my junkyard 94 gt 5.0... stock bottom end... gt40 heads stock springs edelbrock airgap. speed demon 650. thats what i have. would i be safe with a x303 286/286, Lift .542/.542 without notching the pistons further than factory? e or f would have been my choice but i found a guy with a new x303 for 75bux .
your stock springs will not work and you will have to get your valve guides machined for guide to retainer clearance brad
You'll need to swap springs on those heads for the X cam. Gonna be into spring bind territory there. As for the piston to valve clearance, that's something you're gonna have to check after it's in the block. If you don't buy it, I'll take it.
I for one! I have used several and my car always ran better with comp or some other cam. There ok to fill the hole in the center of the block or for a freebie but id never buy another considering theres way better out there.
for the money Alphabet cams are great for the street but gotta agree racing there is much better for not to much more!!!!
I think the X303 is a great street cam. As was said you will need to replace the stock springs with the 500+ lift. Also, I thought you had to relieve the pistons more than stock for anything over .500 lift. As MavOWar said, racing is a different story. The motor in my Mav has a special grind Crower, not the kind of cam you buy off the shelf. Each motor is different which means that a cam may work great in a motor and totally suck in another................IMHO
hi from what I have seen its ok,but almost everyone uses it or the b cam.Both were good in 1987,but there is so much to choose from today.There are a few I like,one is the 510/534 222/232 can still be purchased under the Elgin line { check compition products under hyd roller Ford.And the crane 533/544 216/220.best to change springs,try to use beehive type spring from comp.Good news pistons did not need to be notched with any of these,but check to be safe.I have run these with stock rockers,but have had clacking problems.Recommend roller roskers to keep everything running trouble free.I hope this helps.
See this is where it gets cloudy. Everyone puts down off the shelf cams, but nobody does this with the stock Ford HO cam. Which is the one made famous by CarCraft running it with a set of AFR heads in a stock shortblock and made over 400 HP. Hardly anything has changed in cam technology in the past twenty years, other than the discovery that running wider LSA's improves the street manners in bigger than stock cams. Which by the way, Ford learned and applied to their alphabet cams way back when. The alphabet cams are all single patterned cams, which isn't a handicap with aftermarket heads. But seems to be the reason everyone puts em down. The custom cam guys change the lift and durations just enough to make em seem different than an off the shelf cam. That's their selling point. Dyno an OTS cam, then run a custom back to back on a dyno, then make your decision as to whether one's worth the extra cost over an OTS cam. $75 for a new X cam is dirt cheap and justifying spending $200-300 more for a custom is a stretch to make 10 or 20 more HP at one point in the rpm range.
Well since everybody here actually has a real opinion on the alphabet cams, I have a question. Next week once my torque converter arrives I will finally be installing my 86 .30 over 302 its a stock block aside from speed pro forged flat pistons (with neccesary valve reliefs). It runs a "X" cam working AFR 185 58cc competition heads w/billet rockers. Fed by Air Gap RPM intake. With (I know its too small) 670 Street Avenger carb. Anybody have a clue what I am going to make with this thing. Ive figured anywhere from about 340 to 470 h.p. from what I have read. Any insight would be great. Thanks
I ran the x303 cam with 1.7 rockers and a stock 1987 bottom end and did not have issues, but it was close. With 1.6 rockers you should be fine. You will need valve springs. However I had a bad experience with the x cam. I ran a b cam and the car was quick, I wanted to go faster but the x cam made it slightly slower. It also killed the MPG and idle. The b cam gets 18 mpg, runs 13.0@106 and idles great, the x cam was worse in every way. I was running a 650 DP, ported E7TE heads with GT40 valves (so, similar to GT40 heads), stock bottom end with decked block, ~10.0:1 CP, 1.7 roller rockers
ShelbyMaverik74, So what kind of compression are you shooting for? Do these heads have the exhaust port that is relocated by .125"? Just a question, but have you or will you check push rod angle and length? I am not a fan of AFR heads, but these should do quite well with your motor as long as you have a good CR. Your issue is the cubic inches and just a guess but I would think you will be in the 370 range. What else have you done to the drivetrain, and what kind of trans and headers do you have...............sorry, I'm new to this forum and am not familiar with you buildup. Also, which I should have asked in the first place, it this going to be a street car that you will ocassionally take to the strip? Charlie, Just a guess about talking about the X not performing well with your car, and my guess is that the X cam just exceeded the heads you have. If you went with some AFR/TFS heads I'm sure you would have noticed a little quicker car. Also, the lift on the B cam is substantially different than the X. Personally, I would have gone with the F instead of the X for you current motor. IMHO
I have checked the pushrod length and it appears to be fine. They are Ford Racing pushrods on Ford Racing lifters. With the 58cc head and my pistons it should have 10.5-10.7:1 Compression. As far as the exhaust port all I knew is that they arent the emissions legal heads or the race heads they are the one in between the two. I didnt choose the x cam, it came with the block (i got the entire short block assembled and dialed (done by Ohio George Montgomerys shop) for $1100 plus a ton of extras). So instead of messing with a pro job I started with an assembled short block. Im running a MSD Pro Billet Dist. w/all MSD electronics. Im putting a TCI Streetfighter C4 behind it with a TCI Breakaway converter. Hooker Headers. and a Quick Fuel Electric 140 gph fuel pump and regulator. Im keeping the stock 3.00:1 rear gear because I will use it as a street car (2010 Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour!!!) but take it to drags and cruise-ins. So thats the skinny of it. And yeah I wish I had a 331 or 347 and thats WAS the PLAN but when a deal comes along, you know how it goes. Thanks
