First post here. Recently accuired a 88 LX. Car has a C4, with a 3500 stall, shorty headers and 410's.. I am wanting to do a heads ,cam, intake upgrade, but wanting to do it as cheap as possible. im not looking to tear up the drag strip, but some performance is expected. This is a project i am doing with my son, and he wants the rough sound, so we are looking at the Mutha Thumper cams. Im sure they're are better cams out there, but what heads and intakes would work well with that cam. Or, does anyone know of any top end kits that are mildly cheap? or other proven packages they know of? thanks in advance!!!
302 H/C/I questions
- Thread starter Toxic302
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Do you want quality or cheap. Pick one. Ford racing x and f cams make some solid noise. Kmj has cheap aluminium heads they are basically procomps, but my dad has had good luck with them. An explorer intake will flow well for cheap as well I have an extra one in my shed.
gearheadboy
15 Year Member
Welcome. You are gonna get a ton of opinions here. I'll give you mine. Go to a local junk yard. Pick up a set of GT 40 or GT 40p heads from a Ford explorer. While you are at it grab the upper and lower intake and throttle body. Do a search on here for the info about these parts. Its a cheap, fun, upgrade. There is much info on here or online period. You can change the cam while you are at it. Read the threads about this combo there are cam listings there as well or provide your set-up info to Summit and let them tell you what to buy.
I second gearheadboy post! Very cheap and makes a huge noticeable difference. you didnt say if it was a coupe or a hatchback but if its a coupe thats even better!!!! With those mods and maybe a little nitrous you would have one hell of a fun street car!!!
Yes all depends on your ptv clearance. My dad made 505 fwhp (engine dyno) with the kmj 190cc heads 707 dollars (unported) ,comp cams solid flat tappet cam and 950 Holley. At 7200 rpm. Just have them checked for truenesss and your good to go. But they are a non emissions head. No egr passage. I run the e cam and I love it sounds really mean with a hard lope at idle.
Procomps are hit or miss in the quality department. You could potentially spend the money you save just making them right. You could also be fortunate enough that they run well right out of the box. I was the latter with set I used to have.
PTV = Piston to Valve clearance. You need to understand this term when considering cam, valve, head, and piston combinations. A google or forum search will help you with this.
I recommend staying with a hydraulic roller cam for a street application for ease of adjustment and daily use without readjustment. The hotter the cam the more likely you will end up in territory where digital tuning of the ECU will be required and/or drivability (street manners) will suffer.
mikestang63
SN Certified Technician
If you want to go the budget route, swap on the heads, intake, and throttle body from an early 90's explorer or Mountaineer. The stock cam can easily take you into the 12's and retain normal driveability with a set of 1.7 RR. Those heads are the same as gt40's and all you should do is swap out the springs, and check the valves and guides for wear. The throttle body is 65MM and is easily adapted to the Mustang. Add a 94-95 Mustang gt 70MM MAF and you will end up around 270 hp for about 400-500.
If you want to step up from there,IMO about the worst cam choice you can make today is to put a Ford "letter" cam in your 5.0. That technology is over 20 years old and I rarely see a cam that has all of the same lobes. Sure, they may make a nice lopey idle, but for the same price or a little more, you can get such a better cam from a number of companies- Anderson, TFS, Steeda, and of course Ed Curtis.
For heads, I would either save up and get a quality set from either AFR or TW. You can pick up a nice used set for under $1000 often with RR . If you want a top end kit that produces a proven 350 HP for about $2500, get the TW top end kit from Summit. It comes with heads, cam, RR, gaskets, pushrods, etc. I think the only think you would need is the MAF and you can still use the 94-95 Gt one.
Regarding hydraulic vs. flat tappet cams, the difference is essentially that the lifters on a hydraulic cam self adjust with a plunger and spring. Once you set the initial preload, you don't have to readjust them. With a flat tappet or solid lifter cam, you will have to keep readjusting the lash or load of the rockers periodically. Think of the difference between the self adjusting belt tensioner vs. the manual belt tensioner on most supercharger setups. As the belt gets older and stretches, you have to keep readjusting the tensioner to maintain the proper tension. Unless you have a dedicated high rpm drag car, there really is no advantage to a solid lifter cam on the street, and do you really want to have to remove the intake, valve covers, and such for routine valve adjustment? You'd also have to buy a new set of solid lifters, pushrods, rockers, etc for that setup.
