The block was made in Mexico. "Hecho en Mexico" casting marks are present in the lifter valley, and its main strength was the appearance of much larger and stronger two-bolt main bearing caps on the engine's bottom end - the same as the HiPo-289, but not made from nodular iron rather Ford's standard material. The Mexican 302 block was produced through to the mid-1990s and even showed up in Ford cars, trucks, and vans throughout the 1970s and early 1980s (Mexican-made 302 engines were often used by the USA car plants when CEP1 could not produce enough engines and many Ford replacement engines were Mexican). Mexican blocks were not made from a high-nickel content material as is generally thought, but rather Ford's usual ACB specification material. They are no stronger than any other USA-made component and the bore service life is generally lower due to less wear-resistant South American-sourced iron ore. All Mexican V8 blocks were cast and machined to accept a front engine mount as required for their truck applications.