E7 And Cam Questions
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mikestang63
SN Certified Technician
The trucks had flat-tappet cams up to 1992.
Honestly, with E7 heads..leave the stock cam. Adding a cam won't make a difference really.
Honestly, with E7 heads..leave the stock cam. Adding a cam won't make a difference really.
Without swapping at a min. valve springs/retainers, there's no point going down this road.
Also, street/strip means different things to different people. If it's a strip truck that will get driven on the street occasionally, a cam swap might be worth the effort, but you'll need to address the valve train. At some point (pretty early on), a set of aftermarket heads is going to be more cost effective.
E7's can be made to run, but it is by no means the budget route... you'll want compression and valve train to do so, which pretty much means a purpose built short block and enough coin in the valve train alone to buy a new set of quality aftermarket heads.
Good luck.
Also, street/strip means different things to different people. If it's a strip truck that will get driven on the street occasionally, a cam swap might be worth the effort, but you'll need to address the valve train. At some point (pretty early on), a set of aftermarket heads is going to be more cost effective.
E7's can be made to run, but it is by no means the budget route... you'll want compression and valve train to do so, which pretty much means a purpose built short block and enough coin in the valve train alone to buy a new set of quality aftermarket heads.
Good luck.
mikestang63
SN Certified Technician
I hate to break it to you.....but "budget" and "decent respectable times" won't be going together in the same sentence as far as that truck is concerned.
As it sits, your truck probably covers the 1/4-mile in just under 20-seconds. Your most basic, bottom of the end econobox will run that. Without the aid of a power adder like nitrous as @mikestang63 stated above, you could sink 5K into that truck and still only run high-16's. A big improvement for that platform, but still slow enough that it'll get beat by 80% of the cars on the road today. That sad truth, is that Its a brick....and basic bolt on parts aren't going to get the desired results you want with it.
Honestly.....this is not a dual purpose vehicle. If you absolutely need the truck for day to day living, then keep it as your daily driver and find something else to play with on the weekends. Keep going this path and you'll be broke, slow and without a mode of reliable daily transportation.
Sometimes the truth hurts.
If you absolutely insist on fooling with this truck and no amount of logic or reason can talk you out of it, I'd say abandon the 302 altogether and look around for a 460 to swap into it. You'll at the very least have a solid platform to make some real torque and horsepower and won't have to push it that hard to achieve the results. You can built those engines well into the 400hp range fairly inexpensively, without putting a dent in drivability or reliability. You can't do that with a 302. Sure, the mileage will suck, but the mid-80's F-series pick-ups were dog-
on fuel anyway....and it's still going to save you money in the long run, not having to bolt useless parts to your 302, only to end up achieving lack-lustre results.Any way you slice it....prepare to spend some money if the drag racing bug has bitten you.
Also I know this is A mustang forum but what do you all think of my truck? I'm 18 and built it from the bottom to top, including I did the paint and body work.
Very nice, although I have to be honest.....I liked it better with the stock hood.
....but, you're 18, so I understand why you think it looks good.
mikestang63
SN Certified Technician
Ok. I will say this one more time and then I am done
Nitrous
For 1/3 the price of that HCI swap, you can get the same if not more HP and keep the DD manners and MPG when you don't hit the switch.
Oh, and add a few more gauges.
Nitrous
For 1/3 the price of that HCI swap, you can get the same if not more HP and keep the DD manners and MPG when you don't hit the switch.
Oh, and add a few more gauges.
Definitely vote for nitrous at the strip. Bolt on 100-150hp for less than 750$. Heads,cam,etc will cost at least that and probably close to double for maybe a 75hp improvement. I like the truck btw. Good luck! Also fwiw for every 100 hp= about a second reduction in timeslip. Also for every 100lbs you will gain a .1 in et. Also you can bracket race. As long as you're consistent it doesn't matter how fast you ultimately go. You can learn a lot and eventually have a faster more consistent "racer".
Truck looks good. I can totally identify with the F150 forums. Very few people on there that have had so much as their intake off. P heads are good, and will pick up with a small cam. Hit it with a 100 shot of nitrous and see if it likes it. The biggest performance gains come from a set of gears and a Trans Pack (modification to the transmission to make it shift faster). All Ford engine stuff is welcome here.
Kurt
Kurt
Nice job on the truck. We don't mean to discourage you. I suspect you are talking to some guys here that have played the game awhile. Hopefully this example will help paint the picture. I have two 5.0/302 based vehicles.
53 F100- Fresh 306 engine with some of the common bolt-ons. Edelbrock cam-intake-carb. Pretty ignition, duals, 3.90 gears yada,yada. Snappy and fun little truck on the street. Won't get out of it's own way on the dragstrip. Runs about 18.0
94 Mustang- Used to have a 302, head-cam-intake & traction = 12 sec passes. Add 100 shot of spray and 11s with small wheelies. I'm not sure I could make the truck drag like that for $20K
Anyway, listen to the guys who already posted before you dump a couple thousand and have an 18 sec truck you won't think is fast. Money would be better spent on a tired old stang. When it breaks you can park it and drive your truck to school. If you are still not convinced take your truck to the strip now for a baseline. We can then tell you about how much to make it a second faster.
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53 F100- Fresh 306 engine with some of the common bolt-ons. Edelbrock cam-intake-carb. Pretty ignition, duals, 3.90 gears yada,yada. Snappy and fun little truck on the street. Won't get out of it's own way on the dragstrip. Runs about 18.0
94 Mustang- Used to have a 302, head-cam-intake & traction = 12 sec passes. Add 100 shot of spray and 11s with small wheelies. I'm not sure I could make the truck drag like that for $20K
Anyway, listen to the guys who already posted before you dump a couple thousand and have an 18 sec truck you won't think is fast. Money would be better spent on a tired old stang. When it breaks you can park it and drive your truck to school. If you are still not convinced take your truck to the strip now for a baseline. We can then tell you about how much to make it a second faster.
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Let me chime in here...
Our mustang with 7500 invested does 6.20 in the 1/8 mile.
My tranny guy has an s10....
10k for chassis and roll cage 4 link rear certified Yada yada.
28k for the engine and god only knows for the trans.
He runs 6 flat without nitrous low 5 with.
See where I'm going here.
Our mustang with 7500 invested does 6.20 in the 1/8 mile.
My tranny guy has an s10....
10k for chassis and roll cage 4 link rear certified Yada yada.
28k for the engine and god only knows for the trans.
He runs 6 flat without nitrous low 5 with.
See where I'm going here.
