I just purchased a 1974 Torino with a 302 engine.  I am a student and have a modest budget so I was wondering if anyone knows any relatively cheap strategies for gaining horsepower and torque with this type of engine?  Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.  

Ok poor man racen my favorite thing.

Ok first off drop the Fane blade for a flex light aluminum but I strongly suggest you go with electric fans. Get anything off a 94 camaro and up your v6 camaros also run electric fans . Alof of 90s and up four cylinder cars run electric fans but if you do this get two of them since they dont pull enough cfm by there selves. Also get the electric thermistate to go along with it . This can be done to next to no money in the right junk yard.

Now this one cost a little but a favorite of mine. Since its a ford 302 get a Electric water pump another mpg saver and 10hp minium gaine. (I cant comprehend why on god green earth why anyone still runs mechanical water pumps)Go to summitracing.com they offer these pumps for street versions and have deals so if you catch a deal you can get it for less than 100 bucks. Not only that you loose a pully in your set up. Dont be a poser take the pully off.

Now we just produced 20 plus hp and spent total of 240 bucks.

Weight reduction weight reduction take out the spare tired jack and anything you see not worthy of your time inside the car.

Rearend ratios go with a 411 its a magic number for stock engine applications and like the 5.0s can drop 1/4 times by a full second. 5.0 magazine said its the first upgrade to go with. Oh talk about high end rpms just rember what John lingefelter said. In a red light to red light world where you going to use all that top end.

Nitrous older engines great choice if bottom end is still good. Suggesting if you dont have roller rockers already dont put them in also go with a stronger set of push rods . Suggestion maybe a little bit longer push rods to get alot more out the stock rocker arms.

www.prichemicals.com they sell Nitromethane which can be run with pumped gas just follow there formulas for your application less than 30 bucks and can make some Good noticable hp with it.

Advance your timen this is a cheap one and can make some good noticable hp.

If you have a automatic and can get to the Fly wheel out go with a light weight model this will produce fast reveing times and free up alot of hp.

Now this one will sound like im trying to sell you something but Royal purple will make hp from a simple oil change get the rear end gear lube etc dont just skimp at the motor oil.

Lighter wheels is a suggestion dont get the bling bling 20s they only slow a car down and try to get real billet aluminum wheel a set of centerlines strongly suggested. NO steel wheels or look alike billet wheels.

Ok intake a carb swap Edelbrock use to offer a 500 dollar kit cam intake and carb set up . Get the cool air intake package its there new intakes and are more modern designes. Not only that going to a aluminum intake allows your engine to run cooler and can be a weight reduction of 20 pounds off the top of the motor.

Headers I would do after a head set up . Why cuase with every muffler shop in town today doing exhaust systems they realy lack quality to make a system produce true hp from them and loose normaly bottom end from there set ups. I would stare with full length headers then work you way back .

Well those are my suggestions and if you go with nitrous a good ignition upgrade is suggested . I dont say do it first cuase ignition system are expensive and unlike the electric water pump and electric fan you dont see a instane 10 hp gaine in performance. Be lucky to see one from ignition upgrades and are mostly needed for detonation issues.

Also on stock Carb try and lean the system out this will produce alot of hp on your engine if you know how to do it. To lean you stall the motor and run to hot.

Thanks for the suggestions and strategies, I feel like I have somewhere start from now.  

I'm not sure how the heads on a '74 302 are, but look into wether or not E7 heads are better.  I know the E7 (87+ 302 HO) head is a decent head, and you can buy a set for probably 35 bucks.  There's a guy on stangnet.com named Thumper460 that ports E7s for a very good price, his heads have been known to get stock cammed, ported intake 5.0 Mustangs into the 12s.  So a set of them, a good cam, RPM airgap intake, 650 Carb, and headers could easlily be a 300 horsepower motor.  

If you plan on driving the car other places than the drag strip or to local shows I'd stay away from the electric water pump. They are designed for drag racing and thats it. They are not meant to run for extended periods of time.

I think this is a sweet water pump.

http://www.daviescraig.com.au/newproduct.html

With the controller, you can set the tempurature you want, and it will control the motor to alter flow to get to that desired tempurature.  Good daily driver pump. 

