I have a 302 windsor in a 1978 fj40. What are the easiest things to do to the engine to increase performance?

Question

It has edelbrok manifold, on petrol, looks fairly stock. I have a budget of about $2000.

Answer 1

302 Windsor,,that's some kinda Ford,right?

That was easy enough.
Tuff part is not knowing what:
> your application is
> your performance goal is
> your level of expertise/abilities
>your tools,facilities,,,access to machine shops,,junkyards,etc

So I can only speak generally.

Let's see where to start..........Hmmm???

Ok,,,You ever hear of a Mustang?
Like 1965 Hi-Po 289?
Or,1968 Shelby GT-350?

Those were about the same basic engine you have.
How would your 302 run against a Shelby GT-350,,ya think?

Back then,,,there was also
'69 302" rpo Z/28 Camaro's
327 and 350 Corvettes
340 'Cuda's/Dusters/Challengers
And some Boss 302 Mustangs,
And Boss 351,and Cobrajets

All SmallBlock American V8's.
EVERY ONE a LEGEND.

It wasn't Tape Stripes and Factory Styled Steel Wheels that won those things their place in history.

It was what they All had
hanging off the end of their Gas Pedal.
Yet every one was Basically
"Just a Small Passenger Car V-8"

YOUR 302,,,is the stay-indoors,,gets-no-sun&fresh air&exercise nerdy grandchild of
Shelby Mustangs ,Hi-Po Stangs.

What Does all those Famous '60's~70's Engines have that Your 302 Doesn't have?
(Sorry if that sounds like a line from Wizard of Oz,
where Wizard is passing out Brains,Guts,and Heart & Promises a Way Home)

They were all built according to time proven formula of "3-C's"
*Carbs
*Compression
*Cubic Inches

" Carbs " in that cutesy saying Actually Translates into
AIRFLOW.
Though "SmallBlocks" may not SEEM like they fit the CUBIC INCHES ingredients,,,back in the day of 400~450++" Engines....
Relative to 150~200" 6-Cylinders ,,Smallblock V-8's were BIG Motors.

Here's the Point of all the above...
If You Study Known,Legendary "Screamers",,,,
And "Clone" Them,,
You can expect Very Similar Results.

ALLLLLL The MuscleCar Era engines produced ABOUT 1HP/Cubic Inch. give or take about 1/10th.
So,,, 0.9~1.0~1.1
375hp SS396
350hp LTI 350
290hp Z/28 302
271hp Hi-Po 289
315hp Shelby GT-350 302
425hp Dodge 426" Hemi

Ford Engines suffered Terribly Power-Wise beginning in early 70's,,,for several reasons.
*Ford Banned Corporate Racing Efforts
*Fuel Crisis
*Fed Emission Regs
*55MPH Fed Speed Limit
*INSURANCE RATES on "Muscle Cars"

What Killed the Power was removing
2 of the 3 "ingredients in the 3-C's Horsepower Recipe.

CARBS(Airflow) and COMPRESSION.
Performance AND Driveability fell thru the floor

It's Fairly Simple and Straightforward to REPLICATE the
Notorious Power of the Glory Years.

..................................
On YOUR 302 it Has>>
*The Smallest Ports Ford put on a SmallBlock since BEFORE 289's .
It's got old 260 2barrel PORTS
*Same goes for the Valves.
Smalles Size,,Lowest Flow in the last 45 YEARS or so.

*ALMOST the Lowest Compression of any SmallBlock.
It's NOT only the Low Pressure generated by the huge combustion chambers,,,,
They are relatively Low Efficiency combustion.
Which may be More detrimental that mere Low Pressure.

That constitutes Extremely Severe DUAL BOTTLENECKS in late 70's model Ford Smallblocks.

Greatest Intake Manifold,,
Most Ideal Sized Carb,,
PERFECT Camshaft,,
(and Cold Air,,LOL,,Feed it Air 2* Above Liquid Oxygen if ya want)
ALLLLLLL That You can Do to get AIR INTO the Motor
hits a WALL in the Small Ports and Valves.
No Matter How Much $$$ You spend.
No matter How Well You Tune it.
It's CHOKED,Restricted,,in the Cylinder Head itself.
Wildest Damned Induction ya can dream up will never run more than "Half Throttle" in a very REAL sense.

Cannot get enough AIR IN to make good power.Period.

EXHAUST???
Precisely Same Situation.
You can put Headers on it.
You can put A PAIR on each side of the Engine,,or a 100 pair.
Dual Exhaust?
You can put Triple,or Quad,or 100 Pipes.
Run Open Headers.
Run Top Fuel Style Zoomies--Short Individual Pipes.
NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO,,,,
You Exhaust Flow Rate and Cylinder Evacuation and Intake Scavenging
REMAINS RESTRICTED by PORT & VALVE FLOW.

INTAKE>>>xxxcylinder headxxxx<<
AFTER it's finished Choking Intake Flow,
After it's done limiting Cylinder Evac,,and Diluting Fresh Charge from Low Exhaust Flow,,,
It CAN'T COMPRESS the feeble,partial Fresh Charge to any POWERFUL DEGREE.

