Are all heads marked?

[fords2fast4u]

So, I've got the car apart for a new cam and timing chain and just as I hit the farthest into the engine that I was going, the guy who is working at the garage asked if I wanted to buy a set of heads for a 5.0. So I told him that if he brings them in the morning, I would look at them and that I might buy them.

The problem is that he doesn't know what they are. He has no clue... he said that he thought they were Edelbrock, aluminum, ported and polished or something or another - but he has no clue what they are or what type of springs are on them, how many miles they have on them -

My question is, if I buy them and put them on, I will have to know on the spot

1 what they are
2 if they'll work with my TFS cam, FMS headers, 1.7 RR's, correct pushrod length?
3 if the springs will be good with .529/.542
4 how much they are worth

Any help would be appreciated. Like what special markings each manufacturer has on their heads and how to tell what they are, and then what special parts I need to put them on that very same day because my car has to be out of the shop by 6pm

Thanks guys

 

[vristang]

Buying Al. heads is a little scary. They should have a marking of some type from the manufacturer. If they have been ported you will be able to tell by looking at the ports. There will most likely be grind marks left behind, or they may be very smooth from being polished. Taking an intake/exhaust gasket may help you see how much porting has been done.
The real scary thing is, why doesn't he want them? They could be warped from heavy boost or overheating. They could be cracked and leak coolant. Taking a straight edge to look for flatness would be useful.
I would plan to go in and look them over very closely. After a couple of minutes tell him that you are not sure if you can afford the price and ask for some time to think it over. If he freaks, walk away. Best case scenario is that he allows you to take the heads to a shop for inspection before you buy. If the heads are good tell him that you will pay the inspection costs and his asking price. If the heads are bad, then he should pay the shop.
I did buy my Trick Flows off ebay and they work great. The valves and springs were in good shape. All surfaces were in good condition. The intake/exhaust had been port matched to the larger gaskets. I think I paid about $700 for them. Well worth the money. But if they had been bad, I would have been out $700, plus the cost of having the machine shop inspect and clean.
The most important question you can ask the guy is "Why are you selling them?" If you get a funny feeling from the answer, trust your gut and walk.
That is how I would handle it.
Good Luck
Let us know

 

[jerryD]

well edelbrock normally cast in their name, model number and series of head(victor, vic JR, ect..) on the ends of the heads. if u still cant get any better details, then get a couple a of pics and post em.

 

[JimBowy]

Look on the exhaust flange of each head, there should be a number SOMEWHERE.

Trick flow heads have the specific model # (call trick flow and they can tell you everything about it) posted between the middle two exhaust ports.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

[jerryD]

just as a little test can anyone name this head? i know what it is. there are no numbers on the ends or exhaust flanges, but there is a number on it.

 

[fords2fast4u]

So i get to the shop this morning and the guy has a sheet of specs on the heads... ported and polished, crane springs good to .600", 7 degree locks/retainers, set up for pedastal mount RR's....

no go because i dont have pedistal mount RR's and that still doesn't tell me what they are.. well anyways, he doesn't have them with him, calls the guy he got them from and he says that they came off of a 351W. Well, the way i saw it, my GT-40's with the valve job and crane springs were the same damn thing so i didn't get them...

i put the engine back together and short of a few setbacks everything is good to go.

thanks guys