There is a set of heads on ebay now this is what it say's(THIS IS A USED PAIR OF CYLINDER HEADS OFF A 96 EXPLORER 5.0 GT 40 TYPE HEADS THE ARE MARKED GT NOT GTP ) Are these what I am looking for?

 

He doesn't show a pix of the end of the heads so you cannot see whether they are 3-line or 4-line heads. There's a reason for that.

If they're off an Explorer, they're 4-line, i.e. "P" heads. Nothing wrong with that, they'll bolt right up BUT you may need different exhaust manifolds or headers to access the spark plugs or you may not, it all depends on the brand of header and probably the phases of the moon.

If you can't score a set of 3-line heads, look for a set of GT-40P heads with the exhaust manifolds. Problem solved, or at least put into the hands of the exhaust shop to fix since they'll have to fab a pipe to connect to the Explorer manifolds.

 

so whats a good price for these 4 line heads that are for sale on eaby and do the 3 line heads show up on ebay often? how much do they go for?

 

i think i have a set of the cast iron gt 40s off a mustang, i got them after i built my motor and had my old heads worked i was going to keep them for a future project .. but i guess i could part with them , i will look monday and make sure they are the three line heads and get back to you. oh and be very carefull on ebay buying heads or any thing super heavy.. i was goin to get a 4bbl intake for my 352fe on my old truck and the intake was a deal, like $40 but the shipping was going to be like $140

 

let me know cavinandpavin if you are looking to get rid off them, I would put them on my 5.0 liter then when I build my 5.8 put them on it. These are around a 40 horse power upgrade is it?
Could someone tell me if there an advantage to putting stock 351 heads on a 302 or 302 heads on a 351?

 

Before you go messing around with stock heads, you first need to give them a flotation test. Pitch them in the lake. If they float they are worth working with; if they sink they would have made good boat anchors.

Seriously, the amount of time, money and effort you'll put into stockers just is not worth it. 351 truck heads have slightly smaller chambers and slightly bigger valves than 302 truck heads. The specs for the 351 heads are identical to the 302 HO heads used on the Mustang, so it may be the same head but that's only a guess on my part. At any rate the stock 351 heads are slightly better than the stock 302 heads but are surely nothing to write home about. If you spend hours reworking them, they'll probably flow just about the same as the GT-40s do out of the box.

If you're going to get serious about playing with your truck, you need to start frequenting swap meets in your area and see what's available and at what prices. You also need to develop a close personal friendship with the people at your friendly neighborhood junkyard. You will go broke in short order buying all new parts and/or buying stuff off of eBay.

 

stangerranger>>> ??for you, i pulled a set of heads off a mark7 (i think it was a 7) late 80s early 90's car when i did my motor and i have lot of other not so stock parts, 91 tbird computer / harnesswith mass air, and a low end cam(lunati voodoo) a set of hookers soon to have 2 1/2 pipes all the way out a little port matching on the intakes and stuff like that do you think i would be wise to rebuild another set of heads( like the gt40's i have) and put them on or would i be taking 3 steps back and 2 1/2 steps forward??...almost forgot it is a .020 over 88' 302 by the way i havent drove it yet, gettin the exhaust next week hopefully

 

there is one swap meet in my area every year that I go to and thanks strangeRanger for the reply on the swapping stock heads I will leave my 5.0 liter alone till I find a set of those GT 40s heads with the tree lines that will fit my exhaust.

 

Cavinandpavin:
I have no idea how much work you've done to those stock heads, but as a general statement, the GT-40s represent a significant upgrade over stock heads and it takes a lot of rework of the stockers to equal them.

An otherwise stock 302 H.O. gains 40-50 HP with GT-40 heads, intake, T/B, EGR spacer, roller rockers, fuel pump and shorty headers. That is a huge gain.

 

Just food for thought.

If you are spending money on the heads either way, just the cost of the headers and exhaust work will let you pick either type of GT-40. The headers cost about the same amount for either, so unless you were going to use stock manifolds with new heads, there isn't much of a total price difference.

Here's a link I had that has some flow numbers on both, along with the stockers and a couple aftermarket heads. Notice how both 40s outflow a couple aftermarket heads, especially at lower valve lifts.

http://<br /> http://jason.fletcher...a/castiron.htm

 

Where did you find headers that would work with the P heads on an F150? I searched everywhere for mine, and the only company I could find that makes them is a tiny family owned shop out in CA who makes a set called TorqueMonster. They are quite expensive, and would require a new custom Y pipe, or a dual exaust. I pulled the P's off, and had the engine builder ship me the heads I ordered, which were GT40. The engine builder doesn't seem to want the P heads back - go figure.

 

A set of Ford Racing Parts shorty's for the Explorer would fit the heads and would in all probability fit inside the engine bay of an F Series but the chances of them fitting up to the stock Y-pipe are about zero. Still a decent exhaust shop could cut and splice the y-pipe and make everything fit...for a price. It's a long way from a true bolt on like the 3 line heads, but it would solve the problem.

 

Agreed. I have seen several posts with various headers that fit the P heads, but as far as I've seen they all require some extra exhaust work. Of the owners with trucks it seems almost all shorty P headers will work since most are made for Mustangs.

For a while you could almost get the P heads for free, until people started grabbing them up from Explorers, so some extra money for the exhaust was still a good deal. With the prices being almost equal now in most cases, the P heads might not be worth it unless you get a great deal, or have access to cheap exhaust work or can DIY.

 

alll i really did to them was (from memory, i had the machine shop do it) was a valve job and new valves/spings reason i went to diffrent valves was because the stockers were too short and my cam would have put the spings in a bind i think it was only the exhaust side. are the three lines on the front(when in the truck) or rear, i dont know but the ones off the lincon mark could have been gts?? i dont think so tho i dont remember seeing the "gt" stamp, and the set i have at work i was told they are gts but never really looked i just took the guys word for it, thanks for your imput

 

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