Then THIRDLY,,,
after Limiting what it can fill itself with,
and Failing to Powerfully Compress it,,
It THEN Fails to BURN IT Efficiently.

You get a Sluggish,Sloppy Burn of a Weakly Squeezed,Diluted Partial Intake Charge.

No Matter WHAT Parts You bolt onto EITHER side of the Head.
(Except for Supercharger or Turbocharger)

SIMPLE ANSWER>>Replace the Heads.
Gain:
*Air Flow Rate on Intake AND Exhaust
*Port Volume
*Valve Size
*Higher Compression
*More Efficient Combustion

A Simple Head Swap with Your existing Intake & 4 Bbl will put you NEAR the Performance Level of the 60's~70's Muscle cars.
Add a Decent Cam,,,You will EASILY EXCEED those levels

Right Now,,,Hands-Down "BEST BANG FOR BUCK" Small block Ford Head is the GT40P's.
That's an OEM ,Factory Head---production part.
Made to be Driven Every Day bringing home the groceries.

COST?
About $500~600/Pair,,NEW,ready to Bolt On

Lets look at what you CAN DO with a $2000 Budget

---------------------------------------
YOUR 302
$600 HEADS
$200 Cam Kit
$200 Headers
Sub-Total____$1000
You'll need Gaskets,TuneUp Parts,Oil/Filter,Hoses,Belts,,,TIMING CHAIN,,Harmonic Balancer,,,all sorts of miscellaneous crap

That will Produce at least "Shelby 350GT Power Levels".
Well Over 300Hp/300ft/lbs torque

You can do it in a Weekend(If prepared in advance)
And you'll have a few $$ Left Over

PLUS,,,
You can find Good Used Heads for a $100~200 Discount.
And $100 Cam/Lifter Kits NEW appear on Ebay Regularly,,,
You cant be CHOOSEY,,,but many are what You'd want Anyway as far as Specs---in an acceptable,desireable range.

Headers,,,can be found for $100 or so.
So your BASIC $1000 Heads/Cam/Pipes can Probably be had for $600~700 and Still be GOOD STUFF.

_______________________________
Build a BIG 302
$800 347" Stroker
$600 GT40P Heads
$200 Cam Kit
Sub-Total $1600(maybe Less>Shop HARD)

That only leaves $400~500 for Engine Block Prep(Clean & Bore),,,and Gaskets,Cam Chain Balancer,Hoses,WaterPump,etc

Frankly,,You might need to raise Budget $300~500.
But you would have a "350 Cubic Inch " Motor,,,
FRESH REBUILT,,
that would produce Power in the range of BOSS/CobraJet 351-C Mustangs.
350~375 Hp,,350~375ft/lbs Torque.

You can always SKIP the Cam Kit and Headers,,,and ADD Them Later when Bank Account Heals-Up a bit.
Because THEN You'll have a Strong,Fresh Big-Inch 302,,with Awesome Heads.
Ready to take FULL Advantage of any further "Bolt-Ons"
Spend your Cash to build a Good,Strong BASE.
Ya can install a Cam or Headers in a DAY,,while engine is In Vehicle,,ya know?

_________________________
Somebody CASUALLY mentioned swapping in a 351W.
Nomadd said that plain & simple>Nuff said.

Well there AIN'T Nothin' CASUAL about a well built 351W under the hood.

There's all sorts of ways to approach That potential.
Here's a few examples
------------------------------
1969 351W 4BBL Clone.
Find a PRE '77 351W in a Junkyard.
ANYTHING 1976 or Earlier.
$300 Price Range??? I dunno,,they are Usually CHEAP cuz so many were made.

REBUILD IT.
$200 for '1969 4Bbl FLATTOP PISTONS" w/ Rings
$150 for a 4bbl Intake,,use your current carb
$200 Cam Kit.

Ok,,thats $800~1000.
You'll spend Most or ALL of your Other $1000 on rebuild parts and Block Machine Work and a Good Valve Job.
The PRE '77 Heads Have Big Valves and Ports,,,"fair enough" performance is produced.
The Compression,Cam,4 Bbl should make
about 350HP/350 torque.
And PERFORM a LOT stronger than that sounds.

And Again,,,You can always ADD HEADERS,Manifold,CAM
LATER.
Build a "OEM Spec Long Block" with decent qaulity parts.
Skip External Stuff if your Budget requires that you must.

You SHOULD be able to get
a FRESH,STRONG 351W Hi-Po engine
built for $2000 or so.
At Least the BASE Engine.

****DO NOT FRET running it on "stock 2 BBl or factory iron exhaust manifolds" meanwhile.
It will Still be stronger than garlic till ya CAN /Want to upgrade the bolt-on parts.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Or,,,if You REALLY want Increased Perfomance
$300 for 351W base motor
$800 420" Stroker for a 351W
$600 GT40P Heads
"$500" at LEAST Machine Work and parts to get it Rebuilt & Hooked up.
POOF!!! There goes your $2000 and Then some

SHOP HARD,,ya Might get it all for $2000

But ya got a FRESH 420 Cubic Inch,,Hi Compression,Hi Airflow Base Engine.

