I picked up a mostly stock bronco with just a k&n cai and 4.11 gears that is my daily driver. I'm fairly new to the 351w Ford engines and need some tips on how to get a decent horsepower boost but keep it reliable. Im looking to spend around $1000 ideally and am looking for the most bang for my buck. I am thinking about an exhaust and cam but looking for some tips.

 

Gt40 iron heads 1.7 roller rockers with stock cam. Full length headers with a good exhaust. That should wake it up without pulling the motor apart.

 

Welcome to FTE.

Your profile shows you are in California and that this is a '96.

You might get away with the head and rocker change. Might. Changes like that are not allowed, but they would not be easily noticeable to the smoggy, and if they don't change the sniffer test, you are clear. That's a big chance imo.

Headers will be visible. You would need smog approved headers to make that work.

With a couple of searches, I find a JBA shorty header for the 302 as smog legal, but not the 351W. No luck at Doug Thorley. You can spend some time looking via Google. Decent smog legal headers and the changes needed to hook them up will eat most of your $1000 budget.