[Tpratt93]

Hey guys,
I'm fairly car smart..I'm reading and learning more about the 5.0's everyday. So I hope I don't irritate anyone with annoying/old questions. But anyways..my 89 is down right now for a rebuild due to piston rings going bad. I want to get around 300 wheel horsepower. I've read alot about the ford alphabet series cams, I've heard alot of negative reviews on them mostly because of being outdated, but I wanted to know a pretty good heads/cam combo? Are the GT40xAluminum heads any good? I've seen a set new for 600$, which isn't bad at all from what I've seen for prices on aluminum heads. If I were to get these heads what kind of cam should I run? I still want plenty of low end power as well as high end, up to let's say 5,000? Roughly..give or take some maybe. Are the GT40 intakes of a Explorer really worth the money? Off a cam, gt40x heads, and gt40 upper and lower intake what kind of gains should I expect? What size of Throttle body can the gt40 intake handle? As I heard the stock intake is up to 65mm? I just wanted to get these answers clear, as I've read and read, and heard so many mixed opinions it makes it hard to comprehend what's good or bad. But I'd really appreciate the feedback. Thanks
- Tanner

[horsepowerjunkie]

The GT40X heads are not a terrible head, they flow fairly decent numbers for a mild street build. If you can get a new complete set for $600, that's a steel. I've used several of the letter cams over the years, and they work OK. My last 5.0 build I had a stock 89 short block with E303, Twisted Wedge 170's, carb, etc. It ran good, but I then swapped out the E303 for a Comp XE266HR, and WOW what a difference! Way more power, way more driveabuility, light years ahead of the E cam. I would highly recommond it in a 302. As far as the Explorer intake, I've used it with very good results, but it's gona need some port matching. The lower has very small ports. A few years back I ran 11.69@114 with a stock 5.0 short block, Trick Flow Stage 1 cam, Twisted Wedge 170's and a ported Explorer intake. You can easily port the opening for a 70mm throttle body.

[Tpratt93]

Originally Posted by horsepowerjunkie The GT40X heads are not a terrible head, they flow fairly decent numbers for a mild street build. If you can get a new complete set for $600, that's a steel. I've used several of the letter cams over the years, and they work OK. My last 5.0 build I had a stock 89 short block with E303, Twisted Wedge 170's, carb, etc. It ran good, but I then swapped out the E303 for a Comp XE266HR, and WOW what a difference! Way more power, way more driveabuility, light years ahead of the E cam. I would highly recommond it in a 302. As far as the Explorer intake, I've used it with very good results, but it's gona need some port matching. The lower has very small ports. A few years back I ran 11.69@114 with a stock 5.0 short block, Trick Flow Stage 1 cam, Twisted Wedge 170's and a ported Explorer intake. You can easily port the opening for a 70mm throttle body.

I appreciate it! I'm not planning on building a 10sec car by any means. Low 12s, and I'd be pleased. Just wanting something with good reliability, good sound quality, but I still want that get up and go. Now-a-days the stock 5.0 really isn't making much more power then the average car, HP numbers anyways. So I'd still like to be head of technology. Another thing is staying on a budget. As I don't have a huge pocketbook, I'd like to spend my money as wisely as possible.

[johnGT]

Yeah the alphabet cams are the cavemen of cams. Pro comp and Steeda cams are some of the best ones out there.
The gt40x heads can easily get you to 300hp. You are going to need a decent cam to get there though. As for throttle body sizes and what not, 70-75mm should work just fine. Gt40 intake is also a good upgrade and will keep the powerband from dropping off early.

[gripthenboost]

gt40 heads and cobra upper and lower intake with 70mm throttle body and a vortech v1 on a 302 short block with notched pistons and a custom ground cam gave me around 330. This was on 93 octane and a very good gas milage plus my Ac works. ALl that cost me around $5,000. Im pretty sure its was below what i can actually put out, but i was happy and left it at that.

[HunterInFlames]

Im in the same boat as you hahaha