Majority will tell you to go look for used aftermarket heads and plunk your money down on something you've never seen and have no idea what shape they're really in despite what the oh-so-honest internet sellers will tell you. Others (like me) will tell you to keep what you've got and have them reworked if they're a good match for your combo.
You're getting both suggestions here. It's your money, they're your heads. What I've been saying is you can easily spend as much on your stock heads and still not have as good a finished product as you'd have going out and hunting for a good, used set of aftermarket heads. I've done it both ways, but I didn't go into it blind. I reworked a set of 428CJ heads in the 80's (no aftermarket heads then) and spent $800 to get em where I wanted em. I bought the Canfields I have on the 331 for $1100 (shipped) off ebay, they were brand new heads, but second hand. I've reworked a set of E7TE 302 heads, doing all the port work myself and spent about $300 on them and had a set that flowed nearly what a set of GT40 heads do oiut of the box. It all depends on what the heads you start with need.
Alex, if you are up to trying it yourself then go for it, all it will cost you is time. As someone mentioned earlier, just getting the humps out is pretty easy and makes a difference. If you are not doing the work yourself I think you will wind up investing a few hundred bucks into not very good heads. I personally would rather spend a little more on something good, especially if you get some aluminums that you can use for future motor upgrades as well. Even if you just upgraded to the 69-70 351W heads which you can find for $100 or so occasionally and upgraded the same as you would your current 302's, you'd have a better flowing head with bigger valves and your additional cost is only $100. Just some idea's and just my opinion.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nkw=PROCOMP+FORD+SBF+BARE+190CC+ALUMINUM+CYLINDER+HEADS+NEW how about any of these for under 500$ how much hp will something like these gain? or does anybody have and heads they would like to sell? and im not sure what "stock heads i have"
Terrible reviews all over the web on Pro Comps, enough to have scared me away. Look on Craigs list, and other car sites like corral.net, yellowbullit.com, etc. There is a lot of Ford out there because of the Mustang popularity. Stay patient, wait for the right thing, and use Paypal/credit card in case what you buy is less than described so you can cover your tail. I'll pm you if I see aything in my browsing.
can anyone show me a picture of the "bump" and thanks i would really appreciate that jm16. how much hp gain with 351 heads do you guys think?
The Thermactor bump is in the exhaust port roof. It's something you cannot confuse with anything else. It protrudes about 1/4" into the port opening about 1/2" inside the port. The 351W heads everyone's refering to are the 1969-1975 heads. These have eight intake bolt holes instead of the 6 holes the later 351W heads (and 302 heads) have. All the small block Ford heads are identical starting in 1977 with the D8OE castings. So don't get snookered into buying these later 351W heads. Another thing about buying the early heads are the pressed in rocker studs, these need to be replaced with screw in studs to use any cam larger than about a Comp 268H. Otherwise, you'll have the rocker studs work their way out of the head with cams that have a bigger profile. The studs themselves aren't expensive (about $45 a set), but you have to add in the cost of guide plates and machinework to have them installed, plus hardened pushrods to run with the guide plates. So with these heads, you're right back at what we were talking about before, they can be bought cheap, but the final cost can add up to what you'll spend on aftermarket heads that are ready to run. This is all confusing, huh ? But it's something you need to be aware of and half the fun is learning. Figure out what you want to spend on heads, then start hunting the classifieds everywhere, there are deals to be had with secondhand heads. I bought a set of GT40Y's for $600. I did some horsetrading for the GT40 iron Lightning heads I just put that 302 together with. I traded a C9OX 351W aluminum intake (paid $250 for it) and 2 cases of oil, and got the heads (all they needed was a good cleaning to run), a used set of small block headers for an early Mustang and a one wire alternator
wow. you are one very knowledgeable person baddad! ok so would you mind if i found a set of heads and pm'd you the url you could give me some more advise on them specifically?
Sure, anytime. The casting numbers for all the 289/302/351W heads is under the intake runners. The 1986-up heads can be Id'd from the letter cast in the lower front corner of the passenger side head, next to the valve cover rail. Or the opposite corner on the driver's side head.
