A little more oomph
Well here’s what I ended up doing: I bought some 302 heads that already had 1.88/1.60s in them. I spent about 18 hours porting them after watching videos, especially @MOPAROFFICIAL videos on porting 302s (thanks btw). I did not do quite as much as he did on the videos but I did as much as I was comfortable with. I had a 3 angle valve job and heads resurfaced. I lightly ported my performer intake just to get the ports opened where they neck down for the small port heads. I had issues with intake lining up. I believe the prior owner may have slightly milled the heads, but I’m not pulling them off to find out more. I found some Hedmans that were new in the box since the 90s.
Fired it up last night. Took about 30 seconds tuning the carb and took it out. I did not retime it. HUGE difference. Last year my buddy’s 454 Chevelle would pull on me but last night I hung with him fine. Was really surprised. Car needs a little more timing and probably a little bigger carb. Very happy with the results other than the VHT not holding up lol. Appreciate everyone’s input along the way. I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m a 302 head fan now, but I’m a fan of the right combo with the right port work, and I believe on my little 318 with what all has been done, it’s a nice little combo. I’m sure there’s more in it with a performer rpm or air gap and a 650 Holley, but for now I will enjoy the setup and seeing what I can do. Thanks for the input guys.
Well here’s what I ended up doing: I bought some 302 heads that already had 1.88/1.60s in them. I spent about 18 hours porting them after watching videos, especially @MOPAROFFICIAL videos on porting 302s (thanks btw). I did not do quite as much as he did on the videos but I did as much as I was comfortable with. I had a 3 angle valve job and heads resurfaced. I lightly ported my performer intake just to get the ports opened where they neck down for the small port heads. I had issues with intake lining up. I believe the prior owner may have slightly milled the heads, but I’m not pulling them off to find out more. I found some Hedmans that were new in the box since the 90s.
Fired it up last night. Took about 30 seconds tuning the carb and took it out. I did not retime it. HUGE difference. Last year my buddy’s 454 Chevelle would pull on me but last night I hung with him fine. Was really surprised. Car needs a little more timing and probably a little bigger carb. Very happy with the results other than the VHT not holding up lol. Appreciate everyone’s input along the way. I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m a 302 head fan now, but I’m a fan of the right combo with the right port work, and I believe on my little 318 with what all has been done, it’s a nice little combo. I’m sure there’s more in it with a performer rpm or air gap and a 650 Holley, but for now I will enjoy the setup and seeing what I can do. Thanks for the input guys.
