william r plise said:
Hey guy's I need a little help here. I have a 54 ford pick up with an 80's 302. the block was a pep boy's rebuild and I sliped in some edelbrock goodies that I thought would give me a few more horses. upgrade cam, chain sprocket intake manifold and 600 series carb. I also replaced distributor with a mallory dist but there was almost no difference. now I think Im over carburated with low compression pistons and low flow heads. I need some speed. I think i need to go to a 5.0 mustang motor with roller cam and better flowing heads. is there a stock 5.0 out there that is pushing 300 horse or am I going to have to buy a crate motor? Are the 95-01 motors rollers or when did they start using rollers? Im running a AOD behind this 302, will i also have to upgrade the trans? My truck is finally looking pretty sweet but it really needs some go power. Any comments would be grately appreciated. bill
I would work with what you have. 300 engine dyno hp is not difficult.
Starting in '82 the 5.0s have 50 oz/in imbalance for the flywheel and a different front damper. Prior to that the 302s were 28 oz/in balance.
5.0 roller blocks began in '85, the last year of carburetors.
There is no 302 cube engine from Ford exceeding 260 hp, which is the approximate engine dyno rating of the 5.0 HO fuelie in the Mustang GT.
AOD trans can be upgraded to handle whatever power you develop.
Changing to a roller cam for power upgrade is not required. Flat tappet cams are sufficient. Desired compression should be in the low 9s.
All small block Fords suffer from too small of heads.
All factory heads for 302 cube engines are tiny 124 cc intakes and restrict flow. The E7TE Mustang HO heads flow the same as old 289 heads. If compression is a problem because of pistons, 289 heads are 54 cc chambers compared to later heads and 69-70 W heads that are 60-61 cc.
The later GT 40P heads used on the Explorer are better but require special headers due to the spark plug placement.
93 Cobra Mustang GT-40 heads are basicly the 69-70 Windsor 144 cc intake head with late model rocker arms, hard exhaust seats, and small spark plugs. They flow a little better than plain heads.
Your best way out with stock iron heads is to have PowerHeads CNC port yours.
If compression is a big deal, you can have PH add big valves, hard seats, and CNC port 289 heads and gain all around.
Finding some aftermarket take off heads that some racer is upgrading is probably the best dollar value.
302 cube and 5.0 Fords like the Performer RPM intake and 600 air valve secondary carburetors.
