Engine Gurus - Need some thoughts and opinions

[Big Thumper]

ditto on another cam besides the B cam. Tony Mamo at AFR should be able to get you something that will clear and make decent power.

[Rreemo]

420 flywheel is not 400 at the wheels. Is the article talking flywheel or rear wheels? I didn't see which. You had aftermarket heads and they used stock E7's.

Yeah man, when I read that article on print it was all flywheel hp. Agreed big difference there.

[Blackpony]

i would go with something like the tftw stage 1 cam. I have seen it produce really good numbers on 302.

[aggie97]

you are going to laugh....but 3V mod motor with ford hot rod cams and wiring harness.

Otherwise, stay away from AFR...too many nightmares of dropped valves when the head breaks off on road racing motors.

TFS heads and an anderson cam. Good intake to support the horsepower and done. Keep it simple and build for rpm.

also, ZERO balance the motor and buy a good balancer. install a main girdle and anything else to promote longevity of the valvetrain. Spend money just one time. It's worth it.

If I didn't just drop big money on new brakes and Motons, I'd part my car out and sell you my motor. with a quick freshening, you'd have a bad ass setup!

[robert]

With that intake I would consider Stg 1 or the Anderson
Might also consider Eddy Performer heads very under rated
My old 302 same intake with performer heads made 325 to the wheels
Sure had a custom Ed Curtis cam, but basic bolt on's
G/L

[91GriggsGT]

you are going to laugh....but 3V mod motor with ford hot rod cams and wiring harness.

Otherwise, stay away from AFR...too many nightmares of dropped valves when the head breaks off on road racing motors.

TFS heads and an anderson cam. Good intake to support the horsepower and done. Keep it simple and build for rpm.

also, ZERO balance the motor and buy a good balancer. install a main girdle and anything else to promote longevity of the valvetrain. Spend money just one time. It's worth it.

If I didn't just drop big money on new brakes and Motons, I'd part my car out and sell you my motor. with a quick freshening, you'd have a bad ass setup!

Not building from the ground up like I did on the suspension and brakes, and well, everything else besides motor and tranny. Just looking to drop a little coin and squeeze some more HP out of this motor until either it completely blows up, or I get tired of it and pull the motor and start from scratch.

The AFRs I got a good deal on since they came off a 331 that broke an Eagle crank and destroyed itself. Going to have them cleaned up, checked, and valve job.

[91GriggsGT]

I did hear back from AFR and the recommendation was to run a Comp Cams 266, as well as change out the springs to the Comp 978s. The springs currently on the heads are for a solid lifter cam and the guy at AFR said those will destroy a roller cam.

Cam Specs -
216/224 duration @ .050"

.544/.555 lift With 1.6 Rocker Arms

112° lobe seperation angle

1600-5600 RPM operating range

Decided on the Pro-M MAF, 75mm, and Ford Racing 30# injectors

[Lucky 13]

Im running the Trickflow track heat kit and love it. As far as the Cam goes I changed mine to an F-303 and slapped on some 1.7 rockers but like some of the other guys are saying there are some better choices than an alphabet cam now. Once I hit about 3k rpm the car takes on a whole new life. For me it was between the AFR's or the track heat I'm sure you will be happy with either.

[aggie97]

The AFRs I got a good deal on since they came off a 331 that broke an Eagle crank and destroyed itself. Going to have them cleaned up, checked, and valve job.

LOL! Now I know where that stuff came from!

I'd try to add a little more rpm to the rev range. you will be above 4k most of the time on track anyway. Also, consider something in the 108LSA...seems to wake up N/A motors...why I have no idea but mine works great.

Also, see if you can build for about 11:1 or higher compression. Torque is good, but if you can spin it a little more, great. Then go with 3.73's in the rear and beat on that bad boy!

[91GriggsGT]

Hahaha. Yeah, been looking at them sitting in the shop for awhile now. Did not think I could use them since they are drilled for 1/2 inch head bolts, but saw AFR makes bushings so you can run the stock 7/16 head bolts.

I have everything on order right now. Gonna give this Comp 266 a try along with the other updates. According to AFR, I shold be able to run this cam without any PTV clearance issues on the stock bottom end. I did change from 30# injectors to 42# so I can use them on a bigger motor when this one lets go.

Already running 3.73s, and finally got the TKO-600 installed with the road race 5th.

Gonna have the heads gone thru. Figured I gotta change out the springs, might as well replace the seals, grind the valves and surface the heads while I was at it.

Not looking for real major gains right now, but this should push me closer to the 300hp range and allow me to dig out of the corners better.

I am actually surprised how well it does now at 232ish/287ish on the hp/tq scale. Just need a little more in between the corners.

LOL! Now I know where that stuff came from!

I'd try to add a little more rpm to the rev range. you will be above 4k most of the time on track anyway. Also, consider something in the 108LSA...seems to wake up N/A motors...why I have no idea but mine works great.

Also, see if you can build for about 11:1 or higher compression. Torque is good, but if you can spin it a little more, great. Then go with 3.73's in the rear and beat on that bad boy!

[jw33]

Carb'd LS6 with a large Acusump/oil cooler. Keep everything stock, limit the RPM to 6800, and set the engine low/back another couple of inches. All aluminum setup with OEM reliability

[2cammer97]

For what it's worth, my friend had the following combo in his '92 LX Hatch and the car made 320 rwhp 350 rwtq SAE and ran 11.7 at 114 mph in the 1/4:

stock 302 shortblock (notched pistons for ptv)
AFR 185's, upgraded valvesprings, milled (~9.9:1 CR)
FTI cam from Ed Curtis
Edelbrock RPM intake, 70mm TB, stock intake tube & airbox w/ K&N panel filter
1 5/8" longtubes, offroad hpipe, 2.5" MAC catback with tailpipes
30 lb injectors with 75mm Pro-M Bullet MAF

The car had WIDE powerband from idle all the way up to the 6250 rpm limiter. No chip, just manually tuned on the dyno.

I'd definitely recommend Ed Curtis at FTI. One of his cams doesn't cost much more than an off the shelf Comp or AFM cam.

Marcus

[91GriggsGT]

Well, I figured I would update this thread. After thinking about everything, I decided to rebuild the whole engine instead of just doing the top end. With not knowing anything about the bottom end of the motor, I was a little uneasy with the thought of putting a bunch of goodies up top, only to destroy the bottom end in short order.

So, the motor came out, was torn down and sent out for machine work. The heads and block went to Wayne Calvert up in Denton. Here is a list of the work done:

Block

Bore and hone to .030
10/10 crank grind
Hot tank and clean
Cam bearings installed
Soft plugs installed
Line honed
Balanced

Heads - AFR 165s

3 angle valve grind
Comp Cam springs
All new Manley valves with the intakes being opened up for 1.94s and exhaust valves stayed at 1.60
New guides
Seals
Surface

And here is a list of the other stuff:

Comp Cams XE274HR12 cam
Comp Cams timing set
FRPP roller lifters
Canton main stud girdle
Canton 7qt Road Race oil pan
FRPP oil pump
ARP oil pump drive shaft
FRPP 42# injectors
C&L 76mm MAF
Clevite 77 main and rod bearings
ARP rod bolts
ARP main stud kit
ARP intake stud kit
ARP head bolt kit
Wiesco forged pistons

And of course I will be putting the Edlebrock RPM 2 setup back on.

Here a a few pics of the work. And before anyone says anything, the engine is NOT Chevy orange. It is actually Ford Red, but did not really show up red in the pics.

[TEAMJACOB]

Nice car

[john98gt]

Even nicer shop