Consider having the head's intake ports matched to the intake manifold gasket. If you can find individual flanged headers like the obsolete MAC headers had, those worked really well with GT40P's. #2::: Get advice from a reptile engine builder with experience(first flag for me is when somebody refers to an ENGINE as a MOTOR! The car weighs #2835 with driver. You didnt mention which cam you had in mind. You'll have to plug the oil hole that is in the engine from the old oil dipstick. You didnt mention the car this engine is in, but lets assume there is enough room to remove the radiator and any other coolers and perhaps some or all of the front grille and/or brackets before the cam has sufficient room to exit the front of the engine. 1986 Short block with notched pistons. Not *as* good as the GT40p heads, but I'd prefer to not have to worry about exhaust fitment issues, or have a narrow range of what I can work with. Shop by category. JavaScript is disabled. Install a set of 1.7:1 roller-tipped rocker arms on the heads. And agree the cams do help and a few tricks with the heads that I have discovered really make a difference. Don't let the fact that the iron GT40 heads have a larger exhaust valve fool you. For additional insurance, we also added a set of ARP head studs, which are stronger and offer better thread overlap than factory bolts, which helps prevent pulling threads out of a used block. Holten tells us removing the fan is worth two-tenths in itself, which tells us the fan soaks up roughly 20 hp. ford 302 sbf gt40p v8 cast iron complete cylinder head and head bolts and head gasket set. The spark plug issue is almost a non-issue. Assuming this will be a daily driver engine, a short duration camshaft, especially when combined with a four-barrel dual plane intake manifold and headers, will deliver extremely snappy throttle response and the whole combination will increase the torque and peak horsepower by somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to perhaps 35 horsepower. A forum community dedicated to Ford Mustang owners and enthusiasts. Would have liked to see a comparison done on the same short block using a set of decently-ported early non-Thermactor iron heads Tracy Blackford, 65 Mustang FB, 331 built with 289 H beam rods and 383W piston, 282S cam, self ported '70 351w heads, Dougs Tri-Y headers. Never not once have I ever seen a SBF rod bolt create a failure. After graduating from Iowa State University with a journalism degree in 1978, he combined his two passions: cars and writing. That carbureted GT40P motor made 465 on th engine dyno with a .500" 239/244 camshaft, Holley 650 carb and Weiand Stealth intake. Long tube headers are a terrific idea, but you need to open up the exhaust side. how much HP and torque? Overview. Install a set of GT-40P cylinder heads from a late 1990's Ford Explorer or a set of GT40 heads from an early 1990's Mustang 5.0L. . fuel injection system . Note the head bolt hole issue, some GT40 iron heads had 1/2 holes, if not they will need to be enlarged. They almost seem like flywheel numbers rather than RWHP numbers. any input is apprecciated:smartass: Thank you for the info, if all I have to worry about is the plugs then I'm in good shape hahaha. We turned to Rare Auto Design in Orlando for dyno tests to find out how much horsepower we gained. Where they differ is the combustion chamber size. Some ideas never go out of style. He'll have to get a gear for his distributor. Cant wait to try um out. We did a quick search for hydraulic roller cams and landed on a COMP camshaft that looked promising. We've seen what happens from previous Ford experience when power levels above 500 hp tend to either pop head gaskets or saw blocks in half. Choose a cylinder head before you install the pistons. Last Edit: January 18, 2015, 12:05:31 pm by businesstrader Logged shaunp. GT40P heads, what kind of performance do they give? The question was whether we wanted a torquey small-block or a more cammed-up rpm engine to boost peak horsepower. Thank You. You keep stock drivability, and stock gas milage if you can stay out of boost. The SUV indicated barely 120,000 on the clock, and after yanking the valve covers to judge the engine's condition, Tim Moore instantly made the decision to do the boneyard version of a smash-and-grab. Now we know why Dennis Hilliard of Central Coast Mustang is so high on these heads. