Black Jade 43 Report post Posted January 12, 2011 (edited) Want to upgrade from stock 69 302 2bbl heads, want to stay with cast iron, running flat top pistons with reliefs . Whats my best choices? GT40, world jr, 351bbl, 68 302 2bbl, 289 or have Xtra set of 69 302 2bbl could have machined, cut, seats valves, studs, guideplates ect? I think stock heads are 63+cc's,running premium and 100LL mix anyway could go as low as 53cc. Whats your input? Edited January 12, 2011 by Black Jade typo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
69gmachine 15 Report post Posted January 12, 2011 D0 casting 351W heads are plentiful and cheap. C9 Windsor heads would be great also, but they're a lot harder to find and often more expensive. Other than that, the GT40 heads are similar in port volumes, so they would be good also. With the flat top pistons your compression will be in the mid to high 9s. You should be fine with 89 octane gas. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BuckeyeDemon 211 Report post Posted January 12, 2011 out of curiosity, why do you want to stay with cast iron? appearance or budget reasons? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StephenC 10 Report post Posted January 12, 2011 out of curiosity, why do you want to stay with cast iron? appearance or budget reasons? I was wondering that same question? If its budget wise I can see but if you have the money to spend why not spring for a pair? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Black Jade 43 Report post Posted January 12, 2011 Mainly appearance, the car is almost stock. interior and exterior. I like the old school look. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
69gmachine 15 Report post Posted January 12, 2011 Once the heads are painted blue, valve covers installed, front dress on and exhaust, you really have to look close to see they're not stock for all but the most radical Windsor heads. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jholmes217 65 Report post Posted January 12, 2011 I have 1970 351W heads that were ported and polished with 1.94 intake and 1.6 exhaust in my 69 fastback. Can't tell the difference by looking with valve covers on. If you go that route, you need to make sure your intake manifold gaskets match the 351W heads. You will also need to check pushrod length, and head bolt sizes. Mine are from a early 1990's build when aluminum heads were rare and expensive. These days, it's cheaper to go with aftermarket aluminum and paint them if you want original look. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeStang 247 Report post Posted January 13, 2011 Well i have been told by friends that run CHEBYS "Yuck" that the Dart Iron Eagles are a great head for the bucks. they also offer iron eagle platinums i believe, but they can all be had for Fords as well as chevy. On a side note we went 12.60s with stock untouched 69 351 W heads on a 408 and a 5 speed. Had to have a few valves replaced and valve job, but asside from that NOTHING was done to the heads....IMHO that is pretty dern fast for a Stock head motor and a 5 speed that you cant make hook :P Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted January 18, 2011 By the time you rebuild stock heads, you're even with new a/m better flowing alum. Can of Ford blue paint is $4. used a/m alum are even less. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Max Power 74 Report post Posted January 18, 2011 Hard to recommend heads without knowing what the goals are. I personally think spending any money of factory cast iron heads is a waste of money, although sometimes you can find some that are already done. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jholmes217 65 Report post Posted January 18, 2011 If you do go aftermarket heads, other consideration should be the header bolt location, spark plug angle, and port size of the heads, plus other modifications you may make to your car such as aftermarket steering sytems, transmission bellhousing and clutch linkages if you change transmissions. All those factors can severly impact your options for headers or the use of stock exhaust manifolds. If you have to have custom headers made to fit your application, they can be very expensive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeStang 247 Report post Posted January 19, 2011 I have a good set of rebuildable 95 model 351 heads ghat will probably only need a valve job if you wan a give me a few bucks for them, or my friend has the set we went 12.60 with he will sale ya, we went with the patriot performance heads and a roller cam....made a big difference, but aint been to the track yet to confirm results, butt dyno reports at least 90-100 hp with cam and heads.....it will hang with my ta on a 125 shot of juice and it runs 11.70 I would go with some decent alum heads tho price will be comparable, and you will have room to grow Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sidthing 10 Report post Posted January 19, 2011 Iron heads, only took me twice to learn they're not worth rebuilding. I saw the powerheads advertisement in a magazine, "699.00" for a pair! I was building a 347 stroker, drove up to LA 699.00 was for E7TE, I wanted 351. That was roughly, 899.00, and then a 100.00 core charge, and then the need for pushrod guides, special length pushrods, and the washers to make 351 heads work with 302 head bolts. It was well over a grand out the door. The other time was when a gear drive munched the valves in a 5.0, it was about 850.00 have larger valves put in, and some mild bowl work. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LSG 15 Report post Posted February 20, 2011 Black, if the car is very stock right now, how about stock iron 302 heads with 1.94/1.6 valves, hard seats under the exhausts, thread in studs and some light bowl work, add some 1.7 rockers, and the engine will breathe much better, but still look the same. Should cost you less than 1000$, easy. LSG Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
