Best Cast Iron Heads

Grabbin' Asphalt

5 Year Member
Jun 10, 2013
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Atlanta, Ga
I have GT40p milled/ported heads currently. I chose them because of my durability needs for a DD and because of very long roads trips. Any where from 1000-1500 mile trips, where if anything were to happen they would have a better chance to survive with a major catastrophe.
So other than the GT40p's I currently have,

"Is there any other iron heads in past production vehicles of any sorts that are bad ass heads or that are made by any of the current leading companies??"
 
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I have GT40p milled/ported heads currently. I chose them because of my durability needs for a DD and because of very long roads trips. Any where from 1000-1500 mile trips, where if anything were to happen they would have a better chance to survive with a major catastrophe.
So other than the GT40p's I currently have,

"Is there any other iron heads in past production vehicles of any sorts that are bad ass heads or that are made by any of the current leading companies??"
I think my car is pretty reliable, but 1500 mile trips, no way. You actually drive yours that far?
 
I think my car is pretty reliable, but 1500 mile trips, no way. You actually drive yours that far?
I don't see an issue I mean I used to DD. mine and would put 500-1000 on it a week and had no issue , also planning on driving down to mustang week from NY this year
 
Don't use durability as a standard. Chances are, if you have a catastrophic failure bad enough to ruin your head, it's probably going to ruin the rest of your engine as well. And as stated by NIK, the OEM has been using aluminum heads on vehicle for years now. As the matter of fact....I don't even think you can buy a car today without them?

If you want it to really perform, you need to upgrade to decent aluminum heads. Otherwise, be content with the power your GT40's are putting out and stick with what ya got.
 
I think my car is pretty reliable, but 1500 mile trips, no way. You actually drive yours that far?

Yes, I'm talking as soon as your gas tank gets close to "E' fill up keep driving 1500 miles. Drove across Texas to El Paso from Georgia, in Texas 150-200 miles between exits before any life forms, kinda scary. Drove to Winnipeg from Georgia and lots of other places. If a hose bursts or stat goes out, I'd rather replace small cheap stuff than a warped head on the road. And I can carry those parts. In todays world yes aluminum is everywhere but when they over heat it's not a cheap fix.
In my car everything is pretty solid, it's just my piece of mind on the open road.
 
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I don't see an issue I mean I used to DD. mine and would put 500-1000 on it a week and had no issue , also planning on driving down to mustang week from NY this year
I used to daily my 88 lx, no issues. What I mean is driving long distances away from home, like for me to drive to Florida 850 miles away. I trust my car to go in a 200 mile radius but not a 850 mile one way, that's a long tow if something goes wrong
 
IMO, if you're stuck on iron I think you probably already have the best head. With a good port and polish you can outflow some of the untouched aluminum heads and at least come close to some of the better alum ones.

I went with the gt40x for similar reasons as you have. Not saying they're the best if youre building a all out race motor but I trust Fords' engineering well enough for a DD.
 
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Well, I've been looking to replace my GT40's I pulled off an explorer last year with some used alum heads. People want 700-900 for used heads, and after you factor in the 200-300 to get them cleaned and checked out, you are almost at the same price as new. I've called about 5 different sets of heads on CL and every one had bent valves or other problems. For 1000 to 1100 you can get a set of new TFS 170's.
 
Well, I've been looking to replace my GT40's I pulled off an explorer last year with some used alum heads. People want 700-900 for used heads, and after you factor in the 200-300 to get them cleaned and checked out, you are almost at the same price as new. I've called about 5 different sets of heads on CL and every one had bent valves or other problems. For 1000 to 1100 you can get a set of new TFS 170's.
Where are you finding TFS 170's for $1,000-$1,100 a pair?

Lets also keep in mind that the TFS are known to need a little work on the valve train right out of the box. I wouldn't be surprised if you were into them $1,500-$1,600 by the time you were done.