I have a 60 Falcon with a 78 302, what are some upgrades that I can do to squeeze a little more power from it? I know a head swap is a must, but I cannot do that till I have the funds. Also, I'm new, so sorry if I mess something up. So far I have installed a short 8in diff, new rims and tires, as well as new steering and disk brakes. This is going to be a daily, so I'm not looking for gobs of power, just a little more pep. Sent from my SM-G950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Nice ride!!! Any idea on compression ratio? We put some AFR heads on our motor. Expensive yes. But worth it. A good set of heads and a cam will wake it up. Long tube headers. Fords need a bit of help on the exhaust side. Turbo it? Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Welcome, The 302 is a great little motor. If It’s a stock 2 barrel, then a after market intake and carb would be a good bet. A cam and some headers would round it out. This thread should be on the main board so hopefully a moderator can move it for you. You will get a bunch more help there.
Great little car...good idea getting the suspension and brakes in shape...that 302 is a great start...a small 4 barrel (500 cam) , a descent aluminum intake, electronic ignition, a good tune up.. I’ve got a hot 289 sitting in my 65, Trick Flow twisted wedge heads, custom ground Comp cam, 1.7 roller rockers, Edelbrock performer rpm manifold, 10.5:1 compression ratio, right now a 600 Edelbrock carb, also have a Holley, all ARP bolts, Boss oil pan, all balanced and blueprinted...hoping for 325hp at the wheels, but I know it will be a fun ride from about 1500-6000 rpm Trans is a C4 that’s been gone through with Kevlar bands, a shift kit, and a manual valve body. Good Luck with your car..there’s some Good Falcon threads on here..do a search
Not sure of what your rear gear ratio is, but a simple gear swap to 3.50-3.70 would pick it up and still be manageable for freeway driving.
Maybe say what the motor has now? GT40P heads can be found in the junk yard easy enough. The best flowing factory head for a 302. Look for a v8 explorer.
Real good tune up 1st. Make sure all the items without spending money are correct. Plugs, spark plug wires, points, timing, distributor not wore out, carb adjusted properly, fuel delivery is working proper, no plugged exhaust.
I have those same heads on my Windsor... I had to open up the head bolt holes for the arp 1/2 inch dia. studs.... I also have the X-303 roller in it...
I have a 5.0(302) in my 'hot-rod'. Four barrel carb (600cfm) Edelbrock Performer RPM intake. Long tube headers IF you have the road clearance (some hang down too low, especially if you have lowered the car.) Duraspark distrib works great with an MSD box. You HAVE TO put light weight springs inside the distrib. to get the timing to advance quicker. (Google it..........lotsa-how-tos) Changing the advance curve is VERY important if you want more "scoot" out of your FoMoCo. 36-38* total advance all in by 2000RPM. You'll need an ignition advance kit and a TIMING TAPE. The best bang-for-the-buck there is!! (for under $30) GT-40 heads & Gt-40P heads are the best FoMoCo heads. Shop the junk yards. Many V-8 Explorers had them. Get a good machinist to mill the heads down for better compression ratio. 9.5 CR is all a street engine can stand (unless you get a bigger cam with A LOT of overlap/tight LSA numbers 106-110*) IF all this stuff is "greek" to you don't give up..........ask questions and study. 350-400HP is doable with a 302. In that little Falcon.......250 HP will require both-hands-on-the-wheel when you 'nail-it'. ASK QUESTIONS!! 6sally6 For handleing........you need a bigger sway bar..........an export bar.........Monte Carlo bar. Do the Arning drop on the front suspension and DO NOT use the alignment specs that are in your local alignment jockeys computer. Go to FYIFordsMustangsteve.com and get the template to do the drop from Dazecars.com and the alignment specs. It will lower you front end about 1.5" and it will handle like its on rails! No kidd'in!!
