302 build questions

[smanderson6571]

ive got a 302 with about 10-15 thousand miles on a complete rebuild, looking to get a little more power out of it, it has a stealth intake, rv cam, and edelbrock 650 right now.
im looking to use the stealth intake and 650 carb but would like to maybe go to a little more aggressive cam? A local guy advised to use the stock e7 heads and just have them decked and run oversized valves but everything i see online says its a waste of time and new heads are a better route.

What do you guys think?
Anybody running e7's? or any problems with running them?
What would be advised for a healthy cam?

 

[FISHTAIL]

Personally I wouldn't waste any money on fixing up the E7's. I'd get a good set of Twisted Wedge or AFR heads and a custom ground camshaft.

 

[93sspcoupe]

dont waste your time on e7s... def go afr or tfs. e7s are junk.

 

[truebluedevil02]

AFR165's are a great head for a stock bottom end 302, the valves are small enuogh you can run a little larger cam. If you go with the 185's your cam choices get pretty small and you'll have valves getting really close to pistons. I would say you need to get on FordStrokers.com 331-347-408-418-427 Custom Built Small Block Ford Engines, talk to woody(the owner) He had (maybe still has) TFS 170cc"fast as cast" heads and a custom cam kit for sale for $1700. The heads also come with upgraded valve springs. At bare minimum get a set of GT40 heads for a few hundred $ but NEVER invest $ into the stock E7's, they are terrible.

 

[Boomer182]

The E7's ported make good power, but still not nearly as much as a set of TFS. I had a set of ported E7s they were 190/160 and decked 60cc I believe. I ran them on a 302 with a F cam, a edelbrock rpm intake, 65mm tb 76 mm maf, 24lb injectors. I was running 7.70s in the 1/8th.

 

[smanderson6571]

I know this is going to sound stupid as i know you get what you pay for but is there any cheaper routes? im not looking for any high dollar race motor, just a nice weekend toy that has some power to it, eventually i do plan to step up to some trick flows or afrs but for now im looking to just upgrade it a little, make a nice driver with a good lope to it

"Offered for sale is a very nice set of Ford 302 cylinder heads with less than 500 miles on them since being completely rebuilt which included a valve job, new springs, screw in studs and guide plates. I just had these cylinder heads pressure checked and checked for warpage at my local machine shop. I also had them install new valve stems. The machine shop confirmed that the heads have less than 500 miles since rebuild by the condition of the parts. These heads will easily support your high lift cam. I used them to break in a comp cam XE268H with .512 lift on my 289 engine before upgrading to Edelbrock heads. These cylinder heads are painted Ford Blue, need nothing other than a set of roller rockers and are ready to run. I have the receipt from the machine shop confirming the pressure checking and install of new valve stems. The heads date back to a 1976 302 but will work on many years."

i found these about an hour from where im at for 250 and wondered about them?
is it a waste of money? i know a little about mechanical stuff but when it comes to flow numbers, lift and all that i get a little lost so any help is great so my main question i guess is how big of a difference will they make power wise? ive got a spare 302 i could drop int until i can get everything for this motor if i need to but i was hoping somewhere around 1500 would get me into a done motor (basically new top end- stealth intake and 650 that i already have) maybe thats not doable though?

 

[truebluedevil02]

You can get a set of gt40 aluminum heads for about $600, youll have that much or more in the e7's with porting, mechining, etc. Plus they will cut over 50lbs off the front of your car. IN the long run your better to do it right the first time than do it twice. I would just shop around until you find a used set of AFR's or TFS, you can pick them up for around $800-$1000 used. You'll save money and be happier in the long run.

 

[Boomer182]

Just buy a rebuilt stock spec 302 with the forged internals, so Pre 93. They can handle the power you speak of. As far as cams go, Comp is a good choice, but I have always liked the alphabet cams. The f cam is a monster. Buy a used intake, TB, and spacer. This stuff doesn't go bad, and even if the TB does its easy to rebuild and really cheap. Less then 30.00. As far as a maf and injectors go, unless you know they work perfect, I would buy new here. Headers used, what ever off road pipe you choose buy used, mufflers too. All these ways you can save money. As far as heads go, what are you wanting to run? I have built several street cars over the years, and I can probly help you build a fast one, and save some money.

