Introduction:
The 302 swap is costly and should only be done if you have a good hand at wiring and mechanics. First off, you're going to have to pull out all the old stuff. This is pretty easy other than the exhaust bolts which were a pain on mine. Then comes the fun!
Procedure:
First, I really suggest putting on a body lift. I tried doing this without a body lift and it hardly fit at all. I installed a 2 inch body lift, which was really easy. The only difficult thing that was that the steering adapter they gave me was too long, so I just cut it down to size. The next step is to get some motor mounts. I went with James Duff motor mounts, which I'm not to fond of because the directions SUCK! But the people at James Duff are more then willing to help you. Then you drop in the motor. You will need to relocate the oil filter in order to move it out of the frame's way (there is a kit available from James Duff). Now you need to cool the engine off. I went to advanced adapters - big mistake. They cost a little more then James Duff and they come with no directions. I ran a mechanical fan from Summit with a 1.5" spacer and it seems to fit nicely. Wear gloves when you install this fan because it is very sharp. Then, for the exhaust I used James Duff headers. They are a very tight fit but they work, and I'm happy because I don't think anything else would have fit. I backed the 302 up with an AOD, which wasn't too hard to put in. If you get it from a junk yard, I would suggest replacing the torque converter. The stock transmission mount will work, but you have to drill some new holes for the bolts to go through. I ran a B&M shifter, which personally I think is a waste of money, but I needed it. I also needed to put in a shift conversion kit, which I got from Summit. The directions are good, other than they forget to tell you to put a pin back in that holds the shift arm in place. I put in a BW 1356, which did require that I grind away some of my frame, but not too much. I'm going to go back later and reinforce it with some steel. Now all that I'm waiting for is for some money.
If you have any questions email me at: rockcrawler_101@yahoo.com
Written by: rockcrawler
Edited by: Ben Hart and ncSteve