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Take the assembly to a machine shop to have it balanced and install it in the block. K.S. We've already been motivated to put this engine in a buddy's Mustang. Richard Rowe has been writing professionally since 2007, specializing in automotive topics. Aside from the cost of the nitrous itself, this setup should cost you little more than a stock rebuild using all brand new parts. Can anyone give me a little feedback about a '99 Explorer 5.0, and tell me if it's my answer. This time around, we chose a shining example of this junkyard art form. They also have emissions legal heads as well. Im now thinking of adding a cam to match the carb. If there isnt room without disassembling half the front clip on the car, then it might be easier to remove the engine and do the conversion that way. the springs are new stock oem ford. That said there are some better aftermarket options for heads also. I have a 66 mustang with its original untouched 289 with over 140 k on it that Ive been running a blow thru turbo making 14 lbs of boost on for the last 5 years and its never given me a problem. In addition, the cam timing was designed for torque, with duration somewhere around 190 degrees at 0.050 with roughly 0.450-inch lift. Richard Holdener 240K subscribers Subscribe 63K views 1 year ago WESTECH PERFORMANCE GROUP LOW BUCK, GT40P 5.0L HEADS-CHEAP &. I had those on my car before I upgraded and they were nice heads. Someone does make the Tri-Y's headers for the early Mustangs using the "P" heads. A forum community dedicated to Ford Mustang owners and enthusiasts. +1 I would go with the regular GT40 heads. . Once you get into the FoMoCo aftermarket aluminum GT40s though, all bets are off. Is asking advice for a fairly common situation involving parts with mandatory compatibility between the two for performance and longevity. With the tuning finalized, the little cam made far more power than we expected, cranking out 328 lb-ft of torque at 4,200 and 294 hp at 5,400 rpm. Small Block V8 (221, 260, 289, 5.0/302, 5.8/351W) - anyone have experience with GT40P heads on a 92 351W - ive got a 92 F250 with a 351W that needs a pretty serious rebuild. Their weak point is that the rotator used on the exhaust valve is very thick. K.S. 02-11-2012, 07:16 PM #6 fiveoh 86lx The 302 uses smaller 7/16" head bolts and your "P" heads may or may not require the step washers. As you might expect with more duration, the idle quality dropped significantly but was still able to make 11.5 inches of vacuum at 980 rpm. Keep in mind that swapping camshafts is a fairly extensive effort. The rest went very smoothly, and we reused the stock lifters and suffered no ulcers worrying about breaking in the cam. JavaScript is disabled. SB Ford, GT40 .575" Lift Max Output II Drop in Valve Spring Kit, Hyd Roller, 140 Lb Seat. You need to check. Im a different animal. This will keep you from dropping your overall static compression ratio and losing power. Save narve00 Come join the discussion about performance, production numbers, VIN decoders, modifications, troubleshooting, power adders, DIY tutorials, and more! For this reason, we're not sure what kind of boost the GT-40P heads will give. Gasoline/Diesel all makes on earth & still doing it today with great pride.Feel free to contact me anytime. Motor is going into a Ranger. Even with a stock Mustang 5.0 cam makes good power. Perhaps even more surprising was how well this engine idled, calmly purring with 16 inches of manifold vacuum at 980 rpm. Those heads were unported and had stock valve sizes! Im running stock GT40 heads with stock 4.000 bore on cylinders and a Lunati cam with 256/262; Duration @ .050 (Int/Exh): 213/219; Gross Valve Lift (Int/Exh): .483/.499; LSA/ICL: 112/108. Start with any 302 block, but try to find one from 1985 and up since it will already have provisions for a roller camshaft. The HP DIFF column on the far right lists the horsepower difference between Test 1 and Test 3. I'd get the gt40 setup, and put an s trim on it. I think one of the finer traits of a true car guy, is the patience to put a prized car away and just let it sit for a while rather than selling it when life gets in the way. The heads got a 3 angle valve job, new valves from speed-pro and all the valve train was from crane that matched the current hydraulic cam. They are more expensive than standard head gaskets, but they also do the job and are worth the additional money. