Ford Smallblock ????

Just some of the things I do:

Brass valve guides and no seals on the exhaust valves help keep the valves from sticking should the motor get hot. Enlarge the front oil drain back hole in the lifter galley so that it goes all the way to the floor. This helps get more oil on the distributor gear. ARP makes a really good distributor drive shaft. The stock ones will snap off if even the slightest amount of carbon or whatever gets in the oil pump. (We had this happen before the green flag ever flew at the arse-freeze 09)

If looking for a motor in a junk yard look for a 1985 and newer block. You can run the stock 5.0 HO roller cam in these blocks but 84 and older blocks wont accept the roller lifters. Watch swapping flexplates or flywheels and vibration dampners from different year blocks because they have different weights.

The 302 in our BMW has blown up 4 times and all were due to overheating, which resulted in bent valves. Like any other engine keep the water and oil cool and it will greatly increase your chances of having a reliable engine.