Well, as far as I can find, EFI's use hydraulic roller cams, and the Comp Xtreme Energy cam claims to be meant for a boost for daily driving vehicles. There is even three specific versions for different purposes: one for mild street performance, one for a majorly upgraded engine, and one that only describes being meant for 5.0's attached to automatic transmissions with over drive. There isn't much info out there on the Edelbrock Performer and Ford Racing cams, so I'm not so certain about them yay or nay. The Edelbrock cams are much cheaper, but I don't feel so strongly about installing cheaper parts that my engine depends on. A mustang owner installed a Ford Racing cam in his '97 Mustang and only gained 8 horsepower, but, it is a Mustang, and my interest is installing a cam in a truck that was built to simply be a work truck.

With the timing, would this be an achievable change over a weekend? I get a few breaks throughout the semester, and I'm pretty sure I can borrow the tools required from local parts store. More specifically, what would advancing the timing do for the engine and how do I set it at an optimal setting?

With the intake manifold, I take it Ford originally designed it for 302's and 351's alike? Makes sense, and I guess same goes for coil and fuel injectors, just tuned down for the 302.

If I win the lottery, then I'd be able to take serious thought on attaching a supercharger, but who knows maybe one day.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

Couple broad statements there, reality is much more complicated. Later Ford motors use roller cams but most early(pre'92) got flat tappet cams. And while some aftermarket cams are suitable for a daily driver most are not.

Should only take 10min actually, all you need is a timing light and a few common wrenches.

Nope they're different and it's anybodys guess why.

Same parts used here but the individual computers are programmed differently.

 

I have a 1979 ford 302 in a 1978 f150. It's my daily driver and I wanna find a price friendly aftermarket cam that will make it sound nicer going down the road. Any advice

 

With a 79, you'd do well to do a head swap and get rid of those 70 cc combustion chambers first. If not, a Comp 268H will work well with those heads and your 8 to 1 comp ratio. There's a good chance you've got an excellant block to build up with a stroker kit too, post the casting numbers near the starter. D8VE-6015 A3A will be the same block as the Mexican/289 Hi-Po. D8VE-6015-3A is the same block but with the smaller std main caps.