The 302 is one of Ford’s greatest engines. If you are on a tight budget, my first change would be the Melling MTF-1 camshaft. This is Melling’s “torque cam”. I have the same version, different number in my 351W, and it woke it right up. The cam is only $63 on the Rock. New lifters, timing set and gaskets and you are only into it for $144. If you have the extra dough, a nice four barrel and intake would top it off, but you sure could run the two barrel for now. This is a great little cam that will work great with stock transmissions, and power accessories. I believe the specs are the same as the Edelbrock Performer series cam. This is in my opinion, the best cam for the money. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Cam opinions are like are like dirty socks......everybodies got a couple! (Not being sassy Andy) I like to call these grinders up and tell them what I got what I (think)I want what they recommend. I lik'em kinda snotty.... Since I don't race it max valve lift is not necessary(EZ'er on the springs/PTV clearance) Not crazy duration but a tight LSA(all done by 5500RPM or so) I went with Delta Cams but Howard Cams were just as willing to grind what I wanted. Price was the same OR LESS than shelf grind and it was custom made for me. It may take a little longer to get it........but I have more time than money.
Before you put $0.10 into the engine, research the differences between 6-cylinder, an V8 Falcon body shells. They are remarkably different, and not equal. You will need to add bracing, or you could be looking at cracks. I have seen it, on dozens of Falcons, far more than the scant few anecdotes of success here. I even tweaked the chassis of my 1960 Falcon, with a hot 6-cylinder, before I straightened and stiffened it.
http://mustangsandmore.com/ubb/BudgetSmallBlock.html Here’s a great article on getting 1 hp per cubic inch out of a SBF Ford for around $1500.00. Sadly Alex is no longer with us. He raced a record holding SS class Mustang for many years. This build would be easy on the wallet and would put a smile on your face when you mashed the pedal. On my 65 Futura I’ve added the under engine crossmember brace, Monte Carlo bar, I’m also adding cal trac traction bars. My big concern is the 8” rear end that I have. There’s an eBay seller that says he has a center section built to withstand 500 hp...Dutchman sells a 28 spline Alex that’s supposed to be 30% stronger than stock. My car will have nowhere near 500 hp, I’m running an automatic, and really don’t plan to go to the track maybe more than once or twice a year. I just wanna be able to lay to strips of rubber at will..I am running M & H “ muscle car” tires, basically a DOT Bias Ply wrinkle wall tire...but aired way up there to spin and keep everything alive
No...I really want to know...I’m having nightmares of these heads vs AFR...it’s like a Republican vs Democrat debate...both of those heads have a passionate following..
Just a note on GT40P heads.....not all manifolds or headers play well with them due to the plug angle. Same thing with manifolds or headers made for GT40P heads, they have a few plug clearance problems when used on normal Windsor heads.
Carb, intake, long tube headers & a decent distributor (MSD or something similar) will liven the old girl up a bit til you can afford a new set of heads, a cam swap & maybe an efi set up. From my experience searching for a little more power is really just the start of a new engine build, usually when i tear down to do a simple swap shit gets real in a hurry & before you know it the engine is on the stand & I'm ordering parts. My last cam swap/header project ended up as a $10000, 425 hp stroker motor. Real fun now but the car was down for a season or two. I'm a sucker for the lowly Falcon, looks like you got a good start there.
by '77 ford went back to flat tops and a normal deck height on the 302 due to new cylinder heads with 69cc chambers that were shared with the 351......so all you need are some pre '77 heads that are 58-60cc or some cheap E7 5.0 heads and you could bump the compression to the 9:1 range.....put a small cam in it and any 4bbl intake (83-85 5.0 intake manifolds are dirt cheap)......some cheap headers and your on your way
Wow, allot of replies! Just worked on it today and fixed and ignition issue, now it starts and turns off like it's supposed to! (Freaking electrical gremlins) Before I start bumping up power I know I definitely need subframe connectors. I don't want to tweak anything, but I shouldn't be coming out of the hole terribly hard, so hopefully that will help. I have a Monte Carlo bar right now, so at least there's that. AS I KNOW OF (I got the car post swap) it has a wiend X-celorator intake with a 750 cfm Edelbrock which is getting swapped out with a 600 cfm Holley that's waiting for a rebuild. It has log headers and a "110" cam. Idk what that means exactly, but it supposedly is not the stock cam. According to Google it has a 8.5:1 compression ratio, probably mostly due to the heads being a large cc. Rear gears are supposedly 3.71:1 (I hope I got everything that you guys asked about) My main goal at the moment is to get it on the road. For whatever reason the brake lights went out when I worked on it, but the turn signals still work. I think there was a disconnect somewhere in between the positive and the switch. After that I need a seat, but am having a hard time finding due to no one keeping the bench seats and going to buckets. My grandpa might have one though, so fingers crossed! Power is always welcome, and Ford performance is something I'm new on, so it's great to see what others are doing! Some of the stuff you guys are talking about is definitely "Greek", but now I have something to look up and learn about! I don't think I can do long tube headers due to it being not subframe swapped, and it would come into issues with the steering and clutch linkages. Also, would the GT40P heads work due to the shock towers? It's close as is with the logs. Side note, how much if a difference does a 8cyl anti roll bar make when compared to a 6cyl? Sorry for the wall of words, I hope I got everything. Thanks for the replies! Sent from my SM-G950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Have heard this, what years/vehicles were they on? Any identifying numbers to look for, or do they actually have GT40P on them?