Whatever you decide, don't start throwing mismatched parts on as you will be disappointed with the results and could end up damaging your engine by not checking clearances.
If you want to step up from there,IMO about the worst cam choice you can make today is to put a Ford "letter" cam in your 5.0. That technology is over 20 years old and I rarely see a cam that has all of the same lobes. Sure, they may make a nice lopey idle, but for the same price or a little more, you can get such a better cam from a number of companies- Anderson, TFS, Steeda, and of course Ed Curtis.
For heads, I would either save up and get a quality set from either AFR or TW. You can pick up a nice used set for under $1000 often with RR . If you want a top end kit that produces a proven 350 HP for about $2500, get the TW top end kit from Summit. It comes with heads, cam, RR, gaskets, pushrods, etc. I think the only think you would need is the MAF and you can still use the 94-95 Gt one.
Regarding hydraulic vs. flat tappet cams, the difference is essentially that the lifters on a hydraulic cam self adjust with a plunger and spring. Once you set the initial preload, you don't have to readjust them. With a flat tappet or solid lifter cam, you will have to keep readjusting the lash or load of the rockers periodically. Think of the difference between the self adjusting belt tensioner vs. the manual belt tensioner on most supercharger setups. As the belt gets older and stretches, you have to keep readjusting the tensioner to maintain the proper tension. Unless you have a dedicated high rpm drag car, there really is no advantage to a solid lifter cam on the street, and do you really want to have to remove the intake, valve covers, and such for routine valve adjustment? You'd also have to buy a new set of solid lifters, pushrods, rockers, etc for that setup.
Whatever you decide, don't start throwing mismatched parts on as you will be disappointed with the results and could end up damaging your engine by not checking clearances.
I searched the forums and Craigslist for weeks before I put my current combo together. I was lucky enough to find a set of aluminum gt40x heads with roller rockers I offered the guy $175 and he needed the cash so bad he took it. I bought new springs and had a machine shop go over them and had $400 in a set of aluminum heads with stud mounted roller rockers. I grabbed a wolverine cam off the corral for $75 and a weiand stealth intake for $125. After gaskets and misc parts under $900 into a combo that works
f8tlfiveo
My wife likes my spool and blow-off valve.
I personally would not buy the procomps assembled. I have heard things about the valve train parts that aren't good. That's why I bought just the castings.. I was impressed for the trash everyone talks on them.
Like I said out of the box 505 on the dyno with assembled 190cc pro comps.. not bad just have em checked when you get them.
Same here... I bought the bare castings and assembled with upgraded springs etc. that I sourced from Summit to put onto a car that I sold. I was expecting at least some work by a machine shop but they were good to go. It had not occurred to me to buy them assembled because of the application.
f8tlfiveo
My wife likes my spool and blow-off valve.
302 big solid flat tappet comp cams cam 106 center 6?? Lift with 1.7 rr ( I'll have to call and ask my dad for the rest of the cam specs ). 950 Holley. 505 on the engine dyno. Not to the wheels.
f8tlfiveo
My wife likes my spool and blow-off valve.
Wow, they are some nice numbers. I didn't get a chance to put mine on the dyno before the car got trashed. But I raced my little brother who was putting down 320rwhp and 331rwtq. Both cars were side by side. So I am pretty sure my numbers were very close to his.
@Mike63.. whew thats why im asking the questions. I dont wanna throw a way my money my friend. Although some of these questions may sound dumb lol. So im assuming im gonna have to convert the car to mass air either way i go? Now on that note, would it be cheaper or reasonable to convert to the car to Carbed? A few of the local guys here are telling me i should, although thier opinion is just that. An opinion. Like i said, i have a bout 1500 to spend, and i wanna get the most for my money. And this car will be a weekend driver, with some drag strip time. And thanks again everyone fro the input.
