Appreciate the advise and experience...In the 600cfm range, I've had Holley, Summit, and Edelbrock carburetors, and for my money, the Edelbrock 1406 (electric choke 600cfm) is the clear winner for a street 302 with mild mods.
The basic differences are as such:
The Edelbrock is 99% a "set it and forget it" solution, and is as close as you'll get to 100% without converting to EFI. It forgives novice carb tuners, has excellent street manners and drivability right out of the box when sized right. It's only drawback is that fuel will evaporate right out of the bowls if the car isn't driven frequently, something the other two are less prone to.
Holley is for the tinkerer or the one who wants maximum performance. Imminently tuneable and adjustable with a plethora of parts to make it do whatever you want, the Holley can do things the Edelbrock simply won't do with an experienced wrench-turner working on it. The biggest downside to the Holley is that they're far more sensitive to atmospheric changes, and you will find yourself making adjustments at least twice a year.
Summit's carburetor is a cheap and decent solution, but I wasn't crazy about it. Setting it up is easy enough, but it required partial disassembly of the carburetor to do so, something a Holley or Edelbrock won't require unless you make a jet change. The one I bought had some quality issues as well, and I ended up making a trip to the parts store for brass fittings to replace the leaky parts included with the carb. While it was easy to tune and ran well, I kept thinking "I should've spent the extra few dollars on an Edelbrock" the whole time.
For what looks right on a Ford -500cfm will run a 302 very nicely all day with snappy throttle response and good fuel economy, but 600cfm is usually the "happy place" for a mildly modded 302. If overall performance at the top end of the rpm range isn't a concern, the 500 will probably make you happy.
The formula has always suggested 450-550 cfm for any 5.0L engine I've run, but the old hot rodder's wisdom of multiplying the CID by 2 for your ideal CFM has worked better for me. That said, I've also ignored both and run a smaller carburetor when that's all I've had or was after better fuel economy. (I've even run a Rochester 2G on a big block when gas was $4/gallon).
The Summit carb is a copy of a copy, or to be more accurate, an adaptation of an adaptation. It's based on the Holley 4010 which was based on the Autolite 4100.
The Summit works well enough, and if you're going for something that looks like it belongs on a Ford it's the automatic winner over the generic-looking Holley 4160 family or the Mopar-like Edelbrock.
Agreed. I also think it’s interesting Holley now owns Demon and QFT that were updating their designs.This is true, but the street carbs Holley sells these days visually look kind of generic.
It could be because I've seen that design on virtually everything out there.
When I have looked at these seems they don't come on till after 3000 rpm.....It's a roller block, so I'd honestly recommend an E cam or B cam. It's gonna sound great, play nice with the carb, give you a modest bump in power, and combined with the carb will have an old-school sound and vibe.
I am going to use the GT40 P heads that came on the engine I bought, unless they are in bad shape... Haven't got to them yet..Unless you go custom, run the stock HO cam. For a grocery getter light to light it can't be beat. Save some money and think about a set of used twisted wedge heads. Not sure it gets much better than that for a grocery getter combo.
The big sometimes keep getting bigger and we lose some of the small guys we like....Agreed. I also think it’s interesting Holley now owns Demon and QFT that were updating their designs.
I am going to use the GT40 P heads that came on the engine I bought, unless they are in bad shape... Haven't got to them yet..
HO cam, any links to one of these?
I am going to use the GT40 P heads that came on the engine I bought, unless they are in bad shape... Haven't got to them yet..
HO cam, any links to one of these?
I am starting to like this idea more....It's a roller block, so I'd honestly recommend an E cam or B cam. It's gonna sound great, play nice with the carb, give you a modest bump in power, and combined with the carb will have an old-school sound and vibe.
I am looking for a cam so I can start to assemble my short block.. Can we talk about the heads at a later date?? I appreciate everybody's comments here, but if you want to go pee in your cheerios, that is your choice.....Match the cam’s power band to the power band of the intake.
if you are not taking it the heads to a machine shop with lift specs in hand for the cam, before you get springs I hope you like coil bind or valve float. I’ve been trying to save you money, but I’m tagging out since you do not really want sound advice.
Maybe you’ll get lucky with a parts number guess, maybe parts will hit and it will get exciting.
(@CarMichael Angelo)
The E cam was everyone's go-to cam in the late 90s and early 00s to make a mostly stock 5.0 fox sound amazing, bump the power up enough to feel it, and not screw up fuel economy or drivability. We're talking pure bolt-in cars that were usually even running the stock intake. Take a listen here:
View: https://youtu.be/cNWv5WpamPc
Even though technology passed the alphabet cams by in performance over the years, they are still a great value with a distinct sound for a street car where all out performance isn't the goal and drivability is important.
It sent me a notice even though I unsubscribed. Please listen.Is this what a B or E cam sounds/idles like? While I plan on having quiet mufflers, I am not sure I want my car to have that much "lopeyness"...
You're not wrong, but I think you're overthinking this if I'm understanding Limo's wants and needs from this engine (and I may not be).
I think I might have started it with my custom cam suggestion, but no, this IS getting overthought... If I put the stock Explorer cam back in it I would probably be happy.. Sounds like the isky might be closer to what I want, I will check it out.You're not wrong, but I think you're overthinking this if I'm understanding Limo's wants and needs from this engine (and I may not be).
I am looking at the beehive springs from Alex's parts, new pushrods, and the Lunati roller tip rockers... I have not purchased these items yet, before having the heads checked out by the machine shop.. right now I am getting my short block paid for ...Matt, I am concerned that he’s going to need different springs with even a stock 5.0 cam than are on the GT-40P heads. He best be checking about coil bind and valve float with anything more.
I have built the engine he describes, but with E-7 heads. It will be fun and not obnoxious with the right combo.
Les
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