302 power help

assuming a 20% drivetrain loss that 190hp equates to around 240 at the flywheel. according to the mods listed on your cardomain site basically the only thing you've done was add the e'brock performer cam and intake and a 650 holley, so 240 at the flywheel sounds about right. you could possibly pull a little more by ditching the hi-vol. oil pump and changing to a performer rpm or stealth intake. with the mild mods you've done the hi-vol. oil pump is way overkill and causing a lot of parasitic drag on the motor a standard vol. pump will probably free up maybe 4-6 hp and possibly as much as 10 hp. the intake is likely what's really killing you, a performer intake isn't much better than a stock cast iron 4v intake. one of the best sbf intakes is the old cobra intake from the 65-66 shelby, you can still buy the same basic intake from ford racing parts i can't remember the part number though. also a torker II might be a good choice in a light little car like the starion if hood clearance is a problem with any of the other intakes i've suggested as it's a little lower.

you're cardomain site doesn't list your exhaust size but i would suggest at least 2.25" or better yet 2.5" if it will fit. the stock mustang shorty headers aren't very good either, i'd upgrade those to something with a bigger primary tube, flowtech makes a pretty decent shorty header that will bolt right up in place of the stockers you have and they are fairly cheap, around 100 bucks or so.


swapping the intake, oil pump, headers and exhaust should probably bump you up by at least 15-20 hp maybe more so that's my recommendations

That's nothing to be embarrassed over, a mild small block isn't going to melt the dyno, nor should you expect it to. Think about it this way: my '88 GT was rated at something like 225 HP if I remember right. I'd bet money it never came close to that in the real world, but it's still a stout-feeling street car, so who cares what a dyno would show. But you have a good starting point and now you know what you have if you decide to swap heads, cam or whatever at least you can measure the difference, right? Here's one last bit of info to think over: do you remember the Hemi 'Cuda that was on the cover of Hot Rod magazine a couple issues ago? I think it was the April issue. Anyway, they claimed the car made 650hp on some engine dyno. Anyway that car was built locally for some rich guy in Canada and sounded naaaassstty. But when they took it to a local chassis dyno, the thing cranked out something like 245 rwhp. Why? Who knows, but the dyno is 100% right, since several local circle track cars have cranked out 400 rwhp with 2 barrel small blocks. The dyno is like the dragstrip, you may not like what it tells you but a smart person knows it ain't what you start with but what you end up with.

Your rearend ratio might also affect the hp/torque values. I have a mild build up on a 302 and first gear on my top loader is nothing to speak of off the line, but second and third gear really wakes the car up.

Also, remember that its not just about peak HP numbers, avg numbers count for a lot too.

I would also suggest a better intake and exhaust, it looks like it starts to nose over around 4400 rpm.

I wouldn't be worried about the numbers.

The major thing left out is that you have an AOD. Just by swapping to a manual you could "see" anywhere from 40-50 rwhp more.

I only put down 260/253 with my c-4 but I have beat quite a few stick cars that put down 300-330 rwhp.

Basically a dyno should only be used to tune a car, let the track times do the talking.

well there is probably an aftermarket set of shorty headers that will fit well, but i think the main thing you need to change is the intake.

Heads, heads, heads.......