GoFastBroncos.com

So I've been looking for a Bronco for the last couple months, and have been turning away from a couple nice looking rigs because they had a 302. But I'm starting to think maybe I'd be fine with a 302.

So I'm just curious how many guys are running the 302 and are happy with them, or wish they had a 351. I figure running 35's I could put in some 4.88's to compensate for the less torque. My Bronco will be my daily driver with 80% street driving, 15% sand dunes, and the remaining consists of gravel, dirt, mud and snow.

Sorry for the kinda lame question, just kind of thinkin aloud and hoping to read some input. Will the 302 be worth a damn turning 35's in the sand, or will I be happy with it? Thanks.

not a lame question, i was extremely happy with my 300,000 mi 302. i ran the piss out of it till the harmonic balancer went out.
i am going with a 351 because it was there.
i ran 35's with 3:55 gears and it still moved very well.
i wouldnt rule out the 302....

I have a 302 with a manual trans, 35" tires, and 4.56 gears. I can pull a wash in 4th from 20mph if I want to.

I'd rather have a 351 but I can't really say that my 302 is down on power.

I have a 351 roller in mine and I looove it. Pulls a tailer no problem and more than enough power anywhere else. Don't know if it makes a difference but I know I'm getting 10-12 mpg with a trailer Idk what guys are getting with a 302.

I get 12mpg on the street. About 4-6 in the dirt.

Thanks guys, that helps. I forgot to mention gas mileage. My old 95' with the 351, 35's and 3.55 gears got about 9-10 in town....I had kinda of a lead foot which didnt help. I'm thinkin a geared 302 would get pretty decent mileage.

CBDuner wrote:Thanks guys, that helps. I forgot to mention gas mileage. My old 95' with the 351, 35's and 3.55 gears got about 9-10 in town....I had kinda of a lead foot which didnt help. I'm thinkin a geared 302 would get pretty decent mileage.

My 95 w/351 gets about 9mpg on 3.55's and 35's. I got about 10mpg when it was on 235's. haha not much difference really. I keep thinking a LS1 would get me 19mpg and twice the hp.

Yeah, the LS1 in my dad's rail is pretty impressive, and can dune all day on 14 gallons. Have a couple buddies with a LS1 in a TJ and a Vortec 6.0 in a YJ. Tons of power, and the TJ gets about 18mpg. Tempting sometimes....

Silverslk wrote:My 95 w/351 gets about 9mpg on 3.55's and 35's. I got about 10mpg when it was on 235's. haha not much difference really. I keep thinking a LS1 would get me 19mpg and twice the hp.

I've thought the same thing in the past Andy, but the reality of it is you'd have to baby it pretty good to get close to 20. I'm a bit heavy footed so I figured I'd be getting more like 14 out of the LT1 or LS1.

I have a 351 With 3.55's and 35's I average 9.3mpgs which isn't bad since I tend to hot rod around town My motor is a roller block since its a '95. It has plenty of power and drive very nicely around town and its bone stock except for a flowmaster (just the muffler and all stock pipes). The only times I really wish I had 4.56's is when I'm on the freeway in O/D, it goes in and out of o/d too much and I actually get poor highway mileage cause the damn things always jumping from 1500 to 2500 trying to stay within the powerband.

I also had a '90 with a 302 and 33's with 3.55's and honestly the power difference isn't much at all and with the 302 and 33's I got zero of the erratic o/d problems I have with 35's now. The 302 seems to rev higher than the 351 by a few hundred RPM and stays in the motors powerband longer. With the 302 I was getting a combined 14 mpg which ain't too bad considering it was like 75%/25% city to highway driving.

In my opinion I would get the 351 because of the extra power for the dirt but wouldn't pass up a clean Bronco if it had the 302, it might suprise ya.

I'm glad I asked. Thanks for the replies. Kyle, nice to hear from someone who currently has both.

Ok, so next question. How much of a difference performance wise between a non roller, non MAF 302 versus the ~94+ MAF, roller 302's? Lookin at a very clean 1 owner 90'. I know, just test drive it and see if I like, but who knows if it's running 100% and how it would perform with different gearing and tires, offroading, or towing.

Ok, I just realized a 90' with a 302 would have an AOD.... Think I'll have to pass on that.

I sold the '90 cause I wanted the 351w Roller motor and E4OD not the AOD, Honestly even with the 302 not being a roller it still rev'd out better than my 351 with 167,000 but to be fair my 351 has 230,000 on it but is in great shape, no smoke and good compression on all the cylinders.....Hopefully some of the other members will chime in on their experiences with the AOD if they have 'em

SteveG is a big fan of the AOD. I've never owned a vehicle with one.

I'm not really a fan as I've only had one AOD equipped vehicle (my old 5.0L Ranger), but Lentech does some pretty cool stuff with them.

Found one! How about a factory 96 police interceptor! gettin it tomorrow

I'm NOT a fan of the AOD. If you make the mistake of getting one make sure to put some GOOD coolers on the thing. They often die early because they get hot easy.

Yeah, I stay away from AOD's. I had a bad experience once....or twice....I don't want to talk about it.

We're straying off topic and I'm in danger of sounding like an AOD advocate, but if you already have an AOD and want to make the best of it, the guys at Lentech build all the right parts to correct the weaknesses of the AOD. Even their most basic valve body is a big step up.

CBDuner wrote:So I've been looking for a Bronco for the last couple months, and have been turning away from a couple nice looking rigs because they had a 302. But I'm starting to think maybe I'd be fine with a 302.

So I'm just curious how many guys are running the 302 and are happy with them, or wish they had a 351. I figure running 35's I could put in some 4.88's to compensate for the less torque. My Bronco will be my daily driver with 80% street driving, 15% sand dunes, and the remaining consists of gravel, dirt, mud and snow.

Sorry for the kinda lame question, just kind of thinkin aloud and hoping to read some input. Will the 302 be worth a damn turning 35's in the sand, or will I be happy with it? Thanks.

I've got the 302/auto combo...I'm satisfied but then again what guy wouldn't want more power? I run 33 BFG A/T's and have plenty of power to get thru the sand (washes and dunes), washes in 2hi and dunes in 4hi until it starts to get too steep or going too slow. I can cruise the freeway at 75 mph and roughly 3500rpm. It may be re-geared, don't know what's in it...when I shift into "D" it jumps...don't know if it's meant to do that or ? but it hasn't caused any problems over the past 3 years.
Good Luck