Run it with a Stock cam,,,stock Intake & 2 BBl,,Stock Exhaust manifolds.

Untill You can Sell your 302 and 302 intake,,,
to cover cost of Adding a Cam,,and 351 4bbl intake,,and Headers.

Realistic Budget for a GT40P 4BBL 420",,probably close to $3000.

But Remember,,Pre '77 351W Heads are NOT That Bad.

You can Skip the GT40P's Heads,,,
And Have a BIG,HI Compression,Hot Cam,4BBL 420"
OVER 400HP,,,Over 425ft/lbs Torque
For around $2000 worth of Stuff.

And always ADD the GT40 Heads LATER,,while motor's installed...
And find out what the street feels like in the 500 Hp Neighborhood.

$1000~1500>__300~325Hp 302
$2000>__350~375 HP "347cid" 302
$2000>__350~400 HP 351W
$2000~2500>> 425~450Hp "420cid" 351W
$2500~3000>> 450~500+ Hp "420cid" 351W

Thats ALL STRICTLY ESTIMATES.
Actual HP production Depends Mostly on CAMSHAFT SELECTION.
COSTS are assuming You do ALL WORK yourself,,'cept Machine Shop prep.

And depending on what you can buy a rebuildable 351w in your area for.
And "trade in/resale" value of your 302.

An OLDER 351W has DECENT Heads as-is,,,way better than any 289/302.
You CAN get by with using them on a 351W.
Though Obviously,,the Bigger Motor would LOVE more Airflow of Better GT40Heads.

If you decide on using a 302,,,
The GT40P Heads are an ABSOLUTE MUST,,,mimimum.

Those Heads on YOUR 302,,with Headers and Your 4bbl setup,,,,and a "cheap cam kit"
Probably will perform Better than you ever Dreamed of,,,
Way more than you can imagine.

You GOT to swap the heads,,,above all else.
Till then,,,EVERYTHING else you could possibly do will remain Minimized by the '78 Heads restrictions and shortcoming.

I'm not making any sales pitch.
YOU go surf around the net and look at any articles you find about Small Ford Build-Ups,,Hi-Perf,,etc,etc.

Do Your Homework Before spending your $$$.
Also,,,study the Original Muscle Car Motors,,and what made THEM perform so well.

It's All about Compression and Airflow.
The 2 areas where your '78 is Weakest.

Here's an article about GT40P heads.
Scroll Down and look at Flow Charts.
Notice the Improvement at LOW valve lifts,,,.100"~.300" range.
Compared to Stock 289(which are equivalent of your 302 heads)

351W Make a 289/302 "Come Alive",,,they Used to be a very popular Mod.
GT40P's add TWICE the Difference that 351W's added to 289/302's.

The HI FLOW at LOW VALVE LIFTS also means you DONT need Insane Cam Profiles to get the engine filled with air.
Equals MORE Torque/Pulling Power at LOWER RPM.

Check it all out,,,decide what ya want,,Shop Hard,,,
and your $2000 will easily get You going Very Good.

There are BETTER heads available,,Aluminum ones,,real "Race" heads,etc.
Overall,for Street Motor on a Budget,,
GT40P's cant be easily beat.

http://www.stangpro.com/html/articles/gt40p_files/gt40p1.htm


Just info,,another angle to consider,,for what it's worth.


Good Luck with your Project!

Answer 2

you have a good start with the edelbrock manifold. $150 to $200 will get you a good second hand 600 holley carb, which is an easy bolt on. The next bit i'd go for is a set of extractors. A good set can be bought second hand for around $200 dollars as well. If you don't already have it, (unlikely though ) get an electronic ignition. it will give you more reliability and will help maintain your power at high rpm. a good set up can be had for under $300. if you really want to notice a difference, i suggest an upgraded cam as well. most stores can recommend the ideal cam for your use, with most reputable brands having a cam and lifter package for around $300. don't forget a double row timing chain to go with the cam, also very important for accuracy and reliability, usually for under $100. any left over money you can spend on chrome dress up items, or a mechanic to fit it all if you don't know how! this is of course assuming that your engine is still in good nick. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

302 Windsor

Answer 4

LOL cold air intake! haha, this is what you get from kids...

a 78 302 has a filter sittin on a carb, pretty fuckin simple.

stick with the edelbrock manifold, what carb you got?
if its low end you want get a shorter duration cam, with high lift, headers, straight pipe, other than those few its mostly gearing that makes you fast.

Answer 5

In my case, the best with your budget is to make it fuel injected. It is not so hard with junker parts and wiring harness. It is not DYI unless you are good at it. I've never liked carburetors.

Answer 6

For $2000, put a 351W in.

Answer 7

Cold air intake, making sure your engine is in tip top shape and full exhuast system.

Answer 8

Headers dude! go to Lmc truck .com they have all kinds of stuff for fords. GOOD LUCK!

Answer 9

whatever u do dont get nitros it will tear ur engine to **** but look into parts