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gt40p head help pls

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Old Feb 13, 2006 | 11:04 PM
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Smile gt40p head help pls

i have an 82 bronco with a carburated 5.0 . i was wandering if it is possible to put gt40p heads on a "carburator intake". ifnotwhat is an easy way to get more power?
 
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Old Feb 14, 2006 | 01:41 AM
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Hi and welcome to FTE! Please take a moment to check out the Guidelines, they contain important information you'll need when posting here.

I see no reason why GT-40p heads wouldn't work on a carburated engine, but I doubt you'd really see much gain. You would see some, since your stock heads are from Ford's worst years and you'd be bumping the compression up a tad.

However, there are a few considerations:

The "P" heads have a different angle on the spark plugs, which makes header fitment rather tough as the tubes for headers that aren't P-specific tend to turn right towards the plug and can cause an interference problem in many cases, particularly on the driver's side. Even some exhaust manifolds can be a tough fit so it's best to stay with Explorer manifolds or P-specific headers.

The exhaust port shape is oval rather than square on these heads as well, which can make a bit of a port mismatch with some headers and manifolds.

And, if you are required to run smog equipment where you are and wish to keep the vehicle legal, P heads are not drilled for Thermactor ports since the Explorer they were designed for didn't run a smog pump. They reduced emissions due to the redesigned combustion chamber shape and so didn't need one. But try explaining that to your smog inspection station!

I presume however that the last isn't really an important consideration to you...
But to add different heads, if a good set of aftermarket heads aren't in the budget I think there are a few other stock heads that would be an improvement for you. I prefer the older heads, my favorites being the '69-'70 351W heads but they're getting a little harder to find these days.

Whatever you can do to get the engine to breathe will be an improvement. Headers/exhaust, aftermarket intake, better carb, good ignition to light it off, those are the basics in external mods. To go deeper, especially if you change the heads you might as well go a step further and add a good cam. Along with that will most likely be a valvespring upgrade, and of course you'll want to put a good double roller timing set in there.

As you can see, it's easy to get carried away. Your potential is limited only by the depth of your wallet.
 

Last edited by TigerDan; Feb 14, 2006 at 01:57 AM.
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Old Feb 14, 2006 | 01:55 AM
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I ran the P heads on a 86 with 302, and the headman headers for these trucks will work with the gt40P heads although the number 6 plug is close so you will need a 90deg plug wire atleast on that one, the rest of them fit very easily so not a problem.
 
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Old Feb 14, 2006 | 09:19 AM
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How did you like them, Rob? (The heads, not the Hedman's) Were you running carb or injected on that motor?
 
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Old Feb 14, 2006 | 02:08 PM
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It was carbed, I got 16mpg in my 86 4x4 F150, and won the points championship at 2 mud drag tracks with it.
 
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Old Feb 14, 2006 | 06:20 PM
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were those full length hedmans or shorties?
 
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Old Feb 15, 2006 | 01:35 AM
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those were the full length headers.
 
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