could there be a way to toss 351w rods in a 302 and it work in sync? so u can have the stroke of the windsor and not have to worry about boring it out, cuz thats what kills the 302 is its small stroke... any ideas?

 

Rods wont change the stroke,.. the crank changes the stroke.

You need the appropriate length rods per stroke in order to keep the piston inside the cylinder. Too short of a rod and the piston come out the bottom of the cylinder,.. too long of a rod and it comes out of the top hitting the head.

Bore x stroke.

Other factors come into play as well. Ideally you want the piston to come up to the top of the block and get what is called 'Zero deck'. This provides the best quench and reduces detonation and will provide the best combustion. Depending on the application,.. some under or over may be desired in order to meet compression or other requirements. I dont fully understand the why's on those types of builds. I just know that generally a zero deck piston height with no less then .015 usually gives the best results. Head gaskets, piston pin location, rods, and stroke must be matched in order to achieve the desired combination.

The 4.6 block itself is very small. The pistons look like they would belong in a honda. Its the heads that make the engine appear like a big block from the top. Particularly the 4v heads.




Hurst

 

that's a lot of TQ for a short runner 281cid!

 

Not quite a true statement. There is such thing as a long rod motor... but things have improved with stroker kits in the past decade
Jeff, buy a stoker kit and call it a day!