TKOPerformance wrote:

I'd see what kind of wiggle room it has.  The 600 Holley doesn't exactly blow my skirt up; I'd rather it had a 500 Edelbrock.  Its IMO too big for an otherwise stock engine. 

I'm also not excited about technology that old.  The heads and intake are old school design, inefficient and down on power.  If it came out of a pickup its got a cam for low end grunt, not top end power.  Not really a great match for a light car like a Falcon. 

For $600 I'd keep looking for a GT40 or GT40P engine from a late '90s Explorer or Mountaineer.  At the same price you are going to get modern heads and a roller cam making a legit 225+HP.  You can probably get all the accessories for that too, plus an EFI intake setup that you can easily sell and net enough for, at the least, a good used carb and intake better suited to your car/engine. 

If you just MUST buy this thing then there's only so much you can check.  Look at the plugs for oil and fouling.  Check the dipstick for clean oil or milkshake that points to a blown head gasket or cracked head or block.  Spin it over and make sure it spins easily (take the plugs out).  If its got a starter and you can really spin it you can do a compression test.  The longer it sat the farther away I'd run. 

Noted and good advice. I recall you mentioning the GT40 but didn’t consider the possibility of the cam and also the fact that I would be making 225 pretty much guaranteed. definitely not a must have right now, just wanted some opinions on it. Thanks again!
 

Yeah, a 302 is the beginning of the development of that engine; the GT40P is the end.  You're benefiting from decades of development work from a time when chamber and port designs were basically guess to a time when everything was first build in 3D CAD models and flow tested, then built and flow tested in the rear world.  The chamber and port design in the GT40 and GT40P are just so much more efficient, and efficiency equals power.  Coupled with a roller cam is equals more average power, meaning significantly more torque everywhere in the engine's operating range.  That's the difference you can feel.  Those old engines were rated in gross HP, so 225 was probably really more like 180 real world.  The new engines rated in net HP, it means that 225 is really 225. 

5.0 with roller cam will make alot better engine and you can likely beat the price.
My $200 GT40P engine from a 2001 Explorer is now past $2,000 and I am doing everything in a very budget conscious way. Rebuilt with stock bore and pistons and stock GT roller cam. Biggest expenses was valve job at $443.

It would be best to get a complete engine. I had to spring for new balancer, timing cover, serpentine system, starter, etc.