Flex plate and balancer

[wt4speed]

Hey all
Took302 heads to the machine shop to have them checked out just for piece of mind. trying to finish getting parts together for the swap.Found a decent c-6 out of a van,didnt get convertor flywheel or spacer plate.
My question everyone keeps saying they changed the balance about '85 on the 302,as it turns out the 302 as identified by the casting # is a '87 truck application motor. do I need to get the balancer and flex plate from the same motor or can I by a flex plate by application . Also dose it have to come off a 302 any others compatible. The last thing I want is to have to pull the 302 and tranny out and put the 352 back because of a vibration . Anyone have any suggestions

Tony B
DFWArea
6mine9

ps anyone have a intake and carb for sale

[willowbilly3]

It would be best if you had the ones that came with the truck but you should be able to buy a flex plate for the right application. Didn't the engine come with balancer?

[DuckRyder]

This may or may not help, but there are 2 balance factors (28oz and 50oz IIRC) So you just need to know which factor an 87 truck is.

Some of the HIPO aftermarket stuff has bolt on weights so it can be either.

Only other things I can think of that might be a problem is using the 3 bolt pulley, for that you may have to buy a swap balancer from one of the Mustang places. Also If you ever want to run a stick, you will need a cable clutch or a z-bar bracket.

FWIW

[lobuck76]

The 351w and the earlier 302 had the 28 oz weight on the flywheel. They changed the 302 to 50oz. The 351w stayed the same.
That can get a little confusing. I think the bolt pattern on the flywheel may have changed also. I can do some looking tommorrow and say for sure.
Have you checked on a distrubutor? I understand you have to go with aftermarket to convert.

[willowbilly3]

I don't think the bolt pattern changed. I ignorantly put a flywheel on a Bronco I owned once. It was something I ordered for a customer and had laying around. One year off and that Bronce shook like a dog crappin' plum pits.
This subject comes up often enough that we really need to find out the exact year the balance changed on the 302.

[wt4speed]

I guess I'm making a mountian out of a mole hill . The 302 came with a balancer and distributor both . It was set up for a manual transmission . I was implying that if I colud find donor motor "86 or up I could just snag the balancer and flex plate both . Ihaave a distributor that came with the motor It is new style with square female recepticle in the side,so my take is it is electronic . Had a freind tell me that if I swapped the drive gear out with the eletronic distributor out of the 302 I could use the vacumn advanced distributor that Im currently running in the 352

I bought the 302 complete less fuel deliveryi.e. intake , carb.

thanks

Tony B
DFW Area
6mine9

[lobuck76]

I've been looking around trying to figure out when the pick ups went to the EFI motors. I thought it was around '86 or '87 I did'nt find out for sure. That's why I asked about the distributor.

[willowbilly3]

Actually it was 1985 I think but I think the TFI distributor was on the carburated 84s too.

[68F250]

This subject comes up often enough that we really need to find out the exact year the balance changed on the 302.

Imbalance factors:

1968-1981 302 - 28oz.
1982-1992 302 - 50oz.
1969-1997 351W - 28oz.