Adding more HP?

Yellwstang21 · Oct 21, 2004

Hey guys, I posted here about 2 weeks ago on making my car run faster. Well I managed to get a t-5 and am having it installed this weekend by a friend. I also am having a guy put 3.73 posi gears into my rearend as soon as the t-5 is done. I have a 3-speed with like 2.__ something gears in the rearend.

I know that this will definitely help out my car and wake it up a little bit. I was wondering what else I could do, to the engine, to get some more HP and make it even quicker than it is now.

My engine is a 302 .060. I have STOCK heads, a melling cam (i have a friend that works for them so I got it for free, I couldnt pass it up at the time. I am not postive at the time which melling cam it is) An edelbrock 650(?) carb and performer intake. I have dual exhaust (The right way, not the H pipe) with headers and flowmaster 50s.

My engine is a 78 302, So my first guess would be to get headers. Do any of you guys have some ideas on some headers to buy? I just put a lot of $$ into the t-5 and rearend so i am looking for a cheap set of headers that will add improvement. Any ideas or suggestions would be great. Also, any other cheap improvement suggestions are welcome.

I understand that things are expensive and obviously improvements wont be incredible but I want something to increase HP until I come up with the money for nice, expensive upgrades. Thanks

gp001 · Oct 21, 2004

Yellwstang21 said:
I have dual exhaust (The right way, not the H pipe)

You mean Y pipe (ie 2 into 1), cause there's nothin wrong with an H pipe

Yellwstang21 said:
I understand that things are expensive and obviously improvements wont be incredible but I want something to increase HP until I come up with the money for nice, expensive upgrades. Thanks

Try some performance stickers on the fenders, unnecessary neon lighting, or a wing in your search for HP

Yellwstang21 · Oct 21, 2004

Thanks for nothing, and yes I meant Y pipe. The H and Y are right next to eachother

allcarfan · Oct 21, 2004

define "cheap"

Yellwstang21 · Oct 21, 2004

Lol cheap as in hopefully somewhere to pick up some heads that would be an improvement as opposed to buying brand new heads. Like off of another engine, etc. I really am willing to listen to any suggestions though

Stang_1973 · Oct 21, 2004

Your best "cheap" head will prolly be a set of GT-40 heads(not GT-40P). These came on cobras and some explorers. Do you have the specs on your cam? This will help alot. Oh, and making sure the engine is tuned will help alot also.

Yellwstang21 · Oct 21, 2004

I think that my camshaft is the MTF-1 24101, on the melling product page. I am not 100% positive at this time.

http://www.melling.com/products/melling_catalog.pdf

That is the website for the cam. The cam is on page 20. Im not sure which numbers you are looking for so i just gave you the site.

jerry S · Oct 22, 2004

Yellwstang21 said:
Im not sure which numbers you are looking for so i just gave you the site.

the numbers that are relevant are going to be lift, duration, etc. My cam shaft grind and carb were selected based on how the heads flowed. You want components that complement each other.

Doc Voodoo · Oct 22, 2004

You need to have an H or and X between them.
2 Straight pipes not as good. A Y pipe is used on single exaust.

Stang_1973 · Oct 22, 2004

The cam in the catalog is pretty similair if not exact to the edlebrock performer cam I believe. Good low end torque for daily driving. The split profile helps exhuast gases get out easier.

I am not sure if I understand you exhuast setup though. how does a Y-pipe=Dual exhaust. what you want is the headers to come off the block then into an H-pipe or X-pipe, then go out through two individual pipes through individual mufflers. That is dual exhuast.

Another thing since the engine is a 78, are your heads 78 castings as well? Like I previousley posted. A set of GT-40 heads are an affordable Mod. Some Flowtech headers would be nice as well.

allcarfan · Oct 22, 2004

I would suggest some Tri Y headers. They run about $150. The gt40 heads would be a good choice too. Especially if you port them a little bit. Have you thought about changing your rear gears? That would be a really big improvement in performance.

