I have a 66 fairlane with a 302, at the moment it has headers, electronic ignition, A ford performance intake with a 650 holley and a magna flow exhaust, it might have a little bit of a more wild cam im not sure though. What upgrades could i do to the engine to get at least 50 more horsepower i have a $500 dollar budget anything would help! thanks
Get used aftermarket heads. Or get gt40 heads and port match them. Maybe have heads and block decked to increase compression ratios. Unshrouding valves on a small block can be worth an extra 50 horses. One inch carburetor spacer is worth ten to fifteen hp sometimes.
Sounds like you have all the supporting equipment... carb, intake, headers, exhaust, ignition... The biggest bottleneck in a small block Ford is the cylinder heads. A quality aftermarket set would put you right where you need to be.
Is the engine a later model with a hydraulic roller cam, or an older one with a flat tappet? If it's an older one with a flat tappet, Edelbrock sells these, which would be about right for your car. The springs that come on them are not set up for hydraulic rollers. You'll also need a set of roller rockers and some hardened pushrods.
Unfortunately, you are at the point where you'll need heads to make significantly more power. The factory heads are really terrible. Check to see if you have an early flat tappet engine, or a later hydraulic roller. If you have a later hydraulic roller, the GT40 heads are a nice, affordable bolt-on and go upgrade. For a flat tappet engine, there's a little more work to do in adapting them.
I'd push for heads also but $500 isn't going to be enough. I'd save money for the heads at this point they'd be the best bang for the bucks.
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