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The Little Car That Could
Since they don't build supercars anymore, the big word today is "potential" and the 302 Mustang sure has plenty of that.
by Alex Walordy
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If you visualize the Mustang as being a little deficient in power after driving a 2300 four cylinder with an automatic, try a Mach 1 with the 302 V*. That's enough to push the erase button on your computer mind, and start with new input. In reasonably stock form, a 302 powered Mustang II does a 0-60 in about 10½ seconds and winds down a quarter mile in 18 seconds. In other words, it will do aobut as well as a '65 Mustang two barrel V8 of old, without the emission controls.
What you can do with it at a later date, we leave up to your vivid imagination. For one thing, a 302 accepts the larger 351 Windsor heads, providing that you use the 351 head gasket, so that the little steam holes can vent.
Because of emissions aggravation, Ford quietly omitted all signs of four barrels on the small engines - you can't get a four barrel on anything less than a 460. However, there are lots of optional aluminum 302 replacement manifolds that save weight and take a four barrel. Lots of cams are available and TRW has an ample collection of high compression pistons more than good enough to bring the compression back to knock limits with currently available gasoline.
The stock 302 exhaust system offers relatively little back pressure since it is dual, all the way back to the muffler. When the 302 Mustang II was first shown, it was slated to have a catalytic muffler across the board, but the latest bit of news is that California will have two catalytic mufflers and the rest of the forty-nine states will have none. You do, however, get the air pump and the EGR on all 302's. Just for good measure, Ford has introduced an electronic ignition and special plugs for all models and a 302 benefits from this fallout.
As you can see, a 302 Mustang II is a car with ample potential. Why wasn't it done before the current 1975 model year? It's anybody's guess. The 302 was built in Mexico all through '74 and a base car was planned to accept it, right from the beginning. However, a number of changes are needed for that final 302 commitment. Among other things, a revised support helped move the radiator forward a good three inches. Then too, the grill was bumped forward to the edge of its shell. Incidently, for '75 that grill has a larger eggcrate pattern than before. Also, the hood is lengthened and raised ½ inch. Other little gems built into the Mustang II include a bigger No. 2 crossmember and strengthened side rails. Completing the work is a set of strengthened front spindles. While the 302 is a natural for the Mustang, it certainly didn't just fall in.
Mustang II's transmission lineup is a bit complex. For instance, the four cylinder comes through with either a four speed German Hummer or with a C3 automatic made in Bordeaux, France. The V6 has only a four speed stick made by Borg Warner in the U.S. It's 3.03 center distance is a little smaller than that of a T10. No automatics are available with a V6. The 302, on the other hand, comes through only with a C4 automatic, similar to that of a Maverick. It can be manually shifted, and held in any gear or left in drive to fend for itself. A number of people specialize in beefing it up, and, as of this moment, you are better off with the automatic than with trying to fit in a stickshift.
A stickshift bellhousing lacks floor pan clearance and there would also be interference with the heater and air conditioning housing. Clutch linkage and clutch pedal are missing, and there is no over-center spring to help with the clutch action, so that an installation would be a man-sized project. If you do tackle a conversion, a hydraulic clutch control and a diaphram clutch which doesn't require too much release pressure would help. The problem will probably resolve itself soon enough when a stickshift 302 Mustang is released.
A base Mustang II starts out with a fair amount of front end overhang but is powered by a lightweight four cylinder. Going to a V6 adds 100 pounds or so, and adding an air conditioner, complete evaporator and compressor to the nose of the car is good for another 100 pounds. What does a 302 V8 contribute? Actually, it only weights 100 pounds more than a V6. Since the engine sits a little forward of the front wheels, rather than directly over them, the reaction is a little greater, probably 150 pounds. Then too, you get an automatic which adds another 40 pounds or so to the front wheels. Actually, there is very little weight difference between a V6 with air conditioning and a V8. Another point in favor of a 302 is that extra torque available at the rear wheels, so you can compensate for understeer and pull the car around the corner. With the highest accessory package and a 302, you end up with 59.9 percent of the weight on the front wheels, while a moderately equipped V8 has only 58.1 percent up front. Cars with similar weight distribution have included 429 Boss Mustangs and 428 Cobra Jet Torinos. In other words, the statistics are not out of hand.