John Z · Oct 22, 2004

It is hard to believe that with the amount of work you have done, you do not have headers. Headman 4 tubes for $90 are recommended in the attached thread http://www.mustangsandmore.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/005310.html
The guy that preparedthe list holds/held national records for dragging Mustangs w/302 V8. You are not getting full benefit of your current mods if the engine cannot "breath out".
HTH

Stang_1973 · Oct 22, 2004

He said he is putting in a 3.73 gear. That sounds really good. What kind of posi you getting. Auburn, Powertrax, ?
If you save up you can get some AFR or twisted wedge heads. But they will cost you your left hand.

John Z · Oct 22, 2004

Stang_1973 said:
If you save up you can get some AFR or twisted wedge heads. But they will cost you your left hand.

So he will have to replace that T5 with an automatic. Hard to steer and shift with only one hand.

charlies · Oct 22, 2004

well, if he were just running at the strip, he could probably keep it straight enough while shifting. i wouldn't want to try it, but theoretically, it is possible. i say go for it. give up the hand.

'69Stang · Oct 22, 2004

I would put a plan together of what you want for performance first. Parts need to work together as a system in order to work well or be optimized. When you get it right the results are usually great. And you’ll save time and money in the long run. My recommendations (and I went down the same road with a similar set-up) are:
1. Better cam, the current one you have is a daily driver cam. 2. Better heads, a set of worked GT-40’s is a great idea and can be had for $500. Heads are critical, get the best ones you can afford or wait. Get roller rockers, too. 3. Get headers. 4. Better intake - get a Weiand Excellerator, Edelbrock Performer RPM, or the Weiand Stealth. 5. A new carb is debatable. Personally, I like a 650 Holley DP for a 302 with a manual trans. 6. You are getting gears, they are necessary. 7. Miscellaneous – electronic ignition (Petronix for a budget, MSD for more dough).

You can sell your current intake and carb. I would get everything and do it all at once, though you could do it in chunks, but you’ll spend a lot more time re-doing things. This combination will produce a very fun and very quick set-up.

latamud · Oct 22, 2004

I get cheap superchargers on Ebay. I buy them in pieces. $50 for brackets, $300-600 for the head unit, rebuilt holley red fuel pump $40, drive belt $10 etc... Yes you'd be limiting the supercharger by throwing it on an engine with stock heads but it is still fun. I wait until I find a deal and I jump on it. I'm on my second supercharger in the car. Only because I neglected the first one. I own 5 head units, out of which I have 3 complete kits. Paxton, Vortech, Powerdyne, McCulloch. The vortech and powerdyne brackets are the same. A McCuloch and older Paxton are too. Theres bang for your buck. After I installed the first supercharger I decided I would have one on every car I own. Well, every hot rod. No I don't have 5 hot rods. Good luck on your quest.

Oh yeah, I wouldn't take gp001's post too personally. We all have bad days. Sometime we forget that we were newbies too. And please, lets just leave it at that, cause I can see this getting drawn out.

Have fun!

gp001 · Oct 22, 2004

latamud said:
Oh yeah, I wouldn't take gp001's post too personally. We all have bad days. Sometime we forget that we were newbies too. And please, lets just leave it at that, cause I can see this getting drawn out.

Have fun!

What do you mean? I was serious. I was gonna say naaaaawwzz, but figured that wasn't cheap

Yellwstang21 · Oct 22, 2004

I do have headers, They are hookers. My dual exhaust is an X pipe.

As for upgrading the performance on my car, I am in college so money is a little harder to come by. I do work to pay for college so it does not leave me a whole lot of left over money for the car. So I have to do the upgrades in bits and pieces.

I know that my parts dont match up exactly but for being my first time through at the age of 18, Its what I came up with. I learn as I go. I know better now than I did before and so I will eventually do it the right way.

So for the time being, thats why I look for cheap individual upgrades that I can get my hands on, like a set of used heads or something. Should I go to junkyards, etc... to find the GT40 heads or are they pretty cheap (not $1000+) new, then just have them worked until I can afford better ones at a later date. What would the price to have them worked be also, an estimate?

mustang2 · Oct 22, 2004

Doc Voodoo said:
You need to have an H or and X between them.
2 Straight pipes not as good.

Why is this? I don't understand the need for the H or X, instead of two straight pipes. Please enlighten me.

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