'84 GM 305 vs '84 Ford 302 EFI In extension of my earlier question about the availability of 350 engines in Caprices of first half of the 80's, I was wondering if anyone has experinece with above mentioned engines. Any pro's or cons on these (without getting into a GM Ford fight..)? I only have experience with the later 307 from buick, that I found far underpowered for my Caprice Classic.
I had an 84 Crown Vic LTD with the TBI 302, it was THE worst running V8 I ever had, it drank gas like mad and would not move itself out of its own way. The Carb model that a friend had was alot better then they smartened up and used the multi port in later years. IMO the TBI 302 was an abortion from the word go.
Well, after reading some forum posts on it, it seems very personal experience related, or something like: I have a friend that..... But I also read an interesting post from someone saying that as the Ford has a bigger piston and smaller stroke in comparison to the GM, in theory it will last somewhat longer as a result of the lower average piston speed. One advantage to the Ford, it always had the higher HP (like 220 over 175?)
I'll do this from memory, I might be wrong. The 1984 Caprice with the 305 had 145hp. The 1984 Crown Vic had 150. By 1987, the 305 was still at 145hp and was still carbureted. The Crown Vic was multi-point injected and was pushing out 170hp. The 225hp 302 is the 90's Mustang/Mark VII engine. High Output. The standard output 302 for the Panthers was still 170hp all the way until 1990-1991. Dual exhaust on Town Cars and tow package-equipped CV/GM models gave you 180. The CFI Fords are drivability nightmares. They are better than a 2-barrel 302 (130hp in 1982-1983!) but the EFI 302's are the nice ones. I think my figures are right from all the afternoons I spent reading car price guides in the libraries when I was a kid.
You certainly might be right, I don't have so much idea about the real figures. Thanks for the correction. I wonder how much of these differences are because of the EFI system. Reason is that my future car will most likely have an LPG conversion and won't benefit form any of these things (or will be hold back?). Just from a technical point of view I am inclined to go for the ford, just because of the bigger pistons and shorter stroke. At least it will have the advantage of being able to put heads on it with bigger valves. Any idea about the bore spacings of the two?