Cool. thanks for the info. I was unaware of controllers for electric pumps. But I guess it makes sense. I should had figured they were produced.  

Here's is a link for a Mustang install to help get a better idea of it.

http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2000/08/electricwaterpump/index.shtml

Opinions are like butts, everyone has one and they usually stink. Coming from a desert rat, DO NOT under ANY circumstances put an electric fan or electric water pump on your Torino. A clutch fan uses LESS hp than a flex fan since it only works when it's needed. Just run a real good shroud. 4.11's are nice if you don't mind spinning 3500 rpm at 65. Realistically, 3.50's are a good trade off for a daily driver without OD. DO NOT squeeze that 302!!! Cast pistons don't like nitrous, neither do old crank bearings. Grab an Edelbrock Performer cam, intake and 600cfm vacuum secondary carb, 1 5/8" headers, 2 1/4" (or 2 1/2") pipes, some 3.50's and enjoy. It WON'T set any land speed records, but it will make for a fun first rod. It's better to under build than screw something to gether that doesn't fit your needs.  

Another myth and not fact . Electric water pump companies tell you if the pump is set up for street and strip use vs just drag racen use only.

Most water pumps have less of a life span than Electric water pumps and are of higher quality pump due to there cnc machined aluminum housen and impellers.

Not only that there just kick ass trick looken on the engine and above all it cleans the engine compartment up.

Oh changen the Electric water pump vs and mechanical pump is just merely pulling a few allen bolts and putting in a new center chunk no hoses to touch. Try and get the summit deal they give on them small block fords are cheapest of them all in the electric water pumps.

Out of all the tricked out morosso , cvr and so on billet cnc aluminum annodized electric water pumps you pick out something thats cast iron and looks like a blow dryer.

Are you insaine and it cost more than most cnc aluminum electric daily driver water pumps.

Where did you come from something that looks good and runs good and has a life time of maken top quality products vs something no one has heard of and but umpen ugly to go along with it and above all its cast piece . Its 2003 and to many pretty stuff that realy works vs that pos item you like.

I think I know what your all about ireeyes.

Your a comy basterd thats why that water pump is imported and the name of the company is importrus something.

Comy basterd go away we dont want you freakn pos junk anymore its all was lies and you still maken junk.

I mean honestly how the hell else can you pick out of all the 40 diffrent american companies with billet aluminum cnc housen and closed cased motors and still pick the cast almost plastic hair dryer looken thing.

Comy basterd go away.

 You dont read Car Craft do you son.

Car craft took a junk yard motor and put nitrous on it in the mid 90s around 97 an couldnt blow the motor up .

It was a sheet and giggles article but they had to make it a two part issue cuase they never blew up the engine or mmelted the pistons down.

First off a cast piston can run on nitrous up to certain levels mostly up to 150 shots but with right air fuel ratios ignition and so on.

Do you read car craft at alll.

Older engines are prime canidates for nitrous.

Older motors are good for excessive ring clearence and bearing fatigue. Sure cast will hold about a buck and a half, but even the mfr's of nitrous don't recommend it.  I don't read Car Craft, I don't even own a car, but I stayed in a Holiday inn Express last night!!!!  

You don't get it do you.

With a mechanical water pump, flow rate changes with the rpm rate of the engine.

If you are at idle or in traffic, the water flow slows down so that heat can transfer from the block to the coolant.  As rpms rise, flow also increases, but air is flowing through the radiator and cooling the coolant.  Which is why I pointed out the water pump with the CONTROLLER.

If you had an electric water pump running at a constant high flow rate, there is not enough time for the heat to transfer to the coolant.  Even if you had an electric fan, it wouldn't matter because there's not enough time for the radiator to cool off the coolant.

Australia is not a communist country...

"The components in the cooling system must work as a team. You may need a better water pump to see the full benefits of that new high-efficiency radiator. Most electric water pumps do not have sufficient capacity to support real street-driven cars. The fundamental limitation is today’s 14-volt electrical system. When Detroit moves to 42-volt electrical systems in the next few years, electric water pumps for street-driven cars should become a practical reality.