Yesterday I took my engine apart a little bit to see what is what. I am planning on replacing the stock 302 heads with a new pair of either edelbrock rpms or trick flows. Which is the better of the two? I've been back and forth we people about which brand makes a better head and I can't decide. Cost wise they are about the same so i'm not sure. My old heads weren't in bad condition, all one had was a broken thread. I still have the original intake and carb too that I can sell on ebay. I'm also going to be replacing my cam and lifters. For rockers I am going with comp cams Ultra Gold rockers. since the engine is mostly apart should I bother taking it out and repainting it or change anything else on it? Thanks for the feedback.







CAM SPECS:

Brand: COMP Cams
Manufacturer's Part Number: CL31-442-8
Part Type: Camshaft and Lifter Kits
Product Line: COMP Cams Magnum Retro-Fit Cam and Lifter Kits
Summit Racing Part Number: CCA-CL31-442-8

Cam Style: Hydraulic roller tappet
Basic Operating RPM Range: 2,500-6,000
Intake Duration at 050 inch Lift: 224
Exhaust Duration at 050 inch Lift: 224
Duration at 050 inch Lift 224 int./224 exh.
Advertised Intake Duration: 284
Advertised Exhaust Duration: 284
Advertised Duration 284 int./284 exh.
Intake Valve Lift with Factory Rocker Arm Ratio: 0.533 in.
Exhaust Valve Lift with Factory Rocker Arm Ratio: 0.533 in.
Valve Lift with Factory Rocker Arm Ratio 0.533 int./0.533 exh. lift

 

I like trick flows and they come with rockers.

 

+1 go for the trickflow twisted wedges. the only problem is you would have to cut your pistons for the valves due to the way they are set up

 

Which Trick Flows come with rockers?? All the ones I looked at didnt. Please let me know, I'm looking at getting a set for my 347 build.

 

You should mic the cylinders. If you have no access to mic's contact your local auto machine shop. They can come and do it. In the old days there was no charge for this, but today, they will probably charge a nominal fee.

If there is very little ridge and the cylinders mic good AND the engine was not smoking, noisy and had good oil pressure, then you can leave it in the car and do the other work that you are planning.

As far as heads go, the trick flows are probably a little better, but make sure you use the smaller intake volume versions.

How is it geared? Is it a stick?

 

Well, if you clean out the lumps and bumps for smog injectors inside the exhaust ports, and match them to your shortys, you can do pretty well. A guy I know on another forum did this, a first timer no less, and his 289 with C9OZ-C hydraulic cam (nowhere near as stout as yours) pulled 321 hp on the dyno. Not bad for a couple hours' work on the exhaust ports.

Here's a set of 289 heads that have been port-matched.

 

This is just my opinion but if you have your motor that far apart i would go ahead and take it out. For me it would save alot of back pain by avoiding holding 30 pound wieghts out with me bent over. Also it would give you a chance to do a good job of freshening up the paint in those hard to reach areas. But this is just me.

 

Ok I just looked for the trick flow head kits and I guess I was wrong. I bought my trick flows from a guy name Dan at Pacifica Performance in Temecula Ca. I thought it was all in one package. I got the heads, push rods, guide plates, rocker arms that I thought was one package. But I also bought a camshaft, lifters, timing chain, full Mac exhaust system and a rebuilt T5 transmission for him for $2500. I would have bet money that the head stuff with the rockers came as a package but it looks like I'm mistaken. Sorry about that.

Here is his web site. http://www.pacificaperformance.com/index.asp You might want to email him and see what kind of deal he can do for you. He has the trick flows on his site for $1199 but I'm not sure what is included with them.

 

+1 on the TFS if you're not porting. i love the alus for their side effect of getting rid of massloads of weight up front. difference of day and night in my car.

we had the discussion before with Tad (Starfury) when he chose his. I tuned out when cpr and 67m302 chimed in with quench etc, i just didn't understand it anymore.... it was what cpr recommended and I would go with his opinion.
as with the valve rreliefs, I hear completely different. 1.9 intake edelbrock match stock. 2.02 edelbrock need valve relieves, and the TFS are the only SBF 2.02 heads that don't need relieves due to a completely different valve geometry (valves come in straighter), but sure doublecheck with manufacturer and cam specs.
I'll see if I can whack it into desktop dyno tomorrow, see if there's a difference with the advertised headflow numbers and your cam (if that's a reliable measurement I wouldn't know)

 

Don't count out AFR 165's!!!

Do you remember where all those parts go?