302 vs 289

[Woodz428]

The real beef about the 302 was they never made a Hi-Po, they went to Tunnelports in '68 and they didn't pan out so there was no smallblock Hi-Po engine. The 302 models were basicly the 2 and 4 V 289s with a stroker. A 302 with the same goodies as a 289HP would have been as good or better than a 289. That's why the '68 Shelby GT 350 was a let down. Ford had taken over production and while the car gained a lot of weight it was down on HP and there were NO tweaks to the engine. It had the same hydraulic lifter 302 as any Mustang. No Intake, No carb, No Hi-Po style exhaust or headers...nothing. IF they had offered a Hi-Po engine, that may have tilted the impression of the 302 somewhat. In '69 The Boss 302 was a nice start but the emission nazis were getting rolling so it was short lived. Since it was a Trans Am engine when the rules changed so that a manufacturer could use a larger destroked engine Ford went to the Boss 351 in '71. Of course in '69 all the engines were regular Mustang engines and they had so many leftover they were retitled as '70s. Ford introduced the Mach I in '69 and it offered the same stuff with less weight. I used to whip up on the Shelby guys with my '69 428CJ Mach I. It was an embarrassment because they spent the extra dough for the Shelby not realizing it was just a weighted down Mach I. I guess an unforseen advantage of being down on the bucks.