Mexican 302 block

i finally found one standard bore mexican 302, it got maged and cleaned and im only in it it 200$ im excited i thought thought u guys would like to know about my score..

they have heavier mains and a thicker wall and deck. They are approx 25% stronger than a 5.0 block.

The block is almost identical to a HiPo 289, and FRPP Sportsman block.

 

Cool!!

 

my grandfather gave me a truck with a 302 and its a mexican block kind... i had heard about the difference but everyone i talked to about it looked at me like i had a cock on my forehead... good to hear that it just isint a rumor!

 

When I pulled my 302 apart last week for a rebuild I discovered it was a Mexican block. I'd never heard about a Mexican block till then. I'll bet there is a lot of other stuff I don't know too.

 

I'm new to the Ford world. Can you explain how to tell the difference? I just scored a Jeep Wagon with an early 70's 302 in it. Thanks, Gary

 

All know is when I took the intake off it had Mexico cast in the valley.

 

they're thicker because the mexs used recycled metal

 

The mustang 5.0 roller motors had junk blocks and they actually split down the middle if you built more than 500 HP. This left a couple of options at your disposal. One was a HO racing block at $1,900 or the cheaper mexican casted block for a few hundred. The best choice was and still is the HO motor sports block with hi nickle content and they will last a life time if built right. We built several stroker motors that make 800 to 920 hp on motor then added 600 nosfor 1500 +available HP. Todays turbo SBF are in the 2000+ hp range.

 

I've got one sitting in the shop, +.030", not really sure what to do with it. Anyone want to trade for a good Y core?

 

I bought a running one in the junkyard once for $200 and put it in my Fairlane.I didn't know it was any better than a regular 302 until after I sold it.They must be relatively common in the US.

 

Casting numbers C8AM-B, C8AZ-B, 75ZY-AA, D1ZM-AA, these blocks have "Hecho En Mexico" or just plain MEXICO cast in the lifter valley. An extra non machined boss protruding from the front of the driver's side cylinder bank can be easily spotted in the form of a couple of humps that aren't on the US blocks.
They also used the 289 Hi Po style main bearing caps .
They do have a higher nickel content than the US blocks and slightly heavier webbing
but 25% Stronger? Not that much. And they aren't as stout as the Sportsman block and no where near as strong as the "A4" block or the New Boss 302 Block

And 800-920HP naturally aspirated 302 based strokers? yeah, I don't think so. Love to see those Dyno Sheets

 

Does anyone have pictures?

 

OK, so went out to the shop to get some pix and I see that the block I have is not the Mex type, it just has big main caps. My bad.

 

C5AE-6015-E - 289 block but with the Big Main Bearing caps it was probably a Hi Po (there were no other differences in the blocks and they carried the same numbers)

 

He pulled the intake and all it said was "Cavrone".......................

 

So, is that a good thing?

 

Better than a newer non roller block, not as good as a Mexican, Sportsman, Boss or A4 block. If you are building less than 450 HP it is fine!

 

You weren't kidding! Those mains are HUGE! Thanks for the pics

 

I think it is a regular block with HiPo caps. H.P. block should have threaded plugs in the oil galleries. Sold several cap sets off used up Mex blocks. Mex caps had a date code on them. Never had any old enough to be correct for a H.P (I don't think the H.P. caps had a date on them.
Good H.P. block is worth a bunch for the Mustang guys.

 

That will get you a few bucks from some whos restoring a early stang that originally had a hi-po 289 in it.

 

With a main cap girdle, o-ringed cylinders, 1/2" head studs, and tie bars in the lifter gallery you can push that block pretty hard.

 

My machinist told me that the reason the Mexican blocks exists was that a certain amount of the parts, including engine parts, on vehicles sold in Mexico had to be made there by law. So they cast the blocks there, and they made the mains and caps a little thicker not for extra strength, but because they used a lower grade of iron (iron ore from Mexican mines, also a government requirement) so they had to make them thicker to get the same strength as the American version. He's built several, and says they are the same strength as regular 302s but no stronger.

-KK

 

See, you actually do learn something new every day! I had no idea about any of this. Thanks for the info.

 

Old buddy of mine bought a running Comet about 20 yrs ago for $75. ...it had the Mexican block in it , built a nice little motor out of it , still running it today !

 

That Hi Po block is worth a lot to an early mustang guy who would need it for his numbers to match. If you girdle these pigs and put a forged crank in them they are damn near bullet proof. Trouble with the girdle is that now you have to run a certain type of oil pan to cover all of that hardware and we have clearance issues.

 

used to hear a rumor that the mexico blocks had a higher nickel content in them also ,

 

Iv'e actually heard that there is a real high quality Australian block or is it just that our blocks are the worst of the bunch.

 

i have heard the same rumor of high nickel content can anyone confirm or deny this?

 

During the late late 70's through the early 80's, the dark days of Ford's near non involvement in NASCAR, Bud Moore and the Wood Brothers supposedly sent people to Australia to source their higher-nickel content blocks as the U.S. cast blocks at that time were not up to the job. I've also heard anecdotal stories of teams even using Aussie Cleveland blocks out of salvage yards, flea markets, etc.

FWIW http://www.ausfordparts.com/block.html

 

Recognizable by these weird bumps on the front of the casting.