1990 302 HO
 

I have a 1990 302 HO out of a lincoln mark 7 that I am putting in my truck. Will a e303 cam work with the stock heads.
Thanks

Yes.... but that is a lousy cam for a 5.0 truck.

What would be a good cam that would work with the stoccasional heads.

I completely agree with paul above......even for cars, while in it's day the cam was really good, today, there are much better profiles. Let me recommend this...........

You need a cam that will develop the torque & hp that you need for the size, weight, drivetrain of the vehicle. Considering the cam has such critical importance to the engines performance and life, to me it makes sense to use a cam grinder who will talk with you directly- even modify the cam grind to fit your needs even better and to address the possibility of cam lobe failure with the new oils. When it comes to making an engine breathe, there are so many variables including elevation, humidity, fuel blends/available octane, most cam mfgs will vary a "core grind pattern" to match the external impactors in addition to the internal impactors- which today IMHO makes the different between and engine that runs well, to one that just seems to run a little bit better, smoother and gets better mileage than expected.

With regards to price...the difference is nil- especially considering its cheap insurance to know exactly who is machining such a critical part for your engine. And remember, advertized lift/duration/lobe separation is just that- advertized and not the specific grind including ramp profile that is used on the cam.

I highly recommend Iskenderian (who I personally know to this day physically tests/inspects every single valve spring before it leaves the shop) & Crower & Chet Herbert & Lunati...all are family owned, been grinding cams for decades, and both will even re-grind your oem cam if possible- saving you even more $.

Stock heads?

What size tires, what axle gears and trans does the truck have and what do you use it for?

Stock heads limit airflow to about 5500rpm so while there is room for improvement over the stock cam a change in gearing may be required depending how the truck is equipped and how it is used.

My truck has 35s with 3.08 gearing and manual transmission. It is daily driven. I need a cam that can get me by until I can afford to put heads and cam on the engine.

You need gears.. badly. Why don't you do that first? Every cam you could pick will only make this motor less powerful at lower rpms which makes gears even more necessary. Don't fool around just go straight to 4.56.

I would have done the gears firstfirst but the 6 cylinder in my truck now is tired.

Well that is OK.. put the 5.0 in and get it running.. as it stands the HO is a 100hp upgrade over the I6 so you will have some fun with it. Once you got some time behind the wheel with it you will start to see what I'm saying, the truck will get around just fine but 1st gear is going to be way too tall and the top gears not much use. Drive it and save your $$ for the R&P upgrade.

Thanks everybody for the help.