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. The Edelbrock Performer RPM is a good choice, but Holley, Weiand and Ford Motorsport also have similar offerings. GT 500; Posts: 8496; Location: Brisbane . If you're not a header kind of guy, the repro 289 HIPO manifolds bolt up to the GT40P heads with plenty of spark plug room. Common sense would suggest that with the heavy lifting complete and the old cam removed, by not installing the new roller lifters along with the camshaft could be asking for the possibility of trouble just a few thousand miles down the road. Within a few hours of his discovery, the engine was sitting in the back of his truck on its way to a new home. Slover primarily focused on the exhaust side of the GT40P heads. 69-70 302 heads (the ones with the heart-shaped combustion chamber) Any early 289 heads for the chamber size (but you'll have small ports & valves w/all that CR) Flat Ernie, Aug 27, 2011 SHARE POST #8 fordfan289 Member from indiana correct me if Im wrong but cant you use 351c heads and get the same thing as a 302 boss. i'd love to use these heads,. In a lightweight Fox or early Mustang with a five-speed behind it, this would be a great little street engine. I am very happy too. Yea. 97% Positive Feedback . The older pushrod engines just dont offer the same kind of power potential for their displacement and it all has to do with cylinder head flow. I am sure you have increased the bore size and possibly even the stroke a bit and spin it up pretty high in the RPM range. They work, but present their own challenges. At the time, I was still running smog equipment in a 1994 Mustang GT, so I had them drill the back of the heads for the thermactor connection. The GT40 heads are a bit more versatile, working with the 5.4 and 6.8, while the GT40P (Explorer/Mountaineer) heads will only work on the 6.8 due to an interference issue. Compare. 1.7 shaft rockers and beehives. Required fields are marked *. All Ford Mustangs | Model Specific Forums, GT-40P Heads - 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords Magazine. The GT40 heads have thermactor holes built in to connect to the EGR/smog equipment whereas the GT40P heads use an external EGR connective system. Purchase any used aftermarket manifold for the 302 that is designed to function in the 3,500 to 6,500 power band. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community. Both swaps made more sense when parts were readily available at the bone yard for cheap. Rowe studied engineering, philosophy and American literature at Central Florida Community College. GT40s have 64cc chambers. When compared to the new generation of performance engines on the market today like the 5.0L DOHC Coyote engine, your engine will not come close. 1983 Mustang G.T. This will follow the guideline of a 1.6 rocker baseline and factory bottom end 79-95 related 5.0L Mustangs only. Paying a premium for a set of GT40P heads or dumping money into some to get their performance to rival aftermarket is not for me. I have heard this rod bolt weakness myth for years but have yet to have a single problem with them in any of the SBF engines I have pounded on for the last 30 years and there have been lots of them. We also added an Edelbrock Performer RPM dual-plane intake and a set of 158-inch headers with no mufflers. Mar 23, 2004. Compare. Here is my setup. Test 3: Installed the larger Lunati camagain, no other changes. This is not a criticism but instead consider it to be more of a heads-up. The 5.0L with the GT40 head had a 9.0:1 compression, and the 5.0L with the GT40P head had 9.1:1 compression. Then why did you port the heads and how do you know if you made an improvement. We are offering a pair of original Ford Cobra 5.0 GT40 cast iron cylinder heads. Depends on the budget. With the P-heads requiring pedestal-mount rockers, we also called up Crane Cams for a set of 1.6 pedestal-mount roller rockers. Just put some 1.7 pedistal rocker arm on along with a mild camshaft (make sure to use the correct valve springs), you will make over 300 flywheel hp. Install a Ford Motorsport E303, X303 or F303 cam, or any of the similar units from Indy, Lunati or your favorite manufacturer. Features hardened 4140 Chromoly retainers, valve locks, spring shims, a spring height gauge, valve seals, and instructions. We gained 45 hp and 40 lb-ft of torque. The only one that's close, is #7. It's an 86 roller 5.0 engine that had a recent rebuild sometime in the past with keith black pistons, otherwise stock. I am working on a set of iron GT40s hoping it goes faster. However, stepping up in the performance head market will set you back more than $1,200 for a decent pair of aluminum castings--and that's straight out of the box, with no porting. SB Ford GT40P Drop In Valve Springs Kit, Hyd