I have a 79 ford f150 with a 302. Nothing is wrong with my engine.Im looking at building it and making it a bit faster. Im not new to forums but dont know much about engines. I know not to ask "Which are the best,heads,cams,ect ect." But do know there's people that have good experience with decent builds. Im looking at spending no more than $2000 and getting close to 350+ hp if possible, if not excuse me for my ignorance. The 2 grand isnt including headers, Flowmasters, transmission, and labor. I live here in Compton, Ca and went to Team C in Bellflower, which is a pretty known place here in So cal, and got an estimate for a set of Edelbrock Heads, Cam, Intake Manifold, and Carb for around $1700. All in all I thought it was a decent price and dont know of other brands. I've heard people talk about AFR heads, Trick Flow, and Gt40's. Just want to get input on all those and see what would be my best choice. If I should do bottom end work, or not to buy ect.. I just want a decent build with good torque and power. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks Alot

 

I would start with a roller block and roller cam.

For the money, FRPP X303 heads are hard to beat.

Definitely have the bottom end rebuilt and balanced.

FRPP sells a 340hp crate engine, it's a decent blueprint for what you're after.

Ford Racing Performance Parts - [Part Details]

There's probably another 20-30hp to be had with a different cam, although in a truck you might be better off with less cam - i.e. lower peak hp/tq but at lower rpm.

 

That would be really nice to have but thats over 1500 more than what I can afford. but thanks for the input. Ill keep that in mind if I go another way with this build. Thanks

 

I'ts not much problem to get into the 350hp range with a 302, nothing too special needed either besides a decent HCI combo on an otherwise stock but fresh bottom end. Edelbrock certainly has a few good packages and you could piece together one using AFR or TFS heads too, but you could also get there on an even smaller budget using iron heads from the likes of Dart or RHS as well. The key to it all is to build a package that works well together, in that regard Edelbrock would appear to have done the homework for you but... but their packages are usually geared towards cars so you may need to alter it a bit when installing it in a truck because it is heavier and needs a powerband that is a little more low rpm TQ biased.

 

well what would that combo be if he went with a roller shortblock? you got me wondering again!!! since me rebuild hasn't started. i'm waiting on the builder to get his new equipment..