I'm getting to the point where I'm about to put my 302 back together. I've been reading up on 302 heads of my year and have come to realize they're basically garbage. I know I can swap to 351w heads, but should look for heads between 69 and 73 or so, seeing as the later 351s have the exact same casting as my heads. What exactly would I be gaining and losing from swapping to 351w heads? What are relatively easy to find options? Money isn't really a problem right now, it's knowledge I'm lacking. Thanks all in advance.
it would probly be easyer to find the heads off a 87 and newer mustang. they are refered to as e7 heads. the older heads are really hard to come by just due to age.
You can get e7 or GT40 heads (NOT gt40-p) for $100 to $150 each. The e7s are really easy to find, the Gt40s will take a little more looking. Steer clear of the GT40-P heads if you plan on using headers, as the header tubes will hit the spark plugs. Nothing like the AFRs, but they will offer a noticeable improvement in power.
69-73 351w heads are easy to find. I have 4 sets laying around because they keep popping up cheap and I can't say 'no' when they do. They have small chambers for a slight compression gain, while big ports and valves give more air flow. With these heads, you will gain the same as the late model heads by just bolting them on. However, if you take the time to grind the big iron knot out of the exhaust port, they meet or beat some aftermarket heads. That brings me to another point... If you are just rebuilding a set of these heads and bolting them on, and doing the porting yourself... they are good. But if you are having a bunch of machine work done and paying someone to port them, you will spend enough money to buy a set of aftermarket heads. Add a couple bux, and get a set of aluminum heads that flow better, allow more compression on pump gas, and give you an effective power gain just from weight loss. It all depends on how far you are going with your engine. Stock/Street-performance rebuild... Go with GT40 or early 351w heads. Do any mods yourself, and have the machine work kept at stock rebuild level. High-performance build... Go with aluminum aftermarket heads.
E7s probably your best,cheapest bet.Gasket match your exhaust ports,they do pretty good for "stock" heads.
Nevermind,I didn't see the money's not a problem part.In that case I'd go with TFS Twisted Wedges or AFR 165/185s.
Thanks everyone. I'm going to look at some of these and see what pique my interest. I appreciate the help!
Just as an update. I found some 302 heads, one from 87 and one from 92 or 93. Got them for about 50 bucks each, so I just bought them. Since I have these, should I still think about buying better ones, or will one of those be sufficient? The 87s already have a nice set of roller rockers, too. And if neither of those are good enough, I'll look for some GT40's. I'm just looking for something to show off, street performance, fun to drive around without being afraid to drive it as stupid as that sounds. How unlikely would it be for me to hit 300~ horsepower or so(more would be good, but sometimes I've got a heavy foot)? I plan a full rebuild and I'm seriously considering a standard transmission.