Roller w/ Stock Cam, .450" lift and below. The engine never huffed oil out of the breathers, and the spark plugs all looked excellent. We also discovered some issues with the GT40P heads that required changes, so we added valves from Manley that eliminated the exhaust-valve rotators and allowed us to set the proper valvespring installed height. The '00 Ford Explorers and Mercury Moutaineers were factory equipped with one of Ford's better 5.0L motors. In order to make Coyote-type power you will need some expensive, high-flow cylinder heads with a short block that can withstand spinning in excess of 6,500 rpm. If you wanted to make your engine feel strong, these would be a decent investment, but they will require some modifications. We probably could have coaxed an even 300 hp out of this stock configuration, but with such good numbers, we decided to jump right into the first Lunati cam. 302, GT40P Heads, E cam, 4 into 4, Holley 600, Mallory Unilite, Levy SD T5, 3.73, 15" Team III, firewall mod, trunk mod, trailer hitch, drivers foot box mod, front tow rings. Most of them are aware of what changes need to be completed. i've got a short block started, and i recently came across a set of GT40P heads for FREE ( love family members). I need that part number too! Application Fits 1979-95 Mustang 302/351 w/ OEM Small Block Ford Heads For both the GT40 and GT40p heads, I STRONGLY suggest upgrading the valve springs. Despite adding 30 degrees of intake duration, this cam improved torque throughout the entire test from 3,000 rpm on up. This is the main reason why these engines are not modified as much as the small block Chevy. You should be able to get away with a 150 to 200 horsepower shot later, but it's best to start out small and work up. Can I run the new cam with the same roller hydraulic lifters or do I have to change the lifters too? I got lucky and found a complete Explorer GT40P engine online. Test 1: 750-cfm carburetor, dual-plane intake manifold, and stock camshaft. . Over $2050 for the 165/185 renegades. We know what you're thinking--only two-tenths from an extra 45 hp? The headers will improve this airflow throughout the entire rpm rangeadding more torque and horsepower. As noted, this is looking like hes building a 351 Lightning truck motor, which is a good way to go. SB Ford GT40 Drop In Valve Springs Kit, Hyd Roller w/ Stock Cam, .450" lift and below. Every thing he tells you on this site is true. Ported Hurricane Single Plane and custom 750 HP. I'm running BBK un-equal length shorty's, and I'm able to get all the plugs in, tight, and all plug wires on. In review, we rescued a used 5.0L Ford from the boneyard, ported the heads, added a cam, carburetor, intake manifold, and headers, and pulled an amazing 376 hp out of the mix. You didnt mention what camshaft you would be choosing or exactly which 5.0L Ford Windsor engine you are working with. In 1987, he assumed the role of editor for Hot Rod magazine before returning to his first love of writing technical stories. I'm sure the dyno operator used some goofball correction factor to make the numbers look higher. Its always refreshing to see a FORD getting a little face time in your column, even if its a tired 302 with no great expectations of setting the world on fire when the dust settles. That's a 40 per cent increase in power from a simple head and cam swap, and one seriously happy Mustang owner! If you go with a diffrent cam, make sure you change springs, The Trick Flow kit comes with everything for around $130. What you are trying to do is to increase the amount of airflow through the engine in order to make more power. well i finally did my first ever carb build, ive always been an EFI guy Black 1985 GT: 408w, in the 6's in the 1/8 mile. Most of the time, GT-40 heads are worth a good 20-40hp over stock heads. i have a 302 engine from a 1977 granada and i am wondering if gt40p heads from an explorer will fit on this motor. Plus you will need to drill all the head bolt holes out as the 351W uses larger head bolts. Nudge us with emails, and we'll make it happen. There are a lot of variables that must be addressed to give a better estimate, but a good basic estimate is 20-40 HP at the crank. many thanks to all you eco-hippies giving me dirty looks and helping me feel llike an overall badass rebel. The longer duration created a slight loss of torque below 3,300 rpm compared to both previous cams, but beyond that mild loss of power, the bigger Voodo out-powered its smaller cousin, cranking out a peak torque of 355 lb-ft at 4,300 (a