You will need to figure out what pushrod length for the upgrades you are discussing. I believe you can order an adjustable unit from Summit Racing.

 

If you are concerned about fuel economy, then why not go with EFI?

 

That cam is a bit mild 448/472 . I ran it in an otherwise stock 289. It will use stock push rods . I'd look at the Jegs or Summit house brand 471/471 cam if your staying flat tappet. But seriously consider doing a roller cam. Also stay with a stock oil pump. And check out the Scott drake Boss 302 style oil pan looks stock has some bafflingly for oil control.
All that said a GT40P from an explorer is a nice upgrade

 

Definitely check current availability for any parts. A lot of performance parts are currently out of stock and unavailable. There's something going on at Edelbrock and most of their parts are currently unavailable.

 

Thanks all, Edlebrock parts appear very scare. My son wants to stick with a carb rather than EFI. For an avid gamer, he oddly wants his old car to be like an old car. I will check out the other cam. That head won't work with a roller cam and we are sort of letting the head drive it. The Edelbrock seems to offer a good boost without awful cost and I also want to avoid too much power for a teen. Don't tell him!

 

The only reason those heads might not work with a roller cam is the valve springs. I changed mine on my dining room table. I would not let $100-150 worth of valve springs dictate your cam choice. The roller cam is the way to go for peace of mind. No break-in required, no magic oils or procedures, no chance of ruining your new engine in the first five minutes because the stars weren't aligned. In your case you could run a stock 5.0 cam and 1.7" rockers or go a little bigger for some more oomph. The stock 5.0 roller cam is going to offer a better torque curve than any 50-year-old flat tappet cam from Edelbrock.

 

Tmg, what exhaust are you going to run ? If you are sticking with cast iron exhaust and small pipes, the aluminum heads won't help you any. If you're sticking with flattapet, look at the Comp 35-255-5. This cam will be very happy with injection OR a carb, and many of the aftermarket cams don't like fuel injection, if you ever swich to that. LSG

 

I disagree. If you took those heads and put them on a dead stock J-Code or K-Code it'd probably gain 30hp.

 

Jdub, yes, you would. BUT if you then installed a 2 & 1/2 mandrel system, you'd be up ANOTHER 50 or 60. LSG

 

Sure. But the heads do something on there own. You said they wouldn't help at all. Some people don't want the hassle of headers or loud exhausts, but they can still have a little bit of fun addressing other areas.

 

It will also drop some lbs.

 

Dropping some weight over the front axle is part of the plan, though someday it will get air conditioned and get it back!

I am not trying to max horsepower, but we do plan on headers and a dual exhaust. It seems silly to stick with the existing manifold. I am torn on the roller vs standard cam. Still debating. I haven't had time to look up the mentioned cam. The big thing here is to maintain a tractable daily driver that will get stuck in traffic in an urban area at times.

 

If I were going to do a 302 and keep the budget under control, I'd source myself a reasonable mileage used GT40P 5.0L from a 1998 to 2001 Explorer or Mountaineer. They're a roller cam engine with excellent heads and many junkyards sell them for $500 or so. You can bolt on the front drive from your existing 302.

 

Can that engine run with a distributor and no computer?

 

Just use a steel gear on your distributor to work with the roller cam. The vintage stuff bolts right up.

 

With a carb, yes.

 

Thanks! I will look into what's available, but I wouldn't it still be smart to rebuild it before putting it in the car?

 

It may not need a rebuild. Advances in metallurgy and EFI keep them looking like new. The lack of extra fuel on the cylinder walls and in the oil helps them last.

I used two Explorer motors in the past. Both were 170K to 200K mile motors. One I picked up as a short block that someone used the heads. It had excellent crosshatching and the bearings looked great. I ran it as is. The other, because I was concerned, I put bearings in it. Both have run great.

The Explorer cam is really a good cam for torque. It looses power after about 5000 RPM, but it has plenty of grunt. I actually kept that cam for a while with my mildly ported '69 windsor heads (similar to GT-40 heads) 1.7 rockers and an Edelbrock Performer intake (not Performer RPM). It was a blast to drive. Not a race car, but plenty of fun with 2.80 gears and a C4 auto.

The other Explorer motor got a foxbody 5.0L H.O. cam and Edelbrock Performer RPM intakemanifold. It runs great, but is kind of a slouch until it winds up (again 2.80 gears & C4). Both cars are convertibles so I don't want wild amounts of power in them.

However, I recently swapped out the Explorer cam for a TFS1 cam and put EFI with a GT-40 tubular intake. It sounds great, but I hope I don't loose too much bottom end power. I have the engine running, but I haven't got it driving yet (too many "while I'm at it" projects).