 

[smanderson6571]

its a carb'd 302 so i wont be dealing with any of the efi stuff, and i already have a stealth intake and new edelbrock 650 for it, the motor has about 15,000 on a full rebuild and it is not the motor out of the car, it does have the xxx casting in the valley which i read was to show that it is the "roller block" with the longer skirts (correct me if im wrong) i dont know if any of that will tell you much about what i have and if it is the forged internals you mentioned above? im assuming it is because the motor is pre 93? basically i need a rough idea of where to look or what to do for a decent set of heads that wont break the bank but will support a mild cam with a decent lope to it, where to look for a cam and what type of lift you guys would advise running and anything else that i might need to look into in the top end of the motor

 

[truebluedevil02]

if it has the original oil pan that came on that motor from the factory look at it and see what color it is. Grey=forged, black=non-forged and iirc they only came with forged pistons, the rods and crank are all cast. Like I said, call woody at fordstrokers.com, he is a great guy and will tell you what kind of cam you need, as for the heads, we have told you what to get, the rest is up to you. Heads are not cheap regardless of what you do, at minimum you'll be in the stock heads $500 MINIMUM if you want them ported, valve job, etc. you also need to consider that the bigger the valves the smaller the cam you can have do to piston to valve clearance.

Go to corral.net, there is a section specifically dedicated to 5.0/5.8 engines. Woody also posts on there daily, you will learn a lot more on here about what you want to do.
cheap, fast, reliable...pick 2.

 

[Boomer182]

if it has the original oil pan that came on that motor from the factory look at it and see what color it is. Grey=forged, black=non-forged and iirc they only came with forged pistons, the rods and crank are all cast. Like I said, call woody at fordstrokers.com, he is a great guy and will tell you what kind of cam you need, as for the heads, we have told you what to get, the rest is up to you. Heads are not cheap regardless of what you do, at minimum you'll be in the stock heads $500 MINIMUM if you want them ported, valve job, etc. you also need to consider that the bigger the valves the smaller the cam you can have do to piston to valve clearance.

Go to corral.net, there is a section specifically dedicated to 5.0/5.8 engines. Woody also posts on there daily, you will learn a lot more on here about what you want to do.
cheap, fast, reliable...pick 2.

Well, I would say this would be correct, but my 93 GT with its original 36k mile motor had a grey pan, so unless ford ran some early 93's with forged pistons, I don't think you could accruatly say that. Now my coupe has a black pan, but it was a 95 motor out of a cobra.

 

[truebluedevil02]

Well, I would say this would be correct, but my 93 GT with its original 36k mile motor had a grey pan, so unless ford ran some early 93's with forged pistons, I don't think you could accruatly say that. Now my coupe has a black pan, but it was a 95 motor out of a cobra.

I guess there could be a chance you have a late 92 motor that was left over and used in a 93 model year car:shrug:. I have just been told by several people and read on several sites that grey pan=forged pistons. It doesn't really matter though provided the tune is decent, these cars tend to snap rods way before they hurt pistons if everything is set properly.

 

[wheelhopper]

Having recently done a swap from E7 to GT40 iron heads, I would recomend saving up for a short while and get some nice aluminum heads. I had to stay factory for the racing I do. I did not notice a significant improvement, especially for the work involved. Go aluminum aftermarket.

 

[Boomer182]

On my combo, which is a 306, E cam, Ported Gt40 iron heads, shorty headers, scorpion 1.7 rr, Trick flow track heat intake, 70 mm tb, 76 mm maf, 30 lb injectors, cai, braided fuel lines, trex pump, E85, 3.73 gears, sub frame connectors, mega bit upper and lower control arms, eibach drag springs, and a set of slicks, I can hit, 7.80 in the 1/8th mile with a 1.5 60 ft time. That is launching at 6k though. For a NA street car, I would say my combo is pretty good, and works well together, and considering I have less then 2k in the whole set up. As far as pistons go, I really wish I had pics of my hypertetic carnage. I tore the shit out of a set. The rods held but not the piston. I melted it on a 175 shot. I always thought the crank, rods, and pistons were forged?? I guess I believed something incorrect for many years. I thought the only change, was the pistons was in 93 and the rest of the motors were forged. I guess even I learn something new every day lol.

 

[Boomer182]

Ok I found this on the forged part, and I guess I was correct.

http://www.svtperformance.com/forum...tor-have-same-forged-internals-87-92-fox.html