gain of 7 lb-ft over Test 2) and charging to a peak horsepower of 376 at 6,000 rpm. I guess I had it backwards, sorry about that, didn't mean to spread misinformation. All in all, the addition of GT-40P heads to any 5.0 Mustang is a worthwhile venture, especially if you're on a budget (aren't we all) or shooting for the Trophy Stock title. Or just play it safe and let the fans ask away about another daring 5.0 TB bolt on or for an exciting surprise, do a LS______ fill in the blanks. As a final goal, we decided to bolt on a simple nitrous system and see if we could push this little small-block Ford to make some real power. that is a healthy budget deal. JavaScript is disabled. Sponsored. The engine was only rated at 215 hp, but it at least had 9.0:1 compression. That's a good combo in my book. 302 explorer short block with roughly 80k miles GT40's from a local u pull n pay ($97) weiand x-celerator trick flow stage 1 cam 650 holley double pumper car made 322/329 SAE . What would be the best cam and springs to use for these heads in a 302 Windsor? .. i would not buy valves unless you need them amd would not switch to studs with these heads for your low hp . The gt40p head is considered the best OEM 302 head made. LOW-BUCK 302 FORD HEAD UPGRADE Richard Holdener 239K subscribers 189K views 2 years ago WESTECH PERFORMANCE GROUP WHAT'S IT WORTH? 302 .030 over with; Scat Forged Steel Rods, SpeedPro pistons and rings . P-heads have a smaller combustion chamber at 59cc, which will bump the compression ratio up on an otherwise-stock 5.0 engine. I can tell you that with my 9.503 block, 22cc dished pistons and 64cc heads, I'm at 9.5:1 compression. I got a GT40P off the assembly line years ago. Thanks. I was looking at putting on the GT40P heads on. hole size 302 is 7/16 and 351 is 1/2 Beyond the engine's amazingly good appearance, Moore had a couple of good reasons for choosing this engine. Advanced: Daily Deals; Help & Contact; Sell; My eBay Expand My . 1 - 7 of 7 Posts. The later model distributors had a different diameter shaft than the earlier ones. We guarantee plenty of burnout action when you add GT-40P heads to your 5.0 Mustang. These cast piston short-blocks are not quite as good as the forged piston 5.0L that came in Fox-body Mustangs, but the GT40P heads flow much better than earlier 5.0L heads. As with Chevrolet's small-block engine, the aftermarket has had dozens of years to expand the range and reduce the cost of the parts they offer for this engine. Because of this, your tuneup will probably need to be modified. i have a question once i get the gt40p heads from the explorer truck can i also take the exhaust manifolds or headers and fit them in my 66 mustang:?:!?!?!? If you're going to use the stock 289 heads, install 1.84-inch intake valves, then port the intake and exhaust; these mods will net you about 185 cfm of intake port flow at 0.50 lift. I had a set of 69 302 heads I ran for a while . It took him and yours truly eight hours from start to finish, using air tools and a lift to gain access to the header flanges. I used Lightning heads on my 302, (GT40 not P) with stock rockers on a flat tappet engine. Ive bought wrecking yard SBFs and put 20 lbs of boost to them and spin them to 7000 and made 500 HP with several of them. If I remember right, non of the GT40P's (later models) had the thermactor smog provisions. PTP Engineering front suspension and 25540R17s all around. The hardest part of swapping the cam was just getting the timing cover off and back on again. The MPH was there to run a little better but the local track is about terrible. Maybe I'll think about a cam swap? There are caveats to this plan, however. 68 XR7 & 68 M-100. VerticalScope Inc., 111 Peter Street, Suite 600, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2H1, Canada. The cost of a new set of standard replacement roller lifters is very affordable at major retailers like Summit. The asterisk HP differences are calculated using Test 1's 294-hp peak. Since the engine is nearly stock, we would want to choose a relatively mild camshaft with somewhat more lift and duration than stock, but again not going too aggressive. We took the heads to Mike Slover of Slover's Porting Service in Sun Valley, California, to do this work, plus some basic pocket-porting to improve flowespecially on the exhaust side. For real performance, stock E7TE heads leave a lot to be desired. Assuming the above configurationa pushrod 5.0L will potentially make between 250 and 260 hp. VerticalScope Inc., 111 Peter Street, Suite 600, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2H1, Canada. I got rid of the carburetor and went with a F.A.S.T. First, adding headers will improve power on the existing combination. I don't need tons of power to enjoy the car. We decided on a Powerstar kit from Nitrous Supply, owned by our good friend Mike Thermos, who was one of the original nitrous kit suppliers back in the early '80s. . There are literally a dozen or so camshaft companies that offer a mild hydraulic roller cam for a 5.0L Ford. If you can get the mentioned GT-40 heads with studs for a good price, that would be good for you. how hard to put on? Anythoughts? This needs to be removed and different exhaust valves, retainers, and valve springs added to turn this into a decent street head. Over $2050 for the 165/185 renegades. Stock 93-95 Cobra shortblock (stock cobra cam), GT40X heads, 1.7 rockers, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, Holley 650, and longtube headers. Keywords You can use the stock roller lifters with any size cam you want. Joined: Sun Mar 15, 2009 9:31 am. ***Most important is theStupid question is the one that was never asked!*** fordfan289, Aug 27, 2011 In an effort to preserve the history of the Early Fox Era, FEP covers the following vehicles: 79-86 Mustang and Capri, 84-86 Mustang SVO, 78-83 Fairmont & Zephyr, 83-86 LTD & Marquis, 80-88 Thunderbird & Cougar, 82-87 Continental, 84-92 Mark VII, 81-82 Granada. Sure, you could race-port the existing E7 castings, which many have done, but then you're putting quite a bit of change into stock heads. I plan on running a AFM b31 cam too which has relatively small duration for the intake valve. But the part about a cam replacement possibly being a labor intensive undertaking is correct. The kit offers adjustable power from 50 to 250 hp with a simple jet change. The only failures Ive had were timing chains and a couple broken rods in a mid 80s 302 with 200,000 miles on it that got about 35 lbs of boost stuffed into it when a pop off valve I bought on ebay failed. Smith began writing for Car Craft magazine in 1979 and became editor in 1984. The reason this new generation of Ford engines make a ton more power is they also enjoy fantastic cylinder heads and four valves per cylinder. by travis Sun May 03, 2020 8:33 am. These are some of the best castings Ford ever produced for this engine, and are still fairly cheap and available used. The valve seats have been cut on a . Without changing the stock pistons. In an effort to preserve the history of the Early Fox Era, FEP covers the following vehicles: 79-86 Mustang and Capri, 84-86 Mustang SVO, 78-83 Fairmont & Zephyr, 83-86 LTD & Marquis, 80-88 Thunderbird & Cougar, 82-87 Continental, 84-92 Mark VII, 81-82 Granada. I just read about this build on the corral.net. Because of this, your tuneup will probably need to be modified. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Pride is built, in your garage, with your two hands. At the dragstrip, we gained two-tenths and 2 mph. Finding Gt40p heads at the junkyard is getting more and more complicated and if you want to upgrade the heads you have to take into account the costs of the machine shop and compare everything to a set of cheap aluminum heads. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community. I bought a crate 302 from Downs Ford a few years ago that was producing 320 hp. Eldelbrocks Air Gap intake manifold should work well with the combination. Torque on the other hand isnt something to write home about. Headers and a camshaft will help but the engine really needs aftermarket 3/8 inch connecting rod bolts and aftermarket cylinder heads. I have managed to get 402 horse power from a 289 hipo natural aspirated. The heads also required some machine work, including screw-in studs, guideplates, and widening the spring pockets for bigger valvesprings. This is just a quick overview of the changes that need to be done. There's not a lot of reson to use 351 heads later than '75 since they essentially identical to 302 heads except for head bolt holes. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo. Because its all been done time after time after. Its increase while significant is still only about that of a decent 351 w, hi im building a nastalgic car so im not going to drag race it but it must go ok ive got a 302 windsor basicly recoed stock but i want to run tunnel rams to go with the the3am would like to put choppy cam and replace the heads any ideas would be much apprecited thankyou, What is the stock head cc of a 1992 f150 302 windsor.