Stock engine, want new heads. What should I choose?

Well a lot of things keep the 5.0 from really running but since you asked about heads, I'll stick to that. There are a lot of heads out there but half of them are race heads and will do more harm than good for your engine. It really depends on what you want out of your heads. I personally dont believe in factory iron heads unless you are on a budget because for a few bucks more and a lot less weight you can get aluminum heads. For a street car running a stock 302, I would recommend staying at or under 170cc intake runners and 1.94 intake valves due to piston clearance unless you have trickflows. Pretty much all aftermarket heads are a direct bolt on so you shouldnt have to worry about that. It all boils down to budget and purpose. So heres a little breakdown. AFR 165s(165cc intake runners and 1.94 intake valves), from what I hear are the best for power and purpose and run around $1300 with free shipping from pretty much anywhere. TrickFlow Twisted Wedge(170/2.02), a great head that has been in the market for a long time and you cant really go wrong. Its the only head in the market that allows for 2.02 valves on stock pistons due to the angle of the valves but this requires different length pushrods but you should be changing those anyways. And for around $1000-1100 you cant go wrong. Edelbrock Performer/5.0(1.94 valves and I believe 170 intake also), these heads are great too and Edelbrock makes good stuff. Same price as TrickFlow and probably the same power. Iron GT40's, around $500 but they are very heavy. They have the smallest valves, I think in the 1.8X range, and the smallest runners, but they will make fair amount of power over stock. There are other heads but they are very similar to the Edelbrock design. Again, its up to you, but those are some quick notes and tips for ya.

just one note on mass air conversion... finished mine in bout 1hr and 30 min.. have not finished but i got the 4 main wires runin from teh MAF to the computer and all wires moed to the designated positions... only costed me 70 bucks too... and is runin strong

I would vote...........Yes you could.........there should be no logical reason as to why there would be any issues, regarding the stroking of the engine.

cubes play no part in clearance issues with heads. If anything you'll gain clearance in piston to valve sense because the aftermarket pistons you get will be notched for larger valves.

_JB_ said:

Sweet, so I wouldn't be wasting my money. Do you guys know of a good place to buy a 331 kit?

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www.dssracing.com

The stock short block can make lots of power.....do not rush to stroke it. You should upgrade your intake, T/B's, injectors, x pipe, subframes, UCA's, LCA'S, or you are just gonna be spinning the tires and they all can do that. You will get more out of the heads if you improve other areas first. The stock cam is supposed to be good for a while....unless you want different idle sound and need a higher lift. I would not rush even for heads but they are one of the biggest power mods you can do. The straight pipes (no connector are SUPPOSED to lose power. The pulses of the engine are different and flow is effected, or maybe just sound differs but tht is only what I heard. A nice cat back with nice tips you cannot go wrong. My car came with long tubes catted H and flowmaster catback with LX tips.