318 low budget heads change

rumblefish360 said
The 302's port out very well and should be done to a 360 sized window and etc.... The biggest reason for the 302 heads mention is the ability to port out with a small chamber as cast. As cast, it is fine for the everyday driver with minimal cam increase.

Wasn't it hot rod that had serious casting failure when they opened 302 intake ports up to 360 size? Regardless- you'll only ever be matching the 360 head flow and the reality of it is that Magnums are just better in every regard. The amount of investment it'd take to make 302s better than 360 heads would get you Magnums or a complete Magnum motor. Add in the factor of how scared people often are with cams, lower CR is better than too much for the build.

Even the milling isn't a good idea if someone's not going to run enough cam. People get too caught up with CR to remember why these motors didn't have it. As much as you'll ever try to make people realize it'll have plenty of torque, most will end up putting a cam about the same size as a 360-2LD in it. If you're not departing heavily from stock, extra CR is just going to make you spend more on gas- I will take better flow over CR every day of the week on a near-stock motor. I'm actually driving a formerly 302-head 318 truck daily now. It's still slow since it's a 4x4 with 3.2s, but the stock motor with 302s had probably 10-20 less HP up top, ran far worse in changing conditions, and I could never get away with as much timing on 89 let alone 87. It's down like 1-2mpg from where it used to be, and it was worth both. Burn an extra 2 gallons that're at least .20something cents cheaper going into the 35 gallon tank. And honestly- what I really should've done was get a Magnum motor with everything to put in it to burn 87 in that with another 30hp or so.

rumblefish360 said
Also, when I see budget, I figure that it is ether spend the normal amount for a head rebuild or spend 1-1/2 - 2 times more for a performance build. Aluminum heads, aftermarket rockers etc....
It's a bit more than rebuilding stock parts of replacing them with stock parts. And there is where budget goes out the window.

The problem that ends up in budget is balancing where to spend money to achieve the goal.