Howdy folks! I've received a positive prognosis from the machinist regarding my 8ba; however, it doesn't appear the heads will survive the resurrection. I have no real grand vision for this motor as I simply bought it out of curiosity. She'll likely end up on a test stand for a year or two as I look to progress this project into something with four wheels. That being said I didn't have any real intention of hot rodding this motor; however, now that I must replace he heads it has me thinking... I think he economical choice would be to seek out some replacement 8bas or maybe seek a set of EACs. Head replacement wasn't on my radar as I wasn't suspecting this issue to arise. Now I'm in the market and would appreciate some guidance regarding replacement/sourcing.
He simply mentioned they identified a crack and it would need to be replaced. I didn't pry too much at the time but will inquire more when I visit the shop.
Good 8BA heads are a dime a dozen, problem is shipping, they're heavy. EAB (52-53) heads are a better choice, more compression. Stay away from Mercury heads, (8CM-ECM) lower compression.
Would the Mercury heads be better on a supercharged application? I have an 8BA with 8BA heads and just lucked into a flathead VS57 blower setup. I have EAC heads sitting around, do the Merc heads flow any better? I'm a flathead newbie, all my previous experience is with OHV engines but I figured the best flowing heads would be choice regardless of compression.
All stock flathead heads flow about the same. What heads to use depends on the amount of boost you make. If your engine is a stocker, it has at the MOST, 7:1 compression & that would be with EAB heads. I really wouldn't look for less compression.
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