[HawkX66]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: VintageMusclecar</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Do NOT try to have hardened seats installed unless it's absolutely necessary--there's water JUST under the valve seats on a BB head and it's easy to break through when cutting the seats for the insert. I would go to a 2.19 on the intake but leave the 1.72's in the exhaust. If it's in the budget, a pocket port job and a little chamber work will pick up a nice little chunk of power.

As far as that cam goes--that's going to be a pretty lumpy cam in a 402. You're going to need a 3500 converter or a 4 speed and a 4.10+ gear to take advantage of it.

Also, do not take for granted it will have sufficient piston to valve clearance--you really need to check it with those rebuilder pistons as the reliefs tend to be fairly shallow. </div></div>
Thanks a lot Eric. That answers that about the valve seats anyhow. I always thought hardened seats were a must have in the long run. That'll save me some cash now. I didn't realize they were that close to the water jackets. I was planning on leaving the exhaust. Thanks for confirming it. Now all I'll have to do is concentrate on the intake valves. Going up to 2.19 will take care of the couple of small pits I saw. Perfect. That was the big reason I was looking at changing the seats.
I'd love to port them etc, but that'll will have to wait for another day. The cam is what Comp Cams recommended, so that's what I went with. I do have a 4 speed, so I'll be good there. Only factory 3.31s though...
I definitely wasn't going to take clearances for granted. Even though I'm sure they're ok, I'd still double check it.
I know she's not going to be a 10 sec car, but I'm alright with that. I was just looking for a lot better than the truck heads and smaller cam I've been running.
This was some great info. I really appreciate it. Obviously I'm just getting into learning about heads, cams etc...