302, Ford GT40P heads? QUESTIONS QUESTION QUESTIONS

wikdsvt

wikdsvt

Club Member
Here's the deal, I have a 302 with a cam (not sure what exactly, came with the car) Edelbrock Performer intake and Edelbrock carb, and rusty Hooker headers. The motor was rebuilt (I"m assuming stock'ish) in Texas and then the car sold up here. I have receipts for the engine rebuild.

I've been reading about Ford Explorer GT40P heads.

Questions:
If I can find these heads, are they worth bolting on or should I just go aftermarket?
Any idea what valve spring to use, I heard the valve float over 5200 RPMS?
Are the bolts 1/2" or 7/16", will there be an issue bolting the heads on?
What about finding headers to fit around the odd angle of the spark plugs?
Would these be a direct bolt on?
will the intake fit?
I'm not building a race engine, but I'd like it to flow a little better.

Also I have a Holley Street Avenger 570 brand new in the box. Should I return it and step up to the 670? will the 570 be too big?

Also, is there an advantage (besides more cu in.) of stepping up to a 347 stroker? does the block need machining?
This will be a hard sell to my wife as the motor runs good now.

I have a very nice built AOD trans with a nice stall. I'm not worried about the trans handling the power.
I would like to change the stock 3.00 gearing to 3.73 or 4.11 down the road.

I've repaired almost everything on a car, but never cracked open an engine or trans. So this is new territory for me. I can rebuild 2 stroke engines in an hour and have no problem tearing into a small engine (lawn mower, atv, motorcycle etc...)
 
All things bolt on are the same for a P head as stock except the header because of plug placement. Honestly with what most guys want for a P head and then the header issue i would just look for a set of GT40X aluminum or Edelbrock Performers. Won't have to worry about springs, or header issues and they make great bolt ons with most cams under 550 lift with no issues. Or a set of standard GT40's, but again most guys prices are close enough to justify a few more bucks for an aluminum head.

347 requires machining and rotating assembly. The 570 on a 302 is more than enough. And with a basic bottom end 302 you can make 350HP with the X or Performer head with the right cam. The Avengers are not the greatest carbs in the world in speaking of making max power, but they work well on cruisers. I like AED carbs as they work very well and aren't priced too badly. You can call them and talk to them about what you want, and they will help you from there.

Good Luck
 
Billydroveit said:
All things bolt on are the same for a P head as stock except the header because of plug placement. Honestly with what most guys want for a P head and then the header issue i would just look for a set of GT40X aluminum or Edelbrock Performers. Won't have to worry about springs, or header issues and they make great bolt ons with most cams under 550 lift with no issues. Or a set of standard GT40's, but again most guys prices are close enough to justify a few more bucks for an aluminum head.

347 requires machining and rotating assembly. The 570 on a 302 is more than enough. And with a basic bottom end 302 you can make 350HP with the X or Performer head with the right cam. The Avengers are not the greatest carbs in the world in speaking of making max power, but they work well on cruisers. I like AED carbs as they work very well and aren't priced too badly. You can call them and talk to them about what you want, and they will help you from there.

Good Luck
Click to expand...

Thank you very much!
 
Questions:
If I can find these heads, are they worth bolting on or should I just go aftermarket? Depends on what you have now and how cheap you can pick up a set of p's or 40's. Last set of completely ready to go p's I sold went for 300, but that was with stock springs. I've picked up a several complete longblocks with p's and 40's for under $350 so you could take the heads and sell off everything else and make $.

Any idea what valve spring to use, I heard the valve float over 5200 RPMS?I run a TFS spring kit that AFM recommended and can freely spin to 6500. I can get the pn if given enough time.

Are the bolts 1/2" or 7/16", will there be an issue bolting the heads on?7/16", as stated above, no issue bolting on

What about finding headers to fit around the odd angle of the spark plugs?BBK 1515 unequal length shorties fit fine other than you have to pull the d/s header to change #7 plug, use 90 degree boots. BBK 1516 L/Ts fit as well but you will need to modify a socket to change out plugs, use same boots

Below is my sig from the eectuning forum, this was a 90k long block back in 06, it's been in the car driven 85miles a day in the summer since then so it's probably got around 125+ miles on it. I left the heads on and only swapped the cam/springs and such. When it put down the dyno #s it had 3.73's, the shorties w/an H-pipe, and stock flywheel and had gone a best of 12.47@110

1986 Mustang LX, 1997 Explorer Long Block, GT40P Heads, Professional Products Upper/Lower intake and 70MM TB. Converted to MAF using A9l GUFB strategy, 03-04 Maf, AFM B-21 cam (Scotty Brown custom waiting to go in), TFS springs/retainers/pushrods, BBK LT Headers and X-pipe, Dyno Max welded muffs, UD pulleys, Polished/Coated 4.30 gears, Z-code T5, Moates Quarterhorse, Binary Editor. [email protected] mph w/a crappy 1.75 60ft best at Mid Michigan Motorplex 4-22-12. 317rwhp/346rwtq SAE 10-1-11 before new set up.
 
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