My 1985 thunderbird smells like fumes when its warming up even idling at stop light what could that be? Part 2 is how do I get serious throttle response from a tired 302?

if you smell fumes, your exhaust could have a leak and is leaking into the passenger compartment- get it checked ASAP- carbon monoxide WILL kill you.....

My 1993 Thunderbird LX 302 had really bad response when I first bought mine but all I did was do regular oil changes and a tune up with E3's sparks, MSD cap and fuel injector cleaning solution.

The only way to get serious throttle response out of a tired 302 is to get it rebuilt from the block up with proven aftermarket parts. Have the block cleaned, shaved and bored .030 to .040 over and then have a reputable speed shop build you an awesome motor with about 400hp. Get headers and get exhaust done too. Otherwise everything else is just throwing money out the window with a tired smog motor. Another option is to shop around different motor shops and speed shops and see if they have one that's already built or done up that they can just swap out with your old tired one at a fair price. It'll be cheaper than building a motor from the block up. Just tell them how much horsepower you're expecting and if they have any engines already built that meets that or close to it.