I remember when I was very young in the late 70s waking one Saturday morning to find an extra car in our driveway, one of these, Dad had traded for it somewhere after he had been out with the boys the night before drinking. The front had been changed to 5 lug and had a couple nice cragars on the front but the rear was still 4 lug and wore its black steelies...... I remember Dad bringing something new home on a few occasions this way....like a nice white 64 Impala, a 66 chevy pickup..... a short chevy custom van etc. I dont know if he was celebrating the trades or making trades in the process of celebrating Dad was a pretty slick trader, drinking in his younger years or not as he never got too bent out of shape Always took good care of his family first but was able to enjoy a old car or two along the way He sold the falcon a few days later to a guy up the road who accidentally let it kick out of gear and roll over a hill in there back yard, totaling it
That picture was before we swapped the rear end out for a shorter one, and rolled the lip in so we could fit the tires, we had the steelies on just to move it. I love hearing old stories like that. It gives the cars so much more charicter. I listen to my uncle and grandpa tell their stories, it makes me feel like I was there when it happened, plus, once their gone, so are their stories, their experiences, and their wisdom, so I'm gonna soak in as much as I can before that happens! Sent from my SM-G950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I wouldn't waste any time or money on stock Ford heads. They are all junk with tiny ports. The aftermarket has so much to offer it's not worth it. By time you rebuild stock heads, do any porting, new springs to match the cam, etc you will be spending what a set of aftermarket aluminum heads cost. Secondly, I would keep my eyes open for a later model roller 5.0 block. I've bought 2 complete roller long blocks for under $250 and a complete fresh roller 5.0 for $650. Drive your car and enjoy it as is while you build a better engine based on the roller block. Once the new engine is built it's an easy weekend to swap it and you are back on the road with minimal down time. Dropping down to a 600 carb is a good move over the 750 that's on it. 750 is too much for a stockish build. Look into shorty headers and you may find they will clear. Falcons are very narrow (as you know) but I've seen a lot of Falcons with full length and shorty headers over the years. Check with Crites on headers. Enjoy your Falcon, SPark
I noticed the 5 lug front wheels....Torq Thrusts ? Make sure you have the V-8 spindles installed too because the 6-cylinder ones are down right dangerous with the added weight of the V-8. Definately want about a 1" sway bar in the front. Personally rear sway bar is not needed for great handling. Can't emphasize enough to change the springs in the distrib. making a better advance curve. That....4 barrel carb (600cfm).....headers and free(er) flowing mufflers will make a HUGE differene in power. 6sally6
You're spot on with the rims, and they are the V8 spindles. We put disk brakes in the front, and thankfully the guy before me put them in (they're like 400$ for a pair from what I could find). I had to go through and put in the V8 steering as well, for clearance, and some more strength. I'm definitely going to have to look into the springs, sounds like an easy way to make power. Would it make it more prone to ping though? Sent from my SM-G950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Opentracker has some nice stuff for changing that front end out. I did a master out swap using all there stuff...and yes 6 cylinder stuff is way different then the V8 components. My car was scary prior to changing it out.. And yes on the aluminum heads....less weight is good, allow higher compression ratio, and flow way better than stock
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