We took out a 302 V8 Mustang II for a day's running at Ford's Dearborn test track, in the good company of Bob Negstad, the Ford engineer who did much of the development work on the Mustang suspension. Bob, incidentally, is well known to CARS Magazine readers for the Independent Altered on which we ran a story a few issues back, and for his IMSA prepared circle track Pintos. The newest of the Pintos on which Negstad has "breathed" just finished running away and hiding from the reast of the field at the Charlotte, NC, race blowing some very substantial NASCAR names out of the tub.
The 302 Mustang can make pretty fair time if you use full power, raise smoke and keep your foot into the throttle. However, it can make even better time when driven with a little more finesse. You soon find out that scrubbing rubber off the tires just takes horsepower, an so you motor around the turns with a minimum of histrionics. Top speed goes up, and lap times improve.
Out on the track it is a well-balanced machine which certainly doesn't feel nose heavy. A stock V6 or V8 without a suspension package leans considerably, but once you combine the 302 with a competition or Rallye Pack, the lean is only moderate and handling improves no end. Included are stiffer front and rear springs and a front stabilizer partly because it speeds things up, and partly because front bumper heights must be controlled to meet impact requirements. With a Rallye Pack the rates are in the range of 350 to 375 pounds per inch, depending on the weight of the accessories.
Rear spring rates go up from 106 to 123 pounds per inch which is achieved by adding an extra spring leaf. One fringe benefit is that you get more compression at the isoclamp. This is the rubber muff which encases the spring at its hanger on the rear axle. With the extra leaf, the rubber is squeezed tighter and there is less motion. Also, the front spring eye is solid rather than voided, again in the interest of extra control. To go with the higher spring rate is an .815 diameter stabilizer bar.
The result is a car that is slightly understeering on fast curves with ample margin for throttle control on tight corners. The shocks are Gabriel Striders, which are delivered set on Regular - the softest of the three adjustments. For general cross country usage, a mid-position is best, while for mountain use or for showing off, you can put them on stiff and know that you have some shocks.
In stock form, the Mustang II receives BR70x13 rubber. When you switch to the 302 they are replaced by larger CR70x13's. The maximum tire that fits is the new 195-70R13 tire with a metric profile. This tire becomes mandatory with air conditioning or with power brakes, but is well worth ordering regardless. Best all around pressure is 26 pounds, front and rear.
For people who like to feel everything that goes on between the tire and the road, there is no better steering than rack and pinion. However, it is a bit of a double edged sword. You get lots of information, but some of it you may not want. The point is, that forces in a rack and pinion steerign are fully reversible, while a conventional steering is a one-way path, very efficient between the steering and the wheel but not as efficient in relaying things back from the wheels to the steering. This provides a filtering action. The best of two worlds is Ford's rack and pinion power steering. Here, the power assist acts as a damper and yet you get good road feel of what the car is doing. Things like road joints and railroad track wiggles are soaked up.
When a front suspension is set up, the Mustang II wheels are designed to toe in slightly (point toward each other at the front). Depending on how the steering geometry is set up, you can end up with toe in or toe out on the outside wheel, when going through a curve. This, in turn, can help make the car slightly more stable and understeering, or slightly more oversteering. In other words, it's a handy extra control available to the designer in tailoring the car.
Here, for instance, the manual steering car, which has a 24-to-1 ratio, gets a slightly better response by having a zero toe on corners. The faster power steering car gets a slight amount of toe out on the outsie wheel. This slows down the off center response and helps increase steering feel. It's one of the little things that contribute to the Mustang II's big car feel.
The suspension was designed so that no toe change occurs when the wheel goes into jounce (moves up). Now, when you get hit by a gust of wind, there is no steering change to make the Mustang wander off with the wind and back again. As a result, the Mustang II feels quite stable.
Probably the biggest difference between a Mustang II and most any other machine of its class is in the amount of attention that was given to making it a smooth baby Mach IV machine rather than a rough and ready sports car. For instance, a small sub frame at the front carries the suspension and the engine mounts. Naturally, isolation is more effective when you take all the forces within the sub frame. Doing away with the need for larger bushings at the suspension mounts makes for improved steering.
The rack and pinion steering is mounted on three rubber pads that don't have any appreciable deflection but soak up some of the higher noise frequencies. Then too, the body receives a set of insulating pads which mold themselves to the steel panels and bond in place during the trip through the paint ovens. You pay a weight penalty, but you do receive a quiet machine.
Whether you go the super smooth Ghia route or the Mach 1 way, the 302 is certainly the right option to have and so is the Rallye Pack.
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