This months Car Craft had a writeup on a 71 Maverick.
Had a 302 in it, the guy had the block drilled for 351 cleveland aussie heads.
Would the cleveland heads be better than a set of aluminum heads?
Or, did he do it just to have something different, which is cool.
302 with Cleveland heads is a Boss 302. So my guess that is why it was done. Not sure if the Aussie cleveland heads are different than what was used on Boss 302’s.
Steven
I didn’t know that.
So he has a Boss Maverick.
They made a 302 Cleveland in Australia. I saw one at the 2010 Prowl.
302 Cleveland
Note that there was also a 302 “Windsor”
This engine was built only in Australia from 1972 to 1982, and was intended to give their consumers a smaller capacity alternative to the Geelong built 351 Cleveland, as Ford Australia inherited the patterns, molds and tooling for the ‘Cleveland’ it was a viable alternative to importing the 302 Windsor. Using a locally reproduced 351 Cleveland block (1972-1985), 302 cu in (4.9 L) was attained by reducing the stroke of the 351C from 3.5 to 3.0 inches (89 to 76 mm) and increasing the connecting rod length from 5.780" to 6.030". Additionally, the 302C cylinder heads were redesigned locally, with smaller combustion chamber(from 72cc to 58cc), to compensate for the reduced stroke of the engine.
The combination of closed combustion chambered quench heads with smaller 2 barrel style ports made a more powerful setup known in the USA as “Australian Cleveland heads”. These heads interchange directly onto 351C engines, and are somewhat sought after outside of Australia as a low-cost method to increase compression ratio. They are a good street alternative to the over ported 4 barrel heads. Using the 302C cylinder heads on an otherwise unmodified 351C may increase the compression ratio beyond a safe level for regular pump fuel. Using the small chamber 302C cylinder heads properly requires engine design checks (deck clearance, piston design, camshaft specifications), all optimized for the intended use.
Even though the 302C was not made in Cleveland Ohio, (but in Geelong, Victoria. Australia) the engine has been affectionately referred to as the 302C. Ford engine suffixes are confusing enough, to say the least, so to keep it simple call it what it looks like: a ‘Cleveland’, as apposed to a ‘Geelong’. The last 302C was installed into an Ford XE Falcon Fairmont Ghia ESP Vehicle Identification Number JG32AR33633K in November 1982. Ford Australia contuniued to use the 302 and 351 cleveland in the 4x4 Bronco range and in F-series ambulances until some time in 1985.
I loves me some 302C cylinder heads. That is what my 351C is topped with along with .066" custom Cometic head gaskets to get the CR down to a true 10:1 (which is pushing it on today’s crap fuel).
Am I confused or somewhere along the way did people stop talking about a 302 with 351 heads and start talking about the opposite, a 351 with 302 heads? Both of these are practiced techniques for… Changing compression characteristics? I have a lot of reading to do about the role of the heads, their sizing and geometry and all that. Is that what’s going on here?
Tmh, The Aussie 302 heads were, what Ford in Australia came up with. Some call them the smart head, that basically is a combination of our, 2v and 4v heads that we have here in north America. What they did was to take our 2v heads with the smaller ports (More bottom and mid range torque and higher velocity at lower rpm’s) and give them a closed chamber combustion chamber (quench head design, higher compression). This gave guys who wanted a good all around street head for the Cleveland. The standard 4v head has very large port volume that in order to create the needed velocity to make power, you have to run the motor at high rpm’s.
So for those who are “not” running their cars at high rpm’s at the track, the Aussie 302 heads are the a great stock head to run on the 351C. The Aussie head will bolt up to the 351C with no mods and basically is the same as our 2v heads, with the closed chamber of the 4v. I hope this clears up the confusion.
Would a 351 Clevor be worth building or are there much better alternatives.
So what you are saying is, if you want a Boss 302 for a '68, you would have had to go with these heads back in the day.
If you want to go through the trouble and build a 351 Clevor, I say go all out and build a 393 or 408 Clevor and put the big valves in the Aussie closed chamber, smaller port heads. Those heads love more exhaust when it comes to cam selection. For some reason, the canted valves give a Cleveland head engine a distinctive sound.
Example of what a 408 Cleveland head sounds like:
Thought it would be cool to build one, if it’s not crazy more $ than a different or better build.
They do sound different. Was at a car show and a Pantera went buy, had a very distinctive sound.
Heard it before I saw it, thought what is that.
If you have a windsor just go and buy a good set of alloy heads. Playing around with Cleveland heads on a Windsor isn’t going to give you much of an advantage and is a lot of fooling around over windsor alloy heads
If you really want to play you should use 3V alloy Cleveland heads rather than 2V closed chamber heads
why would you build a 351 Clevor when you can build a 351 Cleveland. other than “because I can”
One day i might pull the heads off my 302C and bolt them on to the 351 just to see what they do.
I have the 351W that needs a rebuild, just tossing around ideas.
I was thinking of doing the 393, but now the Clevor has me thinking.
A Boss 351 would be cool but not if it’s a bunch more in $.
The 351 Clevor costs more and doesn’t run as well as a 351W with a set of modern heads. Back in the 1970’s if you had an unlimited budget the 351 Clevor made sense.
That was then, nowdays we have fantastic low buck aftermarket 351W heads that out flow the 351C and have better combustion chambers, yet don’t require as much modification to the engine.
At street hp and tq levels, it doesn’t make sense financially.
If you’re all out racing, that’s a different story and a whole other set of parts.
You can cruise the swap meets, car shows, and internet sale boards and find Clevor parts on the cheap though, but you have to be committed to building running and tuning it.
Run a straight up cleveland if you want Cleveland heads.
I most likely go with a set of modern heads.
Thought it would be cool to build a clevor, but if I go the modern head route and save a few $ and have a better setup that will be cool.
What are some good heads for the 351w. Will be a daily driver, maybe an occasional trip to the track.
Thanks for the info.
Leon, this is not directed at you. (or anyone else specifically) I just quoted you for expression. [;~)
Anyone here remember this guy named Logan? You know that guy who owned the MCN website???
Well, Logan McLeod built a “Clevor” for his 70 Cougar, and I personally heard his Clevor while rolling down the hiway, all the way from Dallas Texas to Shreveport Louisianna…
The Clevor ate a tanker full of fuel, but roared some extremely high RPMS, all but the fuel expense put this HUGE grin on Logans face. (and music in my ears! 
)
What I mean to say is that “Because you can” is a very viable reason…and a Clevor is an awesome engine. Just know going in this is a difficult build due to logistics on parts that may not be available on this side of the world, and it is expensive as compared to “more readily available” alternatives.
My $.02
Worth it’s weight in gold 