Hot Rods Best Small Block Ford Heads?

Hey guys I know there’s a wealth of knowledge and experience out there, so I’m trying to not reinvent the wheel! We need this engine to make power between 2500/3000 to 7200 rpm. The cubic inches will be in the 350/360 range. We’re wondering what would be the best head? Has anyone here had experience with the various head available? Horsepower? Torque? Power? Thanks.






Bones

 

Got 450 hp from a 351W with twisted wedge heads and a X-303 roller cam.....

 

Guessing aftermarket stuff? I'm not a Blue Oval Man myself, so- factory offerings, or other's?
And- To top it off, is there a price range to purchase? I know you know it goes from mild to wild!

 

GT-40 iron heads???? Got a set of those also for a tunnel ram motor.....

 

Cast iron or aluminum? OEM or aftermarket? Budget? It would help if you narrow the choices a bit...

 

For factory iron heads, the Explorer (and Merc equivalent) with ‘7TE’ or some such are reputed to be the same as GT40 heads and are an inexpensive upgrade. How fast ($$$) do you want to go?

Ray

 

If you've got deep pockets there's these... https://www.hotrod.com/articles/giant-american-made-hemi-heads-small-block-ford/

 

GT 40 from V8 Explorer are great bang for the buck . I have ran a few sets and sold a few sets . Good stuff for the $$$ spent

 

We’re looking for the best head, I’m not going to say price does not matter..... but if it’s a better head for our use..... we get it! I figure we will be going after market, but there are a lot to choose from! Just trying to get some opinions based on experience.


PS: Steve those hemis are probably not going to pass spec! Lol We are looking for the best conventional head for a broad range of power.

We are looking mainly for iron...... but may consider aluminum. Depends on our rules , next year.


Bones

 

when building a Ford car the best heads for performance are the ones that take these valve covers.

 

Are there class limitations, i.e. cast iron or head design? The Trick Flows and RHS wedge heads seem to be the choice for max power applications, with World Products and Dart close behind. Edelbrocks gets a 'best bang for the buck' award as they're cheaper but still make good power. It's not like the old days, there's almost too many choices...

But 'clevor' intakes are now available again, so worked-over Cleveland heads could be in the mix too.

 

AFR

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If you are talking factory iron heads, 351 Cleveland 4V closed chamber hands down.

 

AFR's seem to be the top dog as far as making HP and letting an engine breathe deep (7grand+)
Also one of the most expensive.
Go custom roller (not the old skool X & Z 303 Ford stuff) Newer stuff makes more HP and EZ'er on the valve train. SBF like a lot more duration and LSA than Chevy. (seems most all cams are ground with Chevrolet engines in mind!)
Lots of other good tips on here.
6sally6

 

We’ve got one engine already with Cleveland heads, but the money man wants to build another engine with Windsor style heads. We just not sure which, of the many choices out there would be best for us. We will likely stick with iron heads, to be sure to be with in the rules, as they are now. That is: “stock appearing iron heads”.
We are getting by with the Clevor, by telling them is a “ Boss 351”, which it’s close to. All the Chevy inspectors go for it! Ha. We about the only Ford on the track.



Bones

 

If you're limited to iron heads, that cuts down the choices. I believe that World Products and Dart are the only ones making aftermarket performance iron heads, and of course OEM Ford GT40 heads. The GT40s aren't slouches and will be the cheapest option by far.

 

RHS was making there aluminum heads in cast iron also at one time.

 

The SBF go fast guys seem to argue over Trick Flow or AFR’s...

I just put Twisted Wedges on my 289 build. I thought about the GT40’s but by the time ya buy em, machine em for better springs, buy the springs, valve job, etc..for a little more $$ I can buy heads that I know produce good HP, with good quality components, I also lose about 60lbs of the front of the car, can run higher CR....CR and Flow make HP..especially in a 289....

 

We've run several styles.

Forget about any stock production Ford head. They take a ton of work to make any power. We tried GT40, early Windsor, early 302 and 289 Ford castings.

The only real Ford heads worth considering are 1965-66 289 heads (very small combustion chambers for great compression with flat tops) with a TON of port work done on them. I use Chevy 1.94/1.60 stainless valves in them, convert to screw in studs and guide plates and enlarge the push rod holes so you don't have any binds. You will have a bunch of time and/or money tied up in them and they still won't be as good as aftermarket.

A good Ford head would be the 351N. Problem is you have to use offset rockers and you couldn't run aluminum rockers last time we talked about this stuff.

We had good results from World Products Windsor Jr. heads and doing a lot of port matching, bowl blending and blending on the short side radius of the runners. Windsor Jr have better (smaller) chambers and runners and seem to work better coming off the corners than Windsor Sr's. We cut them for 2.02/1.60 Chevy valves and they take 1.46 diameter springs with no work. Already set up for screw in studs and guide plates. Have the stock Ford exhaust bolt pattern and the wider "N" pattern, too. Lets you run larger header tubes with easier bolt access. We always decked them about half way to maximum cut to leave a bit of room for rebuilds. Ran them with .040 FelPro 1011-1 head gaskets. Set your deck height at zero and you will have a perfect .040 quench.

We also ran the Windsor Sr heads. One set with 2.02/1.60 valves and the other with 2.055/1.625 valves. The bigger chambers kill some compression without running a domed piston. The larger runners kill torque off the corners, they tend to work better at higher RPMs.

Only aluminum we messed with was Ernie Elliot heads/intakes and that gets into another deal entirely. I doubt you want to spend $20,000 on heads and rockers.

Staying with the massively ported early 289 or Windsor Jr's with mild porting and bigger valves is probably the best answer.

SPark

 

AFR made my SBF perform better than the machine shop/builder expected. I'd also check Jon Kaase, no question he is the Ford guru. I know he does phenomenal BBF stuff, thinking he's got SBF heads that can exceed your hopes.

 

I was gonna say 351 C heads. Yes the 64, 65 & 66 289 heads have the best rocker arms especially if your using a solid lifter cam.

 

AFR heads for cheaper budget, Trick Flow for deeper pockets. Both should flow till 7200... But ford motors normally like to be shifted at 6,800 in the displacement you mentioned...

 

I've always wanted to build a SBF around a set of Kaase P-38 heads.

http://www.jonkaaseracingengines.com/html/kaase_p-38_canted_valve_small_block_ford_heads.html

 

Deuces,
My business partner was a Ford guy and bought a number of engine parts when Holman and Moody shut down. The 427 stuff was for his 67 Mercury Cyclone GT but he also got several sets of semi-machined GT40 heads. I remember the exhaust ports had been bored way larger into the water jacket and then had sleeves furnace brazed back into the port. The valves were sbc and it seems like there was a modification for head bolts or something in the larger exhaust ports. Sorry I didn't pay more attention since he has been gone for many years. Ever run across something like this?

 

Maybe you can use AFR heads spray them with a thick coats of magnetic paint and fool tech.

 

It's not cheating, it's interpreting the rules

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We had good luck with Edelbrock Victor Jrs on a 408 . Lippy

 

Well I think it was with in the rules! “ stock appearing iron heads” anyway we’re getting away with it! Lol.




Bones

 

Thanks

Thanks , Spark, that’s good info!





Bones