I think for now I'm going to look for GT40 (non-P) heads to avoid the dreaded spark plug/header conflicts. If I can't get my hands on the them soon I'll consider the P's though.
Within a couple minutes at the yard your eyes will be trained to look at the fender of every explorer to see if it has a V8 badge. then on the way home you will start noticing them too. Ive even foudn v8 in Mountaineers that didnt have a v8 fender badge. If you just want the heads then im sure if you look around enough you will find a explorer that somebody already took the intake off of, will save you some time. If you were around here I could take you right to quite a few intake-less engines. Dont forget to put a few Torx head screwdrivers in your bag o tools. Would suck to not be able to take the top plate off the intake manifold. Its not a common tool that most old ford guys have in their junkyard tool kit.
I appreciate that bit of advice, 'cause I'd sure get there without any Torx sockets and be quite upset.
Holy crap. If the .flw file data I found for GT40 heads is correct and Comp's CamQuest software is to be trusted, (I use that over Dyno2000 as it seems to be the more conservative of the two) then just a swap over to GT40 heads with any of several cams can allegedly put me in the 400HP / 430TQ range. Even with the 268H it says 388/433, and that's with 9.5 compression, (which is just a guess 'cause I haven't checked on the GT40's chamber size yet) 600CFM carb and "Small-Tube Headers, Mufflers, WO/Cat" as the exhaust setting. Just in case my headers are more restrictive than that I tried setting it for manifolds and still saw 360. Damn. I'm going to try and verify the flow data before I get too excited, but I believe those heads are now mandatory.
The power is all in your head, I mean in the heads. the Gt40s are much better than the 2 sets you have now. Even a set of E7 heads is better than what you have now. And FYI, im not sur eif you have a Torx socket small enough, might need to be a screwdriver or one of the bits you put in a 1/4" socket. Im not sure what size but a T10 or T15 may be it. I always have my Torx screwdriver set with me at the yards, T10, T15, T20, T25.
Can you suggest a good source? This is what I'm working with now: http://users.erols.com/srweiss/tablehdc.htm#Ford It's a long table, but if you hit Ctrl-F in your browser and look for GT-40 it's there. Those numbers pretty much agree with what's in the FLW file I have for the GT40 heads. The web page does say, So there's no telling where that data actually came from.
That's the problem. Random gathering points. Numbers are ok in that chart but a little optimistic. Either way, the biggest benefit of the GT40 heads is the 1.84/1.54 valves. Add those valves to any other head and you're pretty much in the same league. Just an option if you can't find a decent set.
Yeah, I figure I can't go wrong either way. If those numbers are exaggerated and I don't really hit 430 TQ and 400+ HP, fine. 370 HP and 400 TQ in a sub-3000 pound car is still pretty bitchin' for a driver. Got to remember this isn't a race car. I think these heads will do a lot more for me than anything else I could spend $200 on... Speaking of that, I found a pair for $200. They're about a four hour drive away but not far from where my family lives. Was planning to visit them soon anyway so those might be an option. And I still intend to comb through junkyards this weekend. I struck out in one already but I've got a couple more to look through.
Drew, I am pulling 360 hp and similar torque with gt40 heads on a 5.0. I have a "fairly stout" cam for a street-driven 5.0. 400 is not out of the question, but not with just a head swap. The P heads have a 10 degree angle on the spark plugs, or almost STRAIGHT out. The non-P heads will have an angle that is similar to a stock head. You cannot miss the difference. 3 bars on the ends, and GT stamped in several places. If I recall correctly, the P heads have GTP stamped on them instead of GT. The P heads are on top, you can see the GT stamp on the bottom head to the right end.
Thanks, those pics are useful. What sort of cam are you running? If you can get 360 HP out of a 302 with those heads it doesn't sound unreasonable that I might get close to 400 out of a 351, right? I'm not intending to do just a head swap, definitely going to change out the cam during all this... And even if I don't get that high, no big deal. If your car is what 360 HP feels like in a Maverick, then I'd be happy with that number. Your car feels brutal.
Thanks for the compliment! 360 hp is quite nice in these light cars. Just imagine 400-450!!! Or mine with a 150 shot of N2O, if/when I ever get that plumbed up! Sorry, I have been reading this thread since the beginning, but thought I read that you were going back to a 302. So, yes, you shouldn't have a problem pulling 400 hp, or more. I am only pulling 1.17 hp/ci, which comes out to 410 on a 351 (plus or minus). I am not sure exactly what cam I have, but those specs below take into account the 1.7 roller rockers.
Ah, yeah I just noticed the specs are in your sig... Are you using the stock pedestal type rocker setup that I believe comes on the GT40s or did you convert to some other kind of studs?
