he said EXTERNAL mods only.. the best combo you could do is cam, intake and exhaust, because all 3 mods work together to improve the flow through the motor, but you're limited to external mods only.. so best bet is intake, long tubes and pulleys.. deleting your ac and smog will definitely give you a pretty good boost through your rpms, but nothing too noticable

 

Meh.... who doesn't cheat a little at these things I guess if there is a tech inspection where they strip down your motor and mic everything you may get caught, but if not who's gonna know. The cam in this vintage motor is puny.. I mean it barely pokes the valves open enough to let it run.. 0.379" total lift on the intake side! Swap to a '94+ spec truck roller cam increases intake lift to 0.422" and adds 12 degrees intake duration, and using a 5.0 HO cam would add another 10 deg duration and 0.022" lift... and neither will upset the stock EFI system so it will idle normally.

But if you're gonna be a player and stick to the rules then my vote goes to 1.7 roller rockers(is that considered internal?) if so it's gears, exhaust, and a belt driven fan delete.. that thing really sucks down some power even when the clutch is working correctly.

 

hmm.. i wonder if an electric water pump is allowed.. and electric fan and pump would really free up some of the power lost in turning the 2.. a 180 or 160 thermostat would give you a small gain too.. 4 stroke motors like running cool

roller rockers are probably considered internal, it depends on how you look at it i guess..

 

You're not going to pick up any power on a stock engine with an ignition upgrade. You only need enough spark to light the fuel/air in the chamber, and it doesn't take much with a stock compression ratio below 5,000 rpm. Unless your stock ignition is not working properly don't waste your money. If your stock ignition isn't working just fix it.

Get an aftermarket throttle body instead, maybe good for ~10 hp. Another tip - the stock intake I pulled from a 302 in a '94 truck was totally encrusted inside from the EGR - up to ~1/2" thick right behind the throttle body - pull the intake and have it hot tanked to remove all the gunk.

Long tube headers with dual exhaust, an H or X crossover, and some straight-thorough mufflers like Magnaflows will help a lot.

Losing the smog pump won't make a noticeable difference, and the A/C clutch only engages when the A/C is running. I wouldn't mess with them. Same with electric pump/fan motors on a mud truck - if a bunch of crud gets in the engine bay they may not have the guts to sling it out. Maybe ditch the stock fan and clutch for a Flexfan if anything.

Does "aftermarket" include factory Ford parts from the junkyard? A pair of GT-40 heads would be a nice upgrade over what you've got now. Especially if you have them milled enough to pick up some compression. For future reference I'd just send your stock heads to a company that does CNC porting rather than port them yourself.

And +1 on the gears with those big tires.

 

just curious.. how long is the pit you run? i would ditch that AOD for a C6 with a 205, just for reliability sake.. a 9" in the rear would be a good idea too, i've broken numerous 8.8's with my 38x12.50 TSL's and only 1 9"

 

OK, I e-mailes SEVERAL TECHS with the group, Here's whay I got:

Yes you can run a simple anti-wrap devise , I had asked Steve Savage to double check on that. I did not relize there was a Ford truck with that solid front end conversion running in stock ..That is not legal as per the rules .. Im not sure what went on there if there was other factors for it to run in the stock class .

In stock class you can run 3 external bolt ons , examples , carb / intake / headers / msd system ( box ,dist , coil , wires, this is considerd one bolt on ) an elect fan and elect fuel pump are not counted as bolt ons

Our pits are 200 feet Long with 400 feet of shutdown, Mud Varies in consistency and thickness with each event, usually between 12-24"Deep but it has gone deeper...

As for Conanski's remark, YOUR RIGHT!! Why dont i cheat?? Thje Stock class in ANY Organization is usually the fullest when it comes to people bending the rules.... They HAVE brought in vaccum Checks and also have brought in Tear-Down Procedures..... Just last year they tore a stock truck down and found interceptor Heads on a 460, he was revoked all winnings for that event, then moves up to the next class until they can PROVE that the Heads are not interceptor heads and are TRUCK-LINE ONLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a Little tiny 5.0 302 and keep up with the big blocks.... I think Ill just stay in the rules for now.....

 

cheating is for cowards..

i would definitely go C6/205 and 4.56's for sure..

 

its only cheating if you get caught. ANYONE IN RACING KNOWS THAT!! its been that way since people started racing and some of the best racers in the world are the ones who dont get caught

 

it's better to lose playing fair than win by cheating.. rules aren't made to be bent, they're made to be followed

 

go to a race event and try telling any of the racers rules arent to be bent and see how that goes for you (good luck)

 

Hey now guys if i wanted an argument out of this post I would have started it!!!!!!!!!!!!
EVERYONE is entitled to their opinion, and your right the best probably are the ones who dont get caught, BUT I on the other-hand will try it my way, I feel better sleeping knowing I won fair.....

 

i used to race and the cheaters were always caught.. the winners are the guys who are competitive within the guidelines of the rulebook.. these days, tech inspection is strict and if there is the slightest idea that you are cheating, you will be torn down and every ounce of the motor will be inspected


now, back to what's important.. you're only allowed to run truck-line heads.. do they have to be specific to your motor or are you allowed to run 351 heads?

 

if its a stock class than that is a form of bending the rules (like i said all racers bend the rules)

 

Underdrive pulleys, LT headers, K & N filter were my 3 bolt on's in Street Stock class I ran. Exhaust had to exit behind rear wheel, duals only if factory equipped. As for what the eye can't see: Windage tray, roller rockers, MSD coil(painted flat black like factory) ported factory upper and lower intake manifolds, ported throttle body,full synthetic fluids, A/C and Smog equipment deleted, all emergengy brake hardware from the drums to the pedal on the floor deleted, timing advanced to 13 degrees BTDC, and a Bassani off road Y-pipe. This was in my '89 Bronco, 5.0 180K, won many races. How bad do you wanna win?

 

that's not bending the rules 1 bit.. the tech rules obviously read TRUCK-LINE parts only.. meaning 351w heads should be 100% legal and in no way bending the rules.. now if he uses 351 heads from a car, he's cheating

what i'm asking is do they allow swapping heads from a different motor from the same motor family.. which is clearly windsor in this case.. was there ever an RV cam in any of the truck 302's from the factory?