well the real question is if u wanna stay NA or use a power adder. if ur gona use a power adder in the future might as well buy the parts now. to go with a good NA tune will take a lot. but u can go with mediocre parts for now but will set u up for nitrous or a chrager.
you can use 351 w and 351 c heads on a 302? wouldn't the combustion chambers be to big on the w heads and the c heads are to wide are they not? enlighten me please.
yes, you can fit either a 351W or a 351C head on a 289/302.
for the 351W heads all u need a special bolt that some company makes.. because the 289s/302 use a 1/2" bolt and the 351 uses a 5/8".keep in mind you compression will drop about .6:1
the 351C is MUCH MUCH more envolved and i presonaly have never seen anyone do it. i plan to some day though, once i can afford it. you need A LOT, and i mean A LOT of machining to make it fit. once u get it all fit though u will have a boss 289/302, something very cool and expensive all the same.
The 302/351c head engine is called the "clevor", ive heard of it being done but maybe not worth it for the price. The 351w heads would be pointless bc they dont flow for ***** compaired to the stock cleveland heads, and the 4v cleveland heads or the australian heads will get you more compression than the winsors.
Windsor heads will increase flow some. If you can finds a good set, and grind the thermactor bosses out of em, there will be some improvement. Powerheads cnc ported at $800 are only about $200 cheaper than good aftermarket aluminum heads, and they aren't aluminum. I would get cast World Products heads or Edelbrocks before any ported stock head. Keep in mind, a windsor head used for performance will need to be ported, have screw in studs installed, hardened seats installed, new springs and keepers, and a good valve job. That expense will put you darn close to aftermarket, with fewer gains.
Cleveland heads can be done, but you need to find a unique intake for it that is expensive, and frankly, even two barrel heads flow way too much for a 289. Also, finding custom headers will be very expensive as well. Might just as well go with a whole cleveland motor.
I ended up throwing down $1500 to have my cleveland heads rebuilt to make good power, and that was with out porting b/c they didnt need it. So what you might spend to get stock heads to the performance level of after market, you just might want to go aftermarket. not as hard core as alum heads, but they make cast iron performance heads. I have a pair of world heads on my 289 and it makes pretty good power. Probly 250 hp and 300 ft/lbs.
351W heads used to be the ticket on 289s/302s when there werent any aftermarket heads available. Today, its really only worth it if you get the heads for free/near free, and use oversize valves and port extensively. Then, you have to adjust for the loss in CR, since the CCs of the 351 heads are larger than the ones you just took off.
351C heads on a Windsor motor arent cost-effective today. You need a specialized intake, do some water-passage mods/crossdrilling, etc.
IF you are starting from scratch on a reasonable budget, better to get World irons, Roush irons, or Edelbrock alum or equivalent. If you can spend more, my first choice would be AFRs.
Having said that, I have ported/1.94-1.62v 351Ws on my 347 . But then the heads were free and I ported them myself....I will upgrade to AFRs sometime in the future. I hope