28 OZ will flex crank less. If you use 50 OZ crank you will have to use 50OZ balancer and flywheel in case you didn't know.
Mike Taylor 3601

[RobbieRacer]

That's the plan. I'm getting a new balancer and flex plate for sure. The motor wont see a lot of RPM so I'm not worried about crank flex so much. I needed to buy a crank and got this one for free so I cant complain.