New guy from Arkansas

[bigpullerman]

Hello from Ark. I came across your forum when I did a google search for fastest Ranger 302.
I built my 98 Ranger for Drag Racing. It took about 5 years to complete and made it first pass
last May. I run the 1/8 mile tracks here in Ark. I have a 308 with 289 heads, Victor Jr intake,
flat tappet cam. Best time so far is 7.51 @ 90 mph with a 1.61 60ft. Got the motor out for a
little check over and fixing an intake leak. I had cut the block .020 and had alignment issues and
finally figured out I had an air leak. When I get it all back together I hope to have some better
numbers. Mine weighs 2960 with me in it. I have completely gutted it out since it was going to be
a race only truck. It is stock suspension with slapper bars and I run 28" X 10.5" tires. It has a C4
with a 5000 stall and 5.71 gears. I also have an 83 Mustang with a 351w that has run a best of
7.42 at 92 mph with a 1.59 60 ft. I like my Mustang but it is only just another fox body. Which
there are lots of them at the strip. Don't see many Rangers though and even fewer that are true
blue with a Ford motor in them. My buddies tell me that I am wasting my time on the Ranger should
put my efforts toward the Mustang. Well that is just not what I want to do and I can be pretty
stubborn about things. My goal is to get into the 6.90s with the 308 with iron heads, flat tappet cam and on pump gas. I look forward to conversing with yall here.

[cgrey8]

Each person has their opinion, and yours, like most people here, is that performance Rangers are unique and worth doing just for the unique factor. Trucks, in general, are not performance vehicles. So people looking purely for performance understandably have the opinion that you should focus on the Mustang which is more performance oriented. But if being another fox at the track isn't your intention, then that's not what your focus should be on.

I am curious why the desire to stick with iron heads? If it's just the challenge of making power on stock heads, then I can understand that. But if it is your intention to get everything you can out of a Ranger, then stock heads of any type are probably not going to serve you well...unless that's just all the budget has to offer.

As for iron, don't get me wrong, aftermarket RPS cast iron aftermarket heads are nice. They are the AFRs of cast iron. But there are few, if ANY, production heads that can compare to what an average aftermarket head can do out of the box without expensive mods. The GT40 and GT40p are the highest flowing production head I'm aware of...and have decent combustion chamber characteristics. There are articles that talk about porting them and even replacing the valves with larger valves. But when done, their flow rates even then are not that impressive. The valves aren't the weak link in stock heads. It's mostly port and bowl design that holds them back. Porting helps, but it doesn't eliminate their shortcomings. And this is coming from a guy that refused to upgrade away from the stock GT40p heads from the donor Explorer 5.0L and instead decided to port them. The reasons I did that were a little different.

Anyway, if you are looking for more brunt, upgrade heads are THE first step. In fact, when you upgrade the heads, you may find the radical cam that worked so well on the stock heads isn't necessary on aftermarket heads. One of the ways to make stock heads flow more is to put a "big" cam in which widens the duration of the valve open time. Sure, you suffer some low-RPM performance, but you get big gains at the top end. However on a smaller CID engine, big heads don't need that duration to get the same amount of air into the chambers and in fact, the wider duration sacrifices low-RPM performance needlessly. Now if you stroked the block to a 347 or you were topping a 351w that's been stroked to a 408w with 302-upgrade heads, that might change the strategy back to the big cam. My point is, if you are running a big cam out of necessity now, you probably won't need as radical of a cam anymore. And keeping it isn't likely to make you much, if any, more HP on a 302.

The other option to keep the heads is to boost the engine. A 5-6PSI boost can do wonders for stock headed engines to help shove a little more through them. Although again, the big cam isn't really going to work "with" the supercharger. If anything, you'll be loosing part of the PSI (and your fuel) right out the exhaust at low-to-mid RPMs due to a heavy overlap cam...assuming you have one.

That said, what is the cam?

[bigpullerman]

The reason for the iron heads is 2 fold. I had them and they had been ported by a good friend that has been porting heads 40 yrs. The other reason is we started a class a couple years age that is an all motor class, flat tappet cam, iron heads, stock suspension. I also have a set of GT 40 p that I am going to port and put on another motor that I am rebuilding. It is a budget motor also. The cam in it now is a Lunati 292/299 263/271 at 50. I am running a 750 demon carb. I eventually plan on a 331 or 347. I am staying with the 8.2 deck motor though cause I had to make my headers which are 1 3/4 primaries and 3" collectors. Who knows, If I could save up enough $$$$$ I just might go Dart block 363???? I am staying with the Iron heads as long as our iron head class is going but if it ever goes away I will probably go aluminum. I even have a third project that I started about 25 yrs ago. A 70 Maverick. It will be a back half car and a bigger engine. I started it then had to put on hold while I raised a family but I am a very lucky man that I have a wife that loves drag racing and even helps me with my cars and truck.

[cgrey8]

...I also have a set of GT 40 p that I am going to port and put on another motor that I am rebuilding. It is a budget motor also...

As production heads go, the GT40p heads aren't bad performers. It just sucks their altered plug angle has to make them so annoying to find headers for. But GT40p exhaust ports have a design drawback in them that if you don't know about when porting will actually make them flow LESS if hogged out. One side of the port actually produces backflow at light and medium flowrates as seen with a flow wand. The string on the wand literally sucks back into the port at light flow rates due to a venturi affect of the exhaust flowing around a turn. Removing more metal on that side of the exhaust port will exacerbate the problem, not make it less. This is contrary to traditional porting logic since most heads flow better the more you can hog them out.

As good as the GT40 and GT40p heads are compared to the E7 and older stock Windsor heads, they still have limitations that are mainly related to how short they are. Aftermarket manufacturers overcome this problem by increasing the thickness of the head. I tried to find a side-by-side of a stock head next to an aftermarket head to show how much taller an aftermarket head is. But I couldn't find one with a quick google search.

...The cam in it now is a Lunati 292/299 263/271 at 50...

That's definitely a "big" cam and is why your cast heads are doing as well as they are. You didn't say the LSA, but my guess is it's probably somewhere around 108-110. Aftermarket heads (cast or aluminum) wouldn't need that much cam on a 302. And depending on how big the heads are, may not even need that much cam on a 347.

Another detail is that if your block can support it, you'll do better with roller cams. They are the defacto standard today on Ford engines. It doesn't mean flat tappet cams are no good. It just means rollers are more available and of course are better as well as more reliable. But which you choose is mostly a preference. As long as you know how to break in a flat tappet cam, it's not that big of a deal. What's more important is the cam's specs.

...I am running a 750 demon carb...

That's a little oversized, but if this is a race-only vehicle, it's probably not a big deal. A 302 even with big boost wouldn't be able to swamp a 650. But oversizing carbs is a tradition it seems.

...I eventually plan on a 331 or 347...

I built a 331 and in retrospect, I wish I'd gone 347. People tried to tell me to go to a 347, but I had it in my head that a 331 was "better." And for higher RPMs, it is. But I don't do higher RPMs. But what's done is done. All I can do is relay my opinion based on my experience.

...If I could save up enough $$$$$ I just might go Dart block 363????...

I'd love to have a Dart block too. However if I was going to spend that kind of money, I'd want an aluminum block. But you REALLY have to "need" a Dart to justify their cost. And by need, I mean an application where you are running high boost, high RPMs, and an application that can plant 700+HP to the ground. That's not a 2wd Ranger...maybe a 4wd/AWD, but then you have the issue of where the hell are you going to get a Xfer case that can handle that? If you could, that would be one hell of a mean machine.

...I am staying with the Iron heads as long as our iron head class is going but if it ever goes away I will probably go aluminum...

Do they have to be stock iron? Or do they just need to be iron? If they can be aftermarket, then consider RPS cast iron heads. They are great heads. There are others as well that are decent if there's budget for them. Most any reputable aftermarket head is going to be better than stock heads, even stock ported.

...I even have a third project that I started about 25 yrs ago. A 70 Maverick. It will be a back half car and a bigger engine...

Back 20 years ago, that wouldn't be unusual. But as time goes on, 70s era vehicles are becoming a little more unusual. I would LOVE to have one of the old Firebirds like the one in Smokey In the Bandit. I think muscle cars peaked at that era and just went down hill from that point. Performance has gotten better. Suspensions have gotten better. Reliability has gotten a LOT better. But the closest thing that's come close to competing in looks, to me, is the modern Dodge Charger that the Police use. That's a MEAN looking car from the front and side. From the back, it looks generic. Again just my opinion...

[bigpullerman]

Cam is a 106 lsa. What are these RPS heads you speak of?????

[cgrey8]

Excuse me, RHS. RPS is an abbreviation I use at work.
http://www.racingheadservice.com/

My guess is you'll want the 180cc version. The 160cc heads are the recommendation for 302 daily driver street machines that need manners (i.e. low idle and smooth low RPM acceleration) as well as performance. But all-out race engines from 302-351w can handle the 180cc. However I still believe that big cam isn't really going to be your friend with upgrade heads. I'd think something like the specs on the Comp XE274HR12 is more what you'd want. But that's a roller cam. I'm sure they make a non-roller or similar version.