[Billy Nees]

Originally Posted by Rory McNeil

Just to set the record straight if you are refering the the 2 barrel Ford 302 Billy, over the years there was considerable differances, flat top pistons with bigger combustion chambers on the 78 & newer 302s, dished pistons with smaller chamber heads on earlier engines, different deck heights,14 vs 18 mm spark plugs, stud mount cast iron rockers on 77 and earlier, stamped rockers with "bolt down" pedestal rockers 78 onward, small carb boosters on earlier engines vs large clunky annular boosters on later engines, differences in number of crankshaft counterweights and external balancing (28 vs 50 OZ imbalance .muliple different intake manifolds, , with or without EGR provisions etc. Not "all the same" stuff by any means.I am NOT saying the 2 barrel 302 is not rated soft, I just have to wonder if there would be so much uproar if somebody dug thru the GM classification guide and found some obscure combo with a low HP rating or factor, or if that racer would have "just done his detective work and was a smart cookie for using the guide to his advantage." Maybe the whole thing is a diversion to draw attention away from all the factory built and available new "Big 3" factory race cars, you know, like the Powerglide and Ford 9" equipped Camaro, Challenger and Mustangs that bear little resembalance to the actual street cars they supposedly represent, in equipment, weight, or HP ratings.

Sooooo you're saying that you wouldn't have a problem with telling NHRA that they should split the 302s at 1977/78 and just consider them 2 different combos instead of dozens?
I like the "diversion" angle. Conspiracy theory huh?