For a budget upgrade, would replacing the 302 parts with compatible 351w parts be of any worth? Like the heads, headers, intake manifold, etc.. Understand that i'm on a college kids budget and most aftermarket or new parts are out of the question.... lol Also, with the heads, iv read that the bolt holes are different on the earlier models, but im assuming that 93 is considered a later model.

 

all the 351's use a 1/2" head bolt and all the 302's use a 7/16" so u will have to get some bushings

summit racing sells them

 

The truck 302 and 351 from about '88-on use the same head, so there's no improvement to be had by swapping 351 heads to a 302. The intake manifold is different and the lower part is wider on the 351 than the 302, so the 351 intake will not fit on a 302. Headers should be similar enough to swap, but the factory pieces are probably pretty close to the same between the 302 and 351, with the exception of the EGR tube hook up on the 351 passenger side exhaust manifold. Mating to the rest of the exhaust system may be an issue, though, since the 351 is wider than the 302.

I'd ride it out now, and save up for some actual upgrades later on.

 

As stated there really are no 351/5.8 parts of any use to you, but there are other 302/5.0 parts that are. The heads and intake from a 5.0 Explorer are better than what is on the truck motors, and if you have a '92 or later truck motor now then the cam from any '94+ truck motor or any 5.0HO motor is a healthy upgrade. These are all roller cam motors so the cams are interchangable with no other parts necessary, but if you have an '87-'91 truck motor it has a flat tappet cam so some extra parts are needed to convert to a roller cam. Those part are the roller lifters, pushrods, and spider assembly from the donor motor.

 

Alright, thanks. I'll look into those suggestions. Would the intake/heads from a mustang 5.0 work as well or better than the explorer? There's definately plenty of fox body parts around here..

 

Mustang 5.0 has the same heads as the trucks.. E7TE casting, and while the HO intake is better suited to a relatively stock 5.0 putting one on a truck is not a simple swap, some rerouting of wires and vacuum lines are necessary as well as a rework of the intake plumbing. The Explorer 5.0 got a version of the GT40 intake and GT40 heads so it has the better parts. I'm not suggesting the 5.0 truck intake is bad either, it is the largest of all 3 so it has the most HP potential but that also makes it the least suitable for a motor built to make TQ at low rpms.

 

ok, thanks

 

I really dont see much gain swapping 351 parts onto 302's. You would be better off spending money on aftermarket parts.

The first thing you can do is upgrade your ignition system. Coil, bigger plug wires, cap and rotor, gapping spark plugs and bumping your timing. Some people can even get 14.5*.

Get a different intake duct. I cant remember the years, but F250s sucked air from the grille near the headlight instead of ontop of the radiator under the hood.

If your looking at different heads, you can find a set of GT40 heads for $350. But watch out, you need to find the GT40 originals, not the GT40p's. The GT40p's have different spark plug angles so you will need special headers. the originals are complete bolt up with roller rockers. Pushrods are the same length, exhaust..everything is drop in, bolt down except spark plugs for gt40, not e7's.

1995- May of 1997 v8 explorer's = GT40's

May of 1997- end of 5.0 in explorer's =GT40p's
Mustang COBRA unsure of year range = GT40's

The 302's intake are plenty good as far as airflow. 351's are restrictive. Cobra mustangs intakes are cool looking, but they are not the same as our stock so special mods would have to be made.
$350 may be cheap, but figure in gaskets, and a few bucks more for random parts that might break or need replacing because of the age. I spent close to $1000 just replacing my heads. Thats including a valve job and resurfacing. You should retourqe the roller rocker bolts after 1,000 miles, so you would have to pull the upper intake off to get at the passanger side again.

 

Wait and save up money to buy aftermarket heads. IMO I wouldn't even bother swapping heads unless your having to change head gaskets, etc. If not then buy a nice low RPM torque cam (4x4 and towing cams are great for this and street motors with street gears), new lifters, roller rockers. You can add true dual exhaust, good flowing air filter, headers (they help but nothing tremendous on a street truck), and an upgraded ignition system. Ignition system alone helps a lot but that added with the rest of the things I listed above will improve your hp and torque quite a bit.
What kind of trans, rear end and rear height tires are you running?