Someone put 302 heads on my Lightning. More info....

[Devin]

I am so pissed I am about to die.


If you've read my thread titled need help identifying these heads, then you'll know I have a funky set of heads on my truck.

Yeah so funky in fact, my buddy's 93 5.0 F-150 has the SAME heads as my 93 L does. Yes that's right they are regular F-150 heads.

Who and more importantly WHY would someone do this? The GT-40s rule on the cast iron side. My truck has always been a low mileage truck and I don't see any reason why they would have put regular truck heads on it.

BTW its number 2783 , its a 93, and it was made 5/1993 if that helps.

Any thoughts? I mean even if it's just that my truck missed out on the GT's please chime in.

 

[NateLightning]

Pull um off and see if there fully ported and polished with oversized valves. That would be the only reason I see someone would do it.

 

[Devin]

Is pulling them a big job, my buddy off of this board 351WFO can help me, but I don't wanna put him thru a whole lot of work lol.

Would those ported and polished flow better than stock heads?

 

[NateLightning]

When it comes to porting its all a question of how much money you wana spend. Never pulled the heads off one so I couldn't tell. I'd say it wouldn't be a 1hr job for sure.

 

[LightningWX]

Thats the dumbest thing I have ever heard in my life(measly 19 years, but still). Pull off your heders, look inside the exhaust ports. Should be able to tell if there proted just from that. Do you know who you bought your truck from?

 

[core-rider]

Hate to try and make your problem worse, but have you looked at the casting # on the block? I second pulling the headers. If they are ported, then if these people had any brains at all they would have done most of the work on the exhaust side. Should have at leadt taken out the casting flash and the EGR bumps on the top side of the ports. Sorry to hear your problems man...

 

[Brian Baskin]

Ugh, sorry to hear the news, but I'm sure there's some reason behind it. Maybe an old owner got a good deal on ported heads ... or maybe he crashed the GT-40s, and bought the cheapest thing he could get ...

 

[95Lightning2]

Look at it this way, at least it runs ok with them now and you won't have any excuses later for not putting some aftermarket heads on that would flow better than the GT-40s anyhows. Think positive!:tu:

 

[RED SVT]

Ill sell ya some GT-40 heads....................off of my lightning... they are sitting in my garage............

 

[FMOS Racing]

Good point about checking the block casting number...

It does have the GT40 intake, right?

 

[MO351]

Hey Devin, can you post up some pics of your motor?

 

[Devin]

Hey guys, thanks SO much for your helping me out.


My motor otherwise besides these stupid heads looks identical to the Lightning engine, I have the GT40 intake with the Lightning plate, crappy factory headers and everything.

I'm gonna leave the house and drive up a friend's house to snap some pics of the motor with a digital, and hopefully get some good pics of the heads to show you. Like I said, it is a Lightning engine, the eigth digit is an R, and all the parts are factory minus those stupid heads and what little I have done to it.


Anyway, we'll snap a few and get 'em up for you guys to investigate. When my pal James (351WFO on this board) comes back down next week or whatever, we shall pull and tinker if I can get him off the couch, j/k.
Should have my shift kit installed then too.

I do second the aftermarket heads though, Aluminum here I come.

Here's something to throw in the mix. Six months ago James ran an 8.9 in an 1/8 in his '94 White Lightning which translates to 13.9 roughly in a quarter. We raced thru a quarter mile from a dead stop, and it was a dead even race. I'm not saying I run 13.9, (he left his OD on by accident), I'm just saying I've only got a few measly bolt on mods and I can hang with a truck like that. Something is up..

What a crock lol... who ever heard of 302 heads on a L? lol

I'll have to email the pics to someone like Brian and get him to post them, 'cuz I dunno how.

 

[Devin]

Oh yeah missed a couple quetions.

Carfax returned FIVE registrations on my truck, and it's from a different state, so needles to say, I don't have a clue as to who the others are, but I will go and ask the guy I bought it off of.

And I'll try and find the casting # on the block, I know its around the starter. Now what's a starter look like? .....

Being 18 and clueless sucks guys, thank God I'm going to Wyotech lol.

 

[FMOS Racing]

Devin,

Never use street racing as a comparison - it's WAY too innacurate a benchmark to draw any conclusions.

The starter is the cylinder mounted next to the engine on the bottom of the passenger side.

 

[LightningWX]

In addition to what jeff said, it's in the bellhouseing. I sticks out forward twards the block. Can't miss it. Don't sweat being young, I'm only 19. I was supercharged before I was 18 and I do all of my own work.

 

[Red 93 L1 #3383]

The 351 uses 1/2" head bolts and the 302 uses 7/16" head bolts. That means the heads weren't a direct bolt on, some work had to be done to install them. Also what sparkplug do you use, friends 5.0; GT40's use a longer reach than a stock 351. Do some more research and see what comes of it.

 

[Mike Gager]

what are you using to confirm they are 302 heads? GT40 heads are iron you know

gt40 heads will have a GT making under the drivers side rear most spark plug and under the passenger side front spark plug

it will look like the head on the right in this picture

http://www.geocities.com/motorcitymustang/plug01.jpg

they will also have markings on the end of the heads similar to these in this picture. only difference is that there will only be 3 bars instead of 4 (these are GT40P heads)

http://www.geocities.com/motorcitymustang/gtp03.jpg

youll have to copy and paste the links

 

[SVT-FAN]

That does seem very odd that some one would do this I would say use the info Mike just gave and all the other idea's also and see what you come up with.If they were going to spend money to port those heads you think they would have just spent the money on the gt40's the truck already had on it

 

[Devin]

LightningWX and FMOS thanks very much, I will try to locate the cast #.

Also for Mike, look at my post on here called "need help identyifing which heads these are" or something like that.
theyre identical to 302 heads, and they have none of the markings of GT40's.

As far as pics of the motor, my buddy had to go to out of town to a doctor, so I didn't get a chance to snap some pics.

I still dunno what's goin on, I'll get back to you guys.

 

[RED SVT]

Yeah done sweat being young..... I was 16 when i bought the truck........ I did the vortech on my own before i was 17 then lost my licence now 90 days later i have my licence and the truck is apart again getting some trickflows and a cam from cam motion......... Most kids think im crazy for spending all my money on my truck but i just want to show them what potential the L really has....... hopefully one day when she is done and im 30 or 40 it will be like jason browns or vorhees truck......Maybee ill be the youngest to get into the 